While in today's era of sneaker culture brands and consumers look at knock-off products with their noses held high, back during the beginning of the Bape Sta’s history it caught fire in the community. On top of this, collaborations with brands, pop culture figures, and artists like Marvel, Spongebob, and Kanye West drummed up significant demand at a time when being a sneakerhead (or even finding an authorized BAPE retailer in the US) was rare.
The brand's rise throughout the early 2000s can be attributed to the likes of Pharrell Williams and Ye (FKA Kanye West) who were often spotted rocking Nigo’s take on the Air Force 1, the Bape Sta.ĭebuting in the year 2000, the AF1 craze was at an all-time high, and in response, Nigo essentially created a bootleg version of the silhouette that came at a higher price tag and featured mostly patent leather takes. Before he could reach those heights, he would begin to DJ, produce records, and found his then-brand A Bathing Ape. Kanye West x Bape Sta "The College Dropout" ( image via StockX)īorn in the city of Maebashi, Japan around 2 hours outside of Tokyo, Tomoaki Nagao (who goes by Nigo) would eventually rise to become one of American hip hops biggest tastemakers.
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