The 13 Greatest Bapesta Collaborations of All Time
From Marvel and DC to KAWS and GOAT, the team-ups that cemented the BAPE silhouette as a global icon.
At the turn of the millennium, A Bathing Ape introduced a silhouette that would dominate sneaker culture. Released in 2000, the Bapesta boasts a remarkable simplicity in its design and construction. Consisting of a few textile panels, minimal branding and a cupsole, the silhouette lends itself to endless variation, creating a brand new shoe with just a few material or color alterations. And in an era where the concept of collaborations was only just beginning, this made the Bapesta particularly appealing, offering a canvas for brands, musicians, artists and other creatives to tell new stories.
With the resurgence of Millennial aesthetics, the shoes of the early ’00s are undergoing a renaissance of their own, so it was only a matter of time before the Bapesta came back around. The sneaker’s return has introduced younger collectors to a streetwear heavyweight, connecting contemporary trends to those that came before. It has also allowed a new generation of brands and creators to reimagine the Bapesta through their respective lenses—including the GOAT-exclusive Bapesta, released in two colorways for Black Friday 2022.
Here, we look back at some of the best Bapesta collaborations of all time to better understand the style’s cultural significance and to set the stage for what’s to come.
A Bathing Ape x Marvel Comics (2005)
A collaboration that seems second nature in the era of blockbuster superhero franchises, BAPE was far ahead of the curve when it teamed up with Marvel on a collaborative Bapesta. This pairing sees the shoe decked out in a handful of colorways, each one paying homage to one of Marvel’s most beloved characters—green/purple for The Incredible Hulk, red/blue for Spiderman, blue/black/yellow for the X-Men’s Cyclops and so on—and finished with an embroidered Marvel Comics logo on the outside heel.
Adding to the appeal, each shoe comes packaged like an action figure, set within an injection-molded jewel plastic shell adhered to a cardboard hanging panel in one of the earliest examples of a sneaker collaboration that goes beyond modifying the shoe itself, using packaging, presentation and cultural reference to create an exceptional collaborative release.
A Bathing Ape x DC Comics (2007)
Equally prescient, DC Comics collaborated with BAPE for the first time in 2007, offering a range of DC superhero-inspired colorways—from Superman and Batman to Wonder Woman and the Flash—of the Bapesta. Like their Marvel counterparts, the DC shoes come packaged in an injection-molded plastic shell, and as a final playful touch, each shoe features an embroidered head of the superhero, rendered in BAPE’s Baby Milo style, on the heel.
A Bathing Ape x SpongeBob (2008)
First launched in 2008, the Bapesta SpongeBob is equal-parts wonderful and whimsical, boasting a full patent-leather upper in the Nickelodeon character’s unmistakeable bright yellow hue and finished with an embroidered detail of SpongeBob’s big eyes, puffed cheeks and buck teeth on the outer heel. Not to be outdone by Marvel and DC, the shoebox’s square shape resembles the titular character.
A Bathing Ape x Ronnie Fieg (2016)
As the founder of revered NYC sneaker boutique KITH, Ronnie Fieg, like BAPE, possesses a unique ability to take a shoe and make it resonate with the mood of the moment. His signature Bapesta is constructed from materials more suited to luxury handbags, such as white tumbled leather and tan-colored premium suede, with the shoe’s usual outsole switched out for the kind of tread you’d expect to see on a luxury Italian sneaker.
The box is covered in tonal white BAPE Cloud Camo for the white leather colorway, and original woodland for the tan suede. Final touches include “Bapesta” logos on the heel and tongue of one shoe, with “FIEG STA” on the other.
A Bathing Ape x KAWS ‘Chomper’ (2006)
Given that KAWS (aka Brian Donnelly) rose to fame around the same time as BAPE, it makes sense the two would eventually cross paths. The inaugural collaboration between the duo is comparatively minimal when placed alongside releases that followed, but Donnelly’s signature aesthetic is present throughout. The 2006 shoe boasts a premium suede upper with wave-like panels along the shoe’s midfoot, as well as an embroidered “X Eyes” motif typical of KAWS’ artwork on the outer heel. In contrast to BAPE’s typical bright, colorful approach, the pair’s first sneaker is muted but remains on theme, reminiscent of the original colors Donnelly used when inserting his Companion character into NYC bus stop and billboard advertisements.
A Bathing Ape x Daft Punk (2005)
Daft Punk’s exclusive Bapesta—limited to just 100 pairs with only half of those sold to the public—features premium black leather uppers with asymmetric contrast stars and other detailing in gold and silver to match the group’s early helmets, along with embroidered Daft Punk logos on the heels. Beyond the limited production, the shoes were only available to members of BAPE’s “BAPE Mania” club, and only shipped domestically within Japan. Looking for them today? Expect a single pair to pop up once every few years and then vanish as quickly as it appeared.
A Bathing Ape x N.E.R.D. (2006)
There’s a strong argument to be made that A Bathing Ape would not carry the status it does today without Pharrell Williams. No other artist has done more to raise BAPE’s profile in the West, turning it into a cultural phenomenon among musicians and their fan bases. Indeed, Pharrell donning a pair of Bapestas in the 2003 video for “Frontin’’ is commonly cited as the first in a series of dominos that would make BAPE the brand of choice for those in the know.
Released in 2006, the N.E.R.D. x Bapesta takes on the band’s Fly or Die, assuming a colorful palette of red, brown and pink, rounded off with an embroidered Brain logo on the outer heel. With everything that’s happened for BAPE, Pharrell and street culture writ large since the shoe’s release, it’s unsurprising that it’s now seen as a collector’s shoe.
A Bathing Ape x Hajime Sorayama (2021)
Commonly heralded as a pioneer of science-fiction art and illustration, Hajime Sorayama is best known for his illustrations of anthropomorphized feminine robots inspired by mid-20th century American pin-up girls. Rendering human physiology in glossy chrome metals, his work blurs the line between human and machine, heavily influencing depictions of the future in sci-fi products that followed.
In 2021, A Bathing Ape announced the release of a capsule collection featuring Sorayama’s artwork, and capped it off with a limited edition Bapesta that perfectly captures the artist’s style. True to Sorayama’s most famous pieces, the shoe is constructed entirely from metallic patent leather, placed on top of a translucent sole. In keeping with the glossy, seamless figures of Sorayama’s art, the shoe’s lacing system is covered with a leather panel, with laser-etched details of BAPE’s Cloud Camo motif across the shoe, as well as Sorayama’s futuristic logo on the heel.
A Bathing Ape x JJJJound (2022)
Founded in 2006, JJJJound is the brainchild of Justin Saunders, who has used his “digital moodboard” to document and celebrate contemporary design and cultural ephemera in its most iconic forms. Saunders has done a number of sneaker collaborations over the years, almost always piping for understated palettes of washed-out browns, greens, greys and whites. No different for JJJJound’s Bapesta, which features a clean, off-white upper with contrast muted grey accents assembled in a smooth pebbled leather and finished with rope for a vintage feel.
A Bathing Ape x United States Postal Service (2022)
In one of the more unpredictable collaborations to come out of the BAPE camp in recent years, the Japanese brand teamed up with USPS, the unsung heroes of sneaker culture who dutifully deliver sneakers to collectors day in, day out. The USPS x Bapesta pays tribute to one of the marvels of American infrastructure by decking the shoe out in the service’s signature red, white and blue colors, while under panels are decorated with graphics lifted from the company’s official packaging and envelopes. As a finishing touch, USPS’ eagle badge insignia, commonly used on their uniforms and other ephemera, makes an appearance as an embroidered patch on the left heel.
A Bathing Ape x UNKLE (2003)
Most people know about Pharrell when it comes to the sudden ascendance of BAPE, but James Lavelle, the British music producer and founder of Mo’Wax Records, was equally pivotal in legitimizing the Japanese brand’s ability to move fluidly between scenes. Hence why one of the first Bapesta collaborations was with Lavelle’s music group, UNKLE.
Released in several colorways, each limited to just 100 pairs, the shoes boast a number of unique features, including unorthodox material choices such as matte leather and patent snakeskin. The shoe’s interior sides are completely stripped away, leaving an open canvas for illustrations by fellow BAPE associate and frequent Lavelle collaborator, FUTURA 2000, whose artwork is immaculately embroidered onto the shoe. Other touches include an embroidered UNKLE logo on the outside heel, as well as “X of 100” numbering on the heel stripe.
GOAT-Exclusive Bapesta (2022)
Releasing for Black Friday 2022, the GOAT-exclusive Bapesta sticks to an elevated format, using an ultra-premium pebbled leather across the upper, countered with a glossy, metallic patent leather for the shoe’s iconic star mark. The highly limited sneaker is offered in two classic colorways: all-white, and black with a white midsole, and comes finished with a metal Ape Head lace lock and leather lining. The collaboration serves as a tribute to a 21st-century sneaker icon, presented in two of the most versatile and timeless colorways ever produced.
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