BAPE TOPS

A BATHING APE®︎, better known as BAPE, has been steadily bolstering its street cred since 1993. The product of Renaissance man Tomoaki “Nigo” Nagao’s vision, the Japanese company was an influential proponent of the Urahara aesthetic—a style-bending hybrid of mid-’90s skater wear and Americana staples. Forever lodged in Y2K, the company’s women’s line amalgamates workwear with casual basics and Ivy League uniform-like pieces, diffusing BAPE’s rejiggered military camouflage and distorted ape-head logos throughout. Cult items like toyish Baby Milo accessories and the now-emblematic shooting star–embellished Bapesta sneakers continue to crop up in fresh revamps that speak to the brand’s reliably oddball charisma and urban flair. Continually broadening its visual vocabulary through exciting collaborations, BAPE’s place as a purveyor of pop fashion appears firmly cemented.