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Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

How BAPE Kept Its Cool for Decades

By staying true to its DNA, A Bathing Ape has managed to maintain its pull on shoppers even as it’s evolved from a cult streetwear label into a mainstream brand with a global footprint. Now it’s eyeing expansion in the US.
BAPE looks made in collaboration with the New York-based designer Colm Dillane for KidSuper's Fall 2025 men's Paris fashion week runway show.
BAPE looks made in collaboration with the New York-based designer Colm Dillane for KidSuper's Fall 2025 men's Paris Fashion Week runway show. (Nesrin Danan)

The wrinkles on A Bathing Ape aren’t from sitting in the tub too long. At 31, the brand is an old-timer in the world of streetwear.

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Further Reading

How the Streetwear Customer Is Evolving

Streetwear is by no means dead, but its customers are changing. Today they're embracing a diverse wardrobe that mixes logo T-shirts with heritage brands and traditional menswear or luxury.

Is It Time for Supreme to Sell Out?

Supreme’s adherence to its business model of drops and scarcity might now be constraining its growth rather than driving it. It might be the moment for the streetwear pioneer to give in and go fully mass-market.

Can Off-White Get Back on Track?

In recent years, the death of founder Virgil Abloh, a troubled push upmarket and the near implosion of Farfetch have dealt severe blows to one of the world’s most successful luxury streetwear brands. Off-White CEO Cristiano Fagnani sat down with BoF to outline his ‘reset’ strategy.

About the author
Lei Takanashi
Lei Takanashi

Lei Takanashi is a Correspondent at The Business of Fashion (BoF). He is based in New York City and covers menswear, streetwear, young consumer trends, and the intersection between fashion and culture.

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