• Turn Back Thursday: Kanye Wearing Bape

Not only has Kanye West worked alongside many great music talents, but he’s also made quite a few valuable friendships in the fashion industry. We’ve all seen the photos of Kanye with the likes of Marc Jacobs and Karl Lagerfeld, who I’m sure have been a big influence in his journey to develop his own fashion label, Pastelle (Past Tell). However, one friendship that truly sticks out from the rest is his relationship with A Bathing Ape, commonly referred to as Bape, founder Nigo. Bape, and really the entire Japanese street culture, has definitely become a pioneer for many U.S. street wear trends that have emerged the past several years. Here is Kanye, with Nigo,  in the Bape Spring/Summer 2007 catalog wearing a black Bape crewneck sweater, with their infamous “Ape Shall Never Kill Ape” motto on the front.