It’s not everyday that we see two larger than life apparel brands come together for a collaboration. Last year, it only happened a few times like in the case of Supreme x KAWS or Gucci x Balenciaga. Already in 2022 though, we’re seeing that big-name brands seem more inclined to work together than before. Earlier this year, KAWS and The North Face announced and soft-released a partnership and this week it was announced that Stüssy and BAPE would be coming together for a small capsule collection. Limited to just four pieces, Stüssy and BAPE have elected to use their collaborative energy on a trucker cap. This BAPE x Stüssy Trucker Cap, featuring colored 1st Camo and an embroidered Stüssy logo, is this Week’s StockX Pick of the Week.
The featuring of Stüssy and BAPE’s names together in a collaborative fashion caught the attention of fans of both brands when it was originally announced. Some of those fans, the ones who were hoping for a full collection, or at least a t-shirt or two, may have been disappointed by what the collection is actually delivering. In what some have called a lackluster offering, Stüssy and BAPE are keeping their collaboration short and sweet, offering just one apparel item, a simple logo embroidered trucker hat in four colors. But it’s good enough to be our pick of the week.
The co-branded caps combine the most instantly recognizable aspects of each of the brand’s logos, delivering a white embroidered Stüssy Stock Logo on a background of BAPE’s classic 1st Camo. The tan colorway of the BAPE x Stüssy Trucker Cap is likely to be the most popular. It offers the brand’s classic colorway and trucker cap’s tan mesh backing contrasts playfully with the hits of green in the 1st Camo on the front of the cap.
For Stüssy, this small, concentrated collaborative release plays well into the larger picture of what the brand has been doing for the last few years. Since Stüssy’s re-emergence as a relevant player in the streetwear space, they have seldom released large collaborative collections. Aside from Nike and Our Legacy, Stüssy has made the small, specific collaboration their forte. Over the last few years, they’ve released smaller capsules with brands like Cactus Plant Flea Market, Denim Tears, Birkenstock, Comme des Garçons, Union, No Vacancy Inn, and more. In that same vein, it’s Stüssy’s understated cut and sew pieces and the lookbooks they’re featured in that are growing more and more popular.
While it may not deliver the instant gratification of a larger collaboration, the smaller and more straight-to-the-point collaboration seems to be working for Stüssy. A small collection can be disappointing in its lack of spectacle but if it’s done right, the quality over quantity approach is unlikely to flop. This is certainly the case with the Stüssy x BAPE Trucker Hat, which will find itself welcomed with open arms by most fans. And without an additional 10 to 20 pieces that may or may not sell out (or worse, be labeled as a cheugy attempt at clout chasing), it’ll be hard for the fans who didn’t like this partnership to walk away with any angst. After all, it is just four hats.
BAPE fans will likely be excited by this collaboration, but there is the chance that it’ll go by the wayside as just another brick in the wall. Already this year, BAPE has collaborated with Reebok and Tommy Hilfiger and within 48 hours of their Stüssy collaboration, they’ll be releasing two more collaborations with Woolrich and hit Netflix TV show, Squid Game. Surprisingly, the Stüssy collaboration feels like it makes the most sense, and as far as sales on StockX go, it’s likely to outperform the others as well.
Buy and Sell all four colorways of the BAPE x Stüssy Trucker Cap on StockX below.
