Page 18 - RLIJune2026
P. 18
New Jersey, US
INTERVIEW he 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,
T 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
Fearless of the entire company culture from store staff all the way through to
of A Bathing Ape. “We then take all of this and embed it into the fabric
myself, to ensure we are all on the same wave length.”
Currently on a journey of elevation and amplification within the
Expression 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
A Bathing Ape is a Japanese fashion brand part of their vision and the most important aspect behind any potential
founded by Tomoaki Nagao (Nigo) in Shibuya, 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
Tokyo in 1993. Specialising in men’s, women’s and between BAPE and Spotify, which the CEO terms as the media social
children’s lifestyle and streetwear, it has been platform for music. This joining together of unique platforms saw
leading the scene for over 30 years. Here, RLI the launch of an amazing collection that was spearheaded by the
caught up with company CEO Mahmoud El Salahy CENTRAL CEE range.
While BAPE is a brand that harnesses the power of digital, it
to discuss the evolution of the business since remains physical first and its stores are the best source of its content
inception and how it continues to grow. creation. “Our stores are how we stay relevant and how we deliver
18 Retail & Leisure International June 2026
