A Bathing Ape was founded by Tomoaki Nagao aka Nigo.
It originated out of the Harajuku area of Shibuya in Tokyo and is one of the very first Japanese street wear brands to start in the early 1990s, also a pioneer.

BAPE has style influences from the movie Planet of the Apes. The name however is a term used in Japan to describe spoiled people. It has been said that Nigo feels the Japanese youth of today are spoiled and that is how he decided on the name of the brand.