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Brand: BAPE x Medicom Toy x Hajime Sorayama
Buy: BAPE’s web store and shops from July 31
Editor’s Notes: Hajime Sorayama is reaching the kind of streetwear renown that used to be exclusive to the likes of KAWS and Takashi Murakami. The 74-year-old’s career took a pretty major turn after that show-stopping Dior collaboration: in the past two years, Sorayama has dropped more joint efforts than he did in the past decade. To really cement his new legacy, Sorayama has aligned with BAPE for a selection of graphic gear and collectibles that ought to be very familiar to anyone following his recent output.
Partners like Stella McCartney, Daniel Arsham, and XLARGE have kept Hajime Sorayama’s dance card pretty packed. He’s also basically the in-house artist for Poggy, Medicom Toy, and Nanzuka’s 2G Parco store, dishing out plenty of one-off exclusives for the retailer.
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2G is partially masterminding this joint effort, at least from the Medicom Toy angle. There are three sizes of Be@rbrick figures on hand — 100%, 400%, and 1000% — offered in either shiny gold or silver and finished with robotic linework that incorporates BAPE’s camouflage in a way that also recalls Sorayama’s robotic women. They also sport BAPE branding to reiterate the collaborative nature of the designs, in case the shark faces weren’t obvious enough.
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BAPE delivering the apparel portion of this drop, serving a quartet of thematic items. Far more concise than its recent Coach joint effort, the offering sees some familiar silhouettes graced by unmistakable logos. You’ve got the expected “A BATHING APE” and “HAJIME SORAYAMA” text and more shark faces atop monochrome T-shirts, a grey coaches jacket, and a metallic silver tote.
Probably the most interesting piece of the entire collection is the bespoke BAPESTA that sports a very Sorayama facade. The entire upper is realized in flashy silver atop a pale crepe-toned sole, with a thematic lace shroud laden with “SORAYAMA” text and some futuristic-looking buttons.