We’re Already In The Future With BAPE X Hajime Sorayama 

Hajime Sorayama has now achieved the kind of status in streetwear that used to be reserved to the likes of KAWS and Takashi Murakami. The career of the 74-year-old took a pretty major turn after the extraordinary, mind-blowing Dior collaboration. In the past two years, Sorayama has been able to deliver more joint efforts than he did in the past decade. To really set his new legacy in stone, Sorayama has now joined BAPE for a selection of graphic gear and collectibles that ought to be very familiar to anyone following his recent efforts.

Collaborations with the likes of 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, producing several one-off exclusives for the retailer.

Part of the credit goes to 2G for this masterminded joint effort, at least in the aspect of the Medicom Toy. There are three sizes of Be@rbrick figures on hand — 100%, 400%, and 1000% — offered in the shade of either shiny gold or silver, and finished with robotic line work that encompasses BAPE’s camouflage while giving a nod to 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.

The apparel portion of this drop is delivered by BAPE, offering 4 thematic items. With far more concise features than its recent Coach collaboration, the partnership sees some familiar silhouettes donned in the signature logos. You’ve got the expected “A BATHING APE” and “HAJIME SORAYAMA” text and more shark faces on monochrome T-shirts, a grey coaches jacket, and a metallic silver tote.

Arguably, the most captivating piece of the entire collection is none other than the BAPE STA, which sports a very Sorayama facade. The entire upper is dressed in flashy silver, atop a pale crepe-toned sole, with a thematic lace shroud embedded with “SORAYAMA” text and some buttons that have a futuristic look, in an effort to maintain the ‘future’ aesthetic.

The entire collaborative capsule will be available from the 31st of July on BAPE’s webstore and select retailers.

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