Collaborative streetwear giant, BAPE, has already delivered partnerships with Ghostbusters, Stüssy, Reebok, and Squid Game. For their next collaboration, the Japanese streetwear brand is teaming Justin Saunders’ JJJJound, a creative studio known for their minimal, understated design lens. The release features just three pieces, one of which, the BAPE x JJJJound College Hoodie, is this week’s StockX Pick of the Week.
For those who are unfamiliar with JJJJound, it was originally launched as a digital moodboard nearly two decades ago in 2006. In the beginning, JJJJound served as the home of a curated collection of images that looked at reoccurring themes and patterns in the world of design. Since its founding, what was once a digital mood board has evolved into a collaborative design studio where they’ve worked on projects with brands like New Balance, Reebok, Eddie Bauer, Vans, and more. Their work focuses on the same recurring themes in the world of design that their moodboard did, often calling out to the understated beauty of simplicity.
The BAPE x JJJJound partnership featured just three products, all of which deliver a collaborative spin on some of the Japanese streetwear brand’s most popular pieces. For this collaboration, JJJJound put a subtle touch on BAPE’s popular Bape Sta sneaker and the College Logo T-shirt and Hoodie. Well known for their use of a simple shade of grey, JJJJound delivers all three of these classic BAPE pieces in that colorway. The BAPE x JJJJound College Hoodie reinterprets the classic College Logo in white with the phrase “A Tasteful Ape” replacing “A Bathing Ape”. This white logo has been printed on a grey hoodie and the hoodie, alongside the t-shirt and Bape Stas, will be released by BAPE and JJJJound on February 5th, 2022.
At first, BAPE x JJJJound doesn’t seem like a partnership that makes a ton of sense. As a brand, JJJJound is known for their minimalism, an ethos that stands in relatively stark contrast to the obvious maximalism of BAPE. JJJJound is not one for big logos, setting themselves apart through collaborations that often pare the subject of their partnership down to its most simple form. A traditional JJJJound collaboration celebrates the beauty of simplicity, often drawing attention to aspects of a product’s design that may have been overlooked.
Despite the seemingly obvious differences between the two brands, this collaboration has turned out three pieces that fit into each label’s respective catalogs. BAPE is a collaborative giant, who delivers partnerships with a wide variety of brands. Lately, the direction of their partnerships and some of their other, less collaborative work has shown that they’re serious about maintaining their position as a culture-defining brand in the streetwear world.
Just a few weeks ago, Stüssy and BAPE delivered a small selection of Trucker Caps and by following it up with this JJJJound collaboration, BAPE is showing that they’ve still got their finger on the pulse of the culture. Additionally, it was recently announced that BAPE would be launching their own NFT in the near future, so it appears that the brand is well plugged into what their consumer base is looking for. It’s looking like BAPE could be a brand to keep an eye on this year, so watch out for even more high-powered collaborations from the Japanese powerhouse throughout the rest of 2022.
Shop the BAPE x JJJJound College Hoodie alongside the other two pieces from the collection on StockX below!
