BAPE - Impact on UK "street" fashion

[rakis]

As usual, I walked past the BAPE store in London today (my usual Saturday route) and yet again, there were long queues outside...lots of familiar faces (I past there every Saturday and some faces you cannot miss)...but interestingly, there were others which seemed out of place....I get a sense that BAPE is finally exploding in the UK as these kids would have previously bought D&G, Armani, Kappa (at one point in time)....this is merely an observation but it is causing a change is trends on the "streets".....I will not be surprised that in about 3-6 months, the UK "grime" scene and its followers in the inner city estates and suburban enclaves will all be rocking BAPE in the same vein as Ecko, Akademik, LRG.......its going to be a mish-mash of styles and especially with the proliferation of knock-offs on the internet, it will probably get bigger and more common......I have yet to make a trip to Camden Town, often a visible sign of trends on the high street in the various China-made knockoffs, of varying quality.....it will be interesting to see whether BAPE products will appear here....BBC may also start infiltrating the scene on the back of Pharrel's link with Nigo and BAPE....

BAPE is really breaking into Europe (and even though many on this board have been aware of its presence for a longer time) and it seems that it will probably hit like a tidal wave.....it will be a while before the interest in BAPE wanes, if at all......

[witts]

Quote: D&G, Armani, Kappa

hell no !!! how can you group d&g, armani and kappa together??

no1 has rocked kappa since 95' when i was in junior school kappa was big ... they tried to revamp it and no1 buys it... i work in selfridges and kappa DOES NOT SELL ... and people who buy genuine d&g do not dress street, ok armani exchange maybe for the asians but .. there not in the same group as bape... i can see what your saying about bape going mainstream due to all the fakes...but most kids dont know what bape is.. the ghetto kids cant afford real bape... im yet to see more than one person a week in bape in birmingham.

its gettin bigger but its still small...... how many people in the UK you see with nike sb? very very small amount

[rakis]

I was not trying to group the brands together but I remember in 1995-98 Kappa exploded and a lot of "ghetto" kids were wearing it...true, D&G and Armani are not in thee same category but the pool of kids that wear these labels would seek Kappa for day wear and these brands (along with Moschino) as clubwear....

For clarity's sake, as thisis an international board, "Asian" in the UK means people from the Sub-Continent, in particular, India and Pakistan whereas in North America, "Asian" is used to refer to peeps from Hong Kong, Korea and Japan........

I was making reference to kids in London that I saw in the queue outside BAPE today....not sure of fashion trends in Birmingham etc......but rest assured, as long as Pharell is fronting hip hop in the music mags, kids will pick up on it and start looking around and asking questions.....

As for affordability, the Asian kids (in the UK) will pick up on it in due course...I saw a bunch of Asian kids in West London (Ealing high street) wearing BBC t-shirts a few months ago.....these were not knock-offs.....

I just think its a question of time....

[doom]

please wake up and do not purchase bape and their affiliated brands. move on to the next hype shit that is out.

the eclipse is nigh

[Smackadog]

which is?

"Meow.....Bitches"

[stc_camp]

GROSS @ BAPE. im so over it already

[MilSpex]

Quote:

which is?

--- Original message by Smackadog on Nov 19, 2005 08:32 PM

theres about 500 jap brands doing whole lines that are marketed at the people that used to buy ape in Japan. Similar quality, similar price, 500 different concepts and styles. sure anyone can find something that they like. best thing is, if you rock it, no one else will know what it is

MILitary SPECificationS OO

Be Advised: Morgan Nixon AKA Moman631 AKA Moman6040 is a fraud.

[Guest Fade to Black]

that shit is wack as hell to me...the Asian Armani Exchange/D&G/metrosexual crowd and the fact they're now movin on to Bape/BBC...those kids don't got an ounce of style in 'em.

[thomas_highstreet]

Quote:

GROSS @ BAPE. im so over it already

--- Original message by stc_camp on Nov 19, 2005 08:37 PM

absolute bellboy.

[thomas_highstreet]

Quote:

GROSS @ BAPE. im so over it already

--- Original message by stc_camp on Nov 19, 2005 08:37 PM

absolute bellboy.

[Honto]

Moody Bape shoes and T's now available from Dalston market along side localy made Von Dutch, Evisu and Roca, Wu etc. A very shabby look.

Make your own mind up London but my advice is, if Japanese street wear is your thing then go to the Japan centre, buy a copy of Boon mag or Samurai, find some propper Ura Harrajuku labels and hunt online. The quality will nearly always be excellent as, well, thats what japanese brands do.

It's the smiling on the package

It's the faces in the sand

It's the thought that holds you upwards

Embracing me with two hands

[teejayess]

Grime kids have been wearing Bape for time now. And they were just as surprised to find out Ian Brown has worn it for longer than them

Edited by teejayess on Nov 21, 2005 at 08:05 AM