Stevio...LA LA Lovin' It?

I'm British-born Chinese from Bristol, UK. I’m LA-based. I’m a hip hop aficionado. After 15 years in London I moved to LA to pursue a new career and outlook on life.

Back in the 80s I was a DJ. In the 90s I contributed to the world's first street style exhibition at London's Victoria & Albert Museum. In 2011, I had my first interviews published. Today, I’m keeping busy with music, art, photos and writing.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

BAPE, BAPY, APEE...Hmmm

I checked out the BAPE store in Taipei - a large ~4,000 sq ft, 2 storey retail statement. On the ground floor is the regular "A Bathing Ape" gear, although the sales guy distinguished between the black label collection. Yea, whatever ;-)

Upstairs was more interesting to me. There I saw the "BAPY" and "APEE" lines -for women and femal teens, respectively. It made me think of the Portfolio article I read about the struggles Nigo, BAPE's founder, is facing as he and his team try to create a worldwide brand that still has some significance to his peers and fans.

It reminds me the challenge Stussy had in the early 90s. To compare, BAPE has worldwide sales of $59m ($24m more than Stussy)!

On researching, my revelation was that one of Toyko's Major Force record-label founders (and Wild Bunch collaborator), Hiroshi Fujiwara, ventured into clothing and apparel (Goodenough and Head Porter) which are now some of the most revered Japanese streetstyle labels, oft quoted by cool hunters.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home