The 25 Best Bape Items of All Time

Writing this list was far more difficult than I thought it would be. What does “best” really mean, anyway? There are a lot of angles you could take on that. Being the co-owner of 3peat, a business whose existence is essentially based off of the success of Bape, makes for a unique perspective.

In the end, I decided that the pieces that needed to make the cut were the ones that were the best and/or most important for Bape itself. This list does not reflect my personal favorites. It doesn’t only consist of the most coveted Bape items. These aren’t just Bape founder Nigo’s crazy one-off pieces; every single product here was available to consumers. Instead, these are products that I feel impacted the culture in the most significant ways or went beyond what had previously been accomplished by a streetwear brand. We may be living in the “collaboration generation” right now, but Bape, under Nigo, pioneered and set the bar for what seems like commonplace for brands today.

In no particular order, here are the 25 best Bape items of all time. Let the debates begin.

Release Date: 2001

Nigo really changed what was possible for brands in terms of collaboration with this project. Nearly all the Pepsi cans in Japan were clad in Bape ABC camo. They even came out with full camo Pepsi tour buses, full camo vending machines, and a ton of other dope promotional goods. This collab was huge.

Buy It Now at Grailed, $200

Release Date: 2004

The original Shark Hoodie was so next level, and unlike anything anyone had ever seen. In fact, after this came out, everyone else in the game started dropping full zip hoodies with some crazy shit on the hood. It got way out of hand. Still, no one had the level of quality that Bape had.

Part of the appeal of the Shark hoodie was how limited it was. Even though the demand for them was through the roof, Nigo kept the drops few and far between. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. Hong Kong’s I.T, Bape’s current owner, throws a shark face on everything.

Release Date: 2004

In my opinion, this is the holy grail of Bape trucker hats. That red camo with the N*E*R*D logo, and little brain printed on the top button is such an ill placement. I saw a used one of these sell for $1,200 the other day.

Buy It Now at Grailed, $630

Release Date: Fall/Winter 2006-2007

The College Dropout bear on the heel really makes this sneaker special, and this was the first shoe Kanye designed that you could buy in-stores. It’s crazy to think about him designing these, and seeing what he’s accomplished in footwear today. We’ve had several pairs of these in the shop over the years, and they sell for crazy prices.

Buy It Now at Grailed, $3,150

Release Date: 1993

Back in 1993, Nigo, along with Undercover’s Jun Takahashi, opened a shop called Nowhere in Harajuku and sold a few simple tees. Bape’s foundation has since been the screen printed tee, and it continues to be a staple in the brand’s seasonal offerings.

Release Date: Spring/Summer 2006

The Roadsta looked like a Nike Air Max with an Air Bubble on the back (the brand’s first shoe to show an Air Bubble). P’s came in three funky, metallic colors, and featured his head, modeled after Bape’s Milo character, on the heel. Later, Pharrell wound up joining forces with Bape to create the next phenomenon: Billionaire Boys Club/Ice Cream.

Buy It Now at Grailed, $400

Release Date: Fall/Winter 1996-1997

The photo of Biggie wearing this jacket alone makes this so ill. But the piece is actually also high-quality, super technical, and well made. Plus, the “A Bathing Ape” embroidery on the zipper flap is a nice detail—one that Bape has used on other outerwear since. These were really expensive when the brand first dropped them, especially the Gore-Tex joint, so you know you were doing something right if you had one. Bape still makes variations of this jacket today.

Buy It Now at 3peat, $750

Release Date: 2002

The very first Bapesta was all white, but once they dropped the patent leather joints in crazy colorways it changed everything. I don’t actually know what the first patent leather colorway was, but it was the beginning of a revolution in the sneaker game. It completely changed the design direction of Nike footwear and others. Nike was pissed that the Bapesta was an Air Force 1 rip off, but they couldn’t deny that Nigo struck a chord with consumers in a big way. Shortly thereafter, Nike launched a huge AF1 program, and were putting out all kinds of crazy colorways and materials. Nigo really was able to see what people wanted even before they knew it.

Release Date: Fall/Winter 2005-2006

These had the illest footwear packaging ever. It was so dope that you didn’t want to wear the shoes. It was like, you had to hang them on the wall or put them in a display case. Bape later followed this up with DC Comics Bapestas.

Buy It Now at Grailed, $505

Release Date: Fall/Winter 2002-2003

This one’s a little personal being that I’m from L.A. and I wear Chucks almost everyday. Although Nigo later wound up designing his own version of Chucks, which he named the Apesta, this was an official collaboration with Converse and, I think, the brand’s first sneaker collab. I went to Tokyo in 2005, and bought the grey camo low tops from Foot Soldier. I still wear them to this day—yellow rubber and all.

Release Date: Fall/Winter 2005-2006

The hoodie has this crazy, thick Kaws Chomper print running all the way along the zipper from the bottom hem to the top of the hood with an “X” on each chest. That piece is so bold, and it screamed Kaws. I’ve never seen a print like that before—even to this day.

Buy It Now at 3peat, $417

Release Date: 2008

Bape worked with Rimowa on their classic metal roller in gold and silver, and added a matte ABC Camo print all over it. Other brands dropped backpacks or duffles, but this was an official collab with a high-end luggage company. Back in the day, we had a gold one of these at the shop, and it was truly a thing of beauty. Once again, Nigo was raising the bar.

Release Date: 2000

Not much needs to be said about this one. Supreme made a box logo tee with different camo prints filling the box logo. This has to be one of the most sought after Bape T-shirts ever.

Buy It Now at Grailed, $4,500

Release Date: 2012

This was such a flex, not just for whoever owned one but for Bape itself. It was a coffee table in the shape of Bape’s iconic Apehead with mid-century modern legs—and it was designed by a clothing brand. Originally, you only saw them online or in Japanese magazines, but over the years a small number have made their way to the U.S. I remember the first one we got at 3peat. To me, it was a measure of achievement. I was super bummed when we sold it later, but luckily we’ve had several since. It has become a staple in our showroom.

Release Date: 2004

The rare multi camo terry cloth robe is so dope. We’ve had a few of these over the years, and each one went to someone exceptional. The most notable was Wiz Khalifa, who wore it on The Breakfast Club. They were lowkey clowning him for it ‘cause they were clueless. He was also wearing it in a bunch of pictures, but Amber Rose was later seen with it after their breakup. 21 Savage needs to go to her closet, and find that shit.

Release Date: 2003-2004

Everything “Color Camo” is due to these hoodies. Before we ever saw a “shark” anything from Bape, this was the most hyped piece. You were the shit if you had one.

Release Date: Fall/Winter 2005-2006

When this dropped, varsity jackets were lowkey poppin’ and this one was incredible. It had leather sleeves, an all black wool body, and was embroidered with a huge Chomper pattern with the big Xs. Jay Z wore it on stage at Power 105.1’s annual Powerhouse in 2005 when he and Nas squashed their beef. That picture of him in the A Bathing Ape book published by Rizzoli is a classic.

Buy It Now at Grailed, $2,500

Release Date: 2005

This made the list for two reasons: Bape did an official collaboration with the most gangster movie ever, and the packaging was next level. No one in streetwear was doing anything close to that, with that level of quality. The tee came in a clear plastic champagne bottle that you opened by unscrewing the bottom. It also came inside a nice box, the way expensive champagne would, but it had the same graphics as the Bapesta shoe box. As if that wasn’t enough, the brand did a Godfather T-shirt after.

Release Date: 1998

Bape really was a pioneer. After the Bape x Casio G-Shock watch was released, every other brand had or wanted to work with the watch company.

Release Date: 2012

In 2012, Bape released a fully refurbished vintage Polaroid SX70 camera with tonal embossed camo leather trim. Matching the camera, Bape also produced a premium leather pouch in the same design and custom film. The film was so ill because it had Bape head stickers on the packaging, as well as Bape ABC camo, or a big Apehead on the film. This was just another example of Nigo redefining what a streetwear or clothing brand could make.

Release Date: 1997 and 2004

Bape was a master when it came to packaging. These T-shirts came in spray paint can containers that you opened by unscrewing the bottom. They looked so realistic. The brand first released the tee during a joint show between Futura and Stash at Bape’s Tokyo store in 1997.

Buy It Now at Grailed, $181

Release Date: Spring/Summer 2006

Kaws slaughtered his Companion characters, a greyscale clown-like figure based on Mickey Mouse with his face obscured by both hands, and Bape’s Baby Milo figure, and scattered their remains throughout the piece. This hoodie was a fan favorite at the height of the all over print era in the mid-2000s.

Buy It Now at Grailed, $607

Release Date: Spring/Summer 2005

Bape collaborated with Kaws for a special trucker hat that featured Kaws’ Bendy character on its classic 1st camo pattern. The trucker was dope enough on its own, but the two big Kaws Xs on the front panel are the icing on the cake. Plus, the OG Bape trucker hats are the best ever. This one sells out instantly anytime we have one in-store.

Release Date: 2012

This sofa, which you could find as decoration at Bape’s stores, damn near put 3peat on the map. We got our hands on one from Japan, and spent a small fortune shipping it here, but it really took our private showroom concept to a new level. It’s common now for a brand to design a Modernica chair or something along those lines, but it’s unheard of for a streetwear brand to do a full camo sofa. Sadly, I recently sold ours because someone made an offer I couldn’t pass on.

Release Date: Fall/Winter 2005-2006

In 2004, Pharrell wore this hoodie in the “Drop It Like It’s Hot” music video. The whole video was in black and white, but I remember flipping out when I actually saw the color of the sweater. Bape dropped them in pastel colors, used a new camo pattern, and even printed the camo on the inside of the hood. That hoodie was so hard.

Release Date: Spring/Summer 2000

This is single handedly one of the most mind blowing pieces A Bathing Ape has released. In 2000, BAPE teamed up with Takahiro Miyashita three years after he founded his cult Japanese label Number (N)ine. This patched racing jacket blended BAPE’s logo-manic aesthetics with Miyashita’s rock and roll sensibilities.—Lei Takanashi

Release Date: 2004

Autograf is an excellent graffiti book by Peter Sutherland. It’s filled with nearly 100 portraits of New York City’s most iconic graffiti writers—ranging from NATO to Futura. In 2004, A Bathing Ape produced a limited run of T-shirts for the book’s release party at BAPE’s gallery in Aoyama, Tokyo. Although the T-shirt featuring Autograf’s tag on the book’s cover is extremely rare, another T-shirt featuring KAWS’ portrait from the book is far more coveted. —Lei Takanashi

Release Date: 2002

Everyone knows that photo of Biggie. The one where he’s rocking a pair of Versace shades while wearing a big ass BAPE Snowboard jacket in the ‘90s. Biggie was always light years ahead of the game when it came down to style. The photo, which was shot by the legendary hip-hop photographer Shawn Morteson, was printed on a limited run of BAPE T-shirts in 2002 for an exhibition that Morteson held at the BAPE gallery. —Lei Takanashi

Release Date: 2002

This is easily one of the rarest BAPE promo T-shirts ever made. To celebrate the release of Jay-Z's The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, BAPE released three different T-shirts featuring their signature camo with Hov’s album font. These were only released in Japan in extremely limited quantities. A set of all three T-shirts sits comfortably on Grailed for the asking price of $5,000. —Lei Takanashi

Release Date: 2008

This T-shirt commemorates one of the most iconic moments in BAPE’s history. In 2005, NIGO formed BAPE’s in-house Japanese rap group, The Teriyaki Boyz. Ryo-Z, Wise, Illmari, and Verbal became some of the first Asian rappers to crossover into American culture, cutting tracks with the likes of Pharrell, Big Sean, and Busta Rhymes. The group’s most famous song is undeniably “I Still Love H.E.R.” which features the one and only Kanye West. This T-shirt commemorates that historic crossover. Following Teriyaki Boyz, Verbal went on to launch AMBUSH with Yoon. Read our full interview with Verbal here.—Lei Takanashi