Bape was founded by Nigo, real name Tomoaki Nagao, in 1993 by in the Ura-Harajuku district of Shibuya, Tokyo. At that point, Nigo was already a fixture in the Japanese streetwear scene. Earlier in the decade he came together with Jun Takahashi to start the label Undercover, and the duo owned the shop Nowhere. It's a bit of a labyrinth, tracing Bape's lineage.