Amid the reliably active cycle of NBA All-Star news, Celtics star Jaylen Brown teamed up with Bape for his Sunday night apparel. Arriving to the arena clad in a varsity jacket bearing co-branded Bape & 7UICE iconography, Brown made some serious waves in the footwear space as well by unveiling a chromed-out, 1-of-1 pair of Bapesta’s alongside it.
While since its 2022 inception, Brown’s 7uice brand hasn’t shied away from a collab, stepping into the arena with BAPE is no doubt a pretty significant step up in terms of recognizability. For our purposes, the all-metallic, futuristic Sta of courser takes precedence. Largely dormant in 2023, the model is getting a serious push in the early goings of this year, debuting in a 3-piece patent leather pack and with sized up Shooting Stars logos. Here, Jaylen’s shoe is the OG silhouette, but it’s entirely dressed in a reflective silver leather that’s decidedly forward-thinking.
As with many a letterman jacket released in recent memory, the other piece featured is filled with logos. On the front, 07 and 93 take up either side, celebrating both Brown’s jersey number and the year the Japanese imprint was founded. Towards the bottom on the rear side, “A Bathing Ape” appears in grafitti script, a minor detail compared to the co-branded BAPE ape with the 7uice logo overlaid.
Though this is the first official move between Bape & Jaylen Brown, it does follow the Japanese brand’s footwear making appearances on Brown’s tunnel fits several times over the past few years. While for now, these pieces are limited to just Jaylen’s collection, with the momentum behind the A Bathing Ape Bape Sta and the rising profile of 7uice, it’s entirely possible this is a teaser for something bigger to come. Either way, you can find a full official gallery of the jacket & sneakers below.
As always, All-Star weekend was chock-full of brand announcements and sneaker debuts- including the very first look at the adidas Dame 9.