KidSuper and Bape Are Dropping Six Sneakers for Their Massive (and Poetic) Collaboration

KidSuper and Bape are set to release their debut collaboration, bringing together the seminal Japanese streetwear brand and its American counterpart that it played a large role in inspiring.

Six sneakers will release as part of the massive KidSuper x Bape collection, including three special-edition colorways of the Bape-Sta and another three with their heels chopped off to transform into mules.

Uniting four variants is an amalgamation of Bape’s famous Cloud Camo with KidSuper’s penchant for abstract, painted faces. The remixed pattern appears in multi-color for a matching Bape-Sta and Bape-Sta Mule, as well as in pink and a more traditional camo palette for two additional mules.

The remaining Bape-Sta sneakers then opt for solid colors on patent leather with one variant in tonal brown and another in pastels including green, blue and pink. A leather eye overlay is added to the vamp on each, and all six sneakers are united by an eye inserted into Bape’s star logo.

Each of the sneakers will come in action figure-like bubble packaging with unique artwork in the style of a comic book.

Colm Dillane, founder of KidSuper, cut his teeth growing up in New York City by making T-shirts out of Bape bags and even screen-printing tees on the spot during line-ups outside of the city’s Bape store.

“Not only is the shoe just amazing, but the story behind its creation is amazing,” Dilllane told Footwear News in a January interview after debuting the collection at Paris Fashion Week. “We’re using this vintage indigo fabric from a Tokyo market then brought it to the shoe factory to create this beautiful sneaker. The finished product just feels like a collectible item. I think it’s one of those shoe drops when streetwear was at its height and everybody was lining up for sneakers. This takes me back to that time.”

The rest of the collection includes hoodies, track jackets, windbreakers, T-shirts, sweatpants, and a wide range of accessories such as colored pencils and ear plugs.

Kai Cenat, another product of New York City, stars in the collection’s campaign along with his buddy Ray.

The KidSuper x Bape Sta sneakers, as well as the rest of the collection, will release Saturday, April 12, through the websies of both parties, as well as select Bape stores and KidSuper’s Brooklyn outpost. Pricing for the collection ranges from $150 to $600, with the Bape-Sta typically priced at $309.