It’s undeniable that A BATHING APE®︎ contributed a great deal to Tokyo‘s popularity as a shopping destination since its inception in the early 1990s. Its distinct Japanese-flavoured streetwear style by founder Tomoaki Nagao a.k.a. Nigo resonated well a young demographic across the planet, and a string of design-led stores opened in the Japanese capital’s leading shopping areas, a large number of cities across the Land of the Rising Sun, and eventually, also across the Far East, Europe and the United States. Following a lengthy period of foreign ownership, A BATHING APE®︎ once again became an independent company in 2021, but also gained a major investor, laying the foundation for future growth and a renewed expansion of its retail network. It’s at home base Tokyo, where for the first time in many years, A BATHING APE®︎ has opened a new retail space.
It’s a concept store called BAPE®︎ THINK, and it’s situated on the bustling Meiji dori shopping artery in Harajuku where it occupies a modern steel and glass building with large windows. The concept store specifically focuses on the brand’s exclusive BAPE®︎ collections, such as the Mr. BATHING APE®︎ line, and limited edition items. The interior design, created in-house, sees warm and inviting settings with understated furnishings crafted from timber and iron, colourful carpets, and timber ceilings. Mind you, the brand’s well-known Ape Head logo and camouflage motif is featured on the carpets and furnishings. Striking metal staircases, part of the building, are embedded in the design. Anticipating high-profile shoppers, the top floor of BAPE®︎ THINK has been designated as a cozy V.I.P. lounge and comes with a homey setting where they can literally sit back and relax while shopping. © superfuture
BAPE®︎ THINK
3-25-13 Shibuya (Harajuku)
Tokyo 150-0001
Telephone +81 3 62715155
Daily 11am-8pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
