New Patent Leather BAPE STAs Rewind Time to 2005
Regardless of what sneakerheads think of the , it’s undeniable that Nigo’s well-known homage to the was incredibly influential in the mid-2000s. Over 20 years since the model debuted, this incoming drop from certainly harks back to those halcyon days of candy-coloured patent leather sneakers.
The BAPE STA is credited as being one of the models to pioneer the use of patent leather in the limited edition sneaker realm, a move that forced Nike to quickly follow with the AF-1. BAPE were not afraid to push the envelope in the colourway game either, with palatable ‘Cotton Candy’ makeups from circa 2005 soon giving way to palettes that could have been picked with a blindfold. In 2021, BAPE err on the side of sensibility with these clean two-toned editions, which reprise the shiny patent leather uppers and combine clean combos of white and black, blue, green, and orange. The second revision to the BAPE STA silhouette and BAPE head heel embroidery, among a host of other cues, really make this feel like it’s still 2005.
According to BAPE, these new patent BAPE STAs are due to arrive at global retailers from the end of August. So, keep an eye out – though it’ll be hard to miss these glossy kicks!