A Bathing Ape (or
BAPE) is a Japanese fashion
brand founded by
Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) in
Ura-Harajuku in 1993 The brand specializes in men's, women's and children's lifestyle and street wear, running 19 stores in
Japan, including Bape Stores, Bape Pirate Stores, Bape Kids Stores, Bapexclusive
Aoyama, and Bapexclusive
Kyoto. The Kyoto store also includes Bape Gallery, a space used for various events and art shows sponsored by Bape. There are also stores located in
Hong Kong,
Taipei,
Beijing,
Shanghai,
Guangzhou,
Chengdu,
Qingdao,
Shenyang,
Seoul,
Singapore,
New York City,
Kuala Lumpur,
London,
Paris,
Miami and
Los Angeles
