Fearless Expression

A Bathing Ape is a Japanese fashion brand founded by Tomoaki Nagao (Nigo) in Shibuya, Tokyo in 1993. Specialising in men’s, women’s and children’s lifestyle and streetwear, it has been leading the scene for over 30 years. Here, RLI caught up with company CEO Mahmoud El Salahy to discuss the evolution of the business since inception and how it continues to grow.

The renowned Japanese streetwear brand A Bathing Ape (BAPE), is known for its bold, eye-catching design and iconic CAMO patterns and in its 33 years of operation, has released a host of original patterns and characters, such as Ape Head, BAPE CAMO, BAPE Sta, Shark Hoodie and BABY MILO.

A major aspect of how the business has stayed culturally relevant over the years is its focus on authenticity. With an ethos of fearless expression, it is this phrase that is at the core of everything they do. They obsess over how they can enable their consumers, communities and culture to fearlessly express themselves through the pivotal anchors of sports, music and art.

“This ethos is then filtered through our brand values of being bold in everything we do, being fixated on Japanese craftsmanship and quality in everything we create, produce and offer and staying true to our unique DNA and ambition,” explains Mahmoud El Salahy, CEO of A Bathing Ape. “We then take all of this and embed it into the fabric of the entire company culture from store staff all the way through to myself, to ensure we are all on the same wave length.”

Currently on a journey of elevation and amplification within the streetwear landscape, in the last few years BAPE has been aggressively working on elevating everything they do, from the latest innovation in materials to the designs they are bringing to the table, from activations and engagement with creators to their in-store layout, no stone is being left unturned in their pursuit of distinction.

Collaboration or co-creation as Mahmoud likes to say, is a pivotal part of their vision and the most important aspect behind any potential collaboration is the meaningfulness of it and what type of message it may send. An example of this was last year which saw a co-creation between BAPE and Spotify, which the CEO terms as the media social platform for music. This joining together of unique platforms saw the launch of an amazing collection that was spearheaded by the CENTRAL CEE range.

While BAPE is a brand that harnesses the power of digital, it remains physical first and its stores are the best source of its content creation. “Our stores are how we stay relevant and how we deliver the best information to consumers is through our store staff members. Our physical environments are a very prominent aspect in our strategy moving forward,” Mahmoud highlights.

Rooted in music, art and youth culture, BAPE was made and continues to be inspired by its culture and community. As fashion itself becomes increasingly intersected with gaming, the company is currently working on multiple projects within the world of gaming.

Mahmoud comments that they understand gamers are very passionate about their industry and he feels BAPE could be a part of that environment in the future. While it is something the business is pursuing, they are currently in the testing and learning stage, attempting to gain a better understanding of the market before moving forward with something more permanent.

As the streetwear sector evolves, consumers are more aware than ever about sustainability and production ethics and BAPE understands this and first and foremost, their ESG efforts and scoring is top of mind in everything they do. However the CEO feels the best way of expressing their commitment to sustainability is the fact that the company’s sell through rates are always the highest within the season.

“We are not just a commodity, we are a collectible brand. So when you buy a product from BAPE, it will stay with you as a unique piece and it is something that can be passed onto the next generation.”

After more than three decades of growth, the world is BAPE’s oyster and while they continue to put a lot of emphasis on their digital enhancement, physical remains the priority and markets such as North America and the Middle East are major beacons for their growth trajectory. Right now in the Middle East, they exist in Dubai specifically through BAPE and another diffusion line called AAPE, as well as in Saudi Arabia and they currently have less than a dozen stores, however, plans are in motion to more than double this in the coming years. Additional markets of interest are Korea, where they recently opened a flagship store and Paris.

As our time with the CEO begins to run out, we ask Mahmoud: what would he like the brand to be known for in five to ten years’ time that it isn’t yet today?

“Throughout our history, we have been consistently known as a company that is empowering the world to stay fearless in everything they express. Now do we have this today? Perhaps, to a certain extent, but there is also still this affection and hype aspect around the brand and while we cannot deny this and we love it; I would love to envision people wearing our logo as a badge of belonging to a certain group of fearless, expressive people that are just moving through the world fearlessly, achieving everything they have set out to do.”