2007 A Bathing Ape x Kaws Companion Twin Logo Varsity Jacket

Founded by Nigo, formally known as Tomoaki Nagao in 1993 - A Bathing Ape, or Bape for short, laid the groundwork for Japanese and Americana street culture. Studying at prestigious Japanese Bunka Fashion College, just years earlier the adolescent was obsessing over everything and anything hip-hop related. Nagao idolized Fragment Design’s very own Hiroshi Fujiwara, finding such through his “Last Orgy” column in local magazine ‘Takarajima’. He was then coined Fujiwara Hiroshi NIGO,” translating to“Fujiwara Hiroshi Number Two.” as a result of such, later distilled to a mere Nigo in following years. Nigo met Hiroshi shortly after and began working alongside him as an assistant, slowly climbing the ranks of street culture in doing so. Meeting Jun Takahashi of ‘Undercover’, the two opened the notorious ‘NOWHERE’ shop after success in other endeavours, such as Nigo’s ‘Goodenough’ brand.

 

Jun Takahashi’s Undercover quickly gained notoriety, while Goodenough fell short of expectation. Nigo began scheming, and after a marathon of American series “Planet of the Apes”, A Bathing Ape was born. Pioneering a new empire of cartoon-like graphics, childhood motifs and Ape heads, an empire was built, consisting of multiple shops, a cafe, and a women’s line (among other things). Throughout the 2000’s and even to present day, Bape was skyrocketed to new heights at the grips of Pharrell Williams, Kanye West and cultural icons alike. In 2009, Nigo stepped down as creative director and sold Bape to ‘IT Group’ for a mind bending $2.8 million USD, also assuming nearly $60 million in debts. The influence Nigo has granted continues to push forward contemporary fashion, art and music, creating an incomparable, everlasting legacy.

 

Debuting in 2007, this varsity jacket was crafted in cohesion with American graffiti artist KAWS. Most commonly known for his “X” drawings, symbolic of his work, the two released a collection of garments that would later become highly sought after in the streetwear realm. Featuring twin ‘Bendy Companion’ figures on either shoulder, this varsity is comprised of a dense cotton weave, fitting a baggy large, in pristine condition.