BAPE Sta 'ABC Camo Green'

A star where the Swoosh should be

A Bathing Ape was founded in 1993 by Nigo, born Tomoaki Nagao, in Tokyo's Ura-Harajuku district. The name comes from the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, and Nigo has said it refers to 'a bathing ape in lukewarm water,' an ironic jab at the lazy comfort of young Japanese consumers.

The BAPE STA arrived in 2000. Coverage of the shoe has long described it as a nearly one-to-one remake of Nike's Air Force 1, Bruce Kilgore's 1982 basketball shoe, with a shooting-star logo, the 'STA,' in place of the Swoosh. Its appeal was partly that subversion and partly its loud colors. BAPE brought the STA to the U.S. market in 2005.

ABC Camo

BAPE's first camouflage print, known as 1st Camo, appeared in 1996, credited to the designer known as Mankey. A year later the brand released a brighter, almost psychedelic version called ABC Camo, which hides a slightly distorted Ape Head inside the pattern. The Ape Head logo itself was conceived by the artist Sk8thing.

ABC Camo comes in a classic set of three colors: green, blue and pink. The green is the traditional one. Pharrell Williams and Kanye West were among the early public faces of BAPE in the 2000s, and the camo became one of the most recognizable prints in streetwear.

April 2021: going back to the original shape

BAPE redesigned the STA in 2016, then reintroduced the original design in 2021. The ABC Camo pack, released on Saturday, April 24, 2021, was one of the first visible results. Release coverage noted that its shape was closer to the original BAPE STAs than ever before.

Each of the three pairs used white caviar leather for the upper, lining, tongue and midsole, with black text branding and a nearly invisible debossed Ape Head. The only color came from the shooting star and the laces, printed in ABC Camo in green, blue or pink. Men's pairs cost $299 at BAPE's U.S. web store and its stores in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Paris.

The country was still deep in the pandemic that spring. NASA's Perseverance rover had landed on Mars on February 18, and the trial of Derek Chauvin had opened on March 8.

Nike finally objects

Nike had raised concerns about BAPE's sneakers as early as 2009, and Nigo stepped down as chief executive in the years that followed. He sold a 90.27% stake in the company to Hong Kong's I.T Group on February 1, 2011, for HK$21,850,000, and left the brand in 2013.

The 2021 return to the original STA shape changed the calculation. Nike sent a cease-and-desist letter on August 24, 2022, and filed a trademark infringement suit on January 26, 2023, arguing that BAPE had drastically increased the volume and scope of its infringement around 2021. The suit targeted the BAPE STA, BAPE STA Mid, SK8 STA, COURT STA and COURT STA High.

The case settled in late April 2024. BAPE's U.S. company agreed to discontinue the BAPE STA Mid, COURT STA and COURT STA High and to modify the designs of the BAPE STA and SK8 STA. That makes the 2021 pairs, made in the original shape before the settlement, a snapshot of the STA as it stood before Nike forced a change.

Identifying the pair

The green 2021 pair has an all-white caviar leather upper, white midsole, lining and tongue, and green ABC Camo on only two elements: the shooting-star side panel and the laces. Black text branding and a faint debossed Ape Head complete it.

U.S. resellers list it as 'ABC Camo Green (2021)' under code 0ZXSHM191045GGRX. On October 3, 2026, the lowest listing at a U.S. sneaker shop was $343.

The numbers

Release date

April 24, 2021

Retail price

$299 (men's)

Style code

0ZXSHM191045GGRX (reseller listing)

Materials

White caviar leather upper; ABC Camo star panel and laces

Pack

Three colorways: green, blue, pink

Production

Not stated in available sources

Timeline

1. 1993

   Nigo founds A Bathing Ape in Tokyo's Ura-Harajuku.

2. 1996

   BAPE introduces its 1st Camo pattern.

3. 1997

   ABC Camo debuts.

4. 2000

   The BAPE STA is introduced.

5. 2005

   The BAPE STA comes to the U.S. market.

6. 2009

   Nike first raises its objections to BAPE's sneaker designs.

7. Feb 1, 2011

   Hong Kong's I.T Group buys 90.27% of the company.

8. 2013

   Nigo leaves the brand.

9. 2016

   The BAPE STA is redesigned.

10. Apr 24, 2021

    The ABC Camo BAPE STA pack releases in green, blue and pink at $299.

11. Aug 24, 2022

    Nike sends BAPE a cease-and-desist letter.

12. Jan 26, 2023

    Nike sues BAPE for trademark infringement.

13. Apr 2024

    The parties settle; BAPE agrees to modify the BAPE STA.

The world in 2021

• Jan 6, 2021

  A mob storms the U.S. Capitol.

• Jan 20, 2021

  Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president.

• Jan 27, 2021

  GameStop stock surges in a retail-investor frenzy.

• Feb 18, 2021

  NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars.

• Feb 24, 2021

  The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine receives emergency authorization.

• Mar 8, 2021

  The trial of Derek Chauvin begins.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, BAPE Sta 'ABC Camo Green' is number 72 of 100 in the sneakers entries of the FLOAT 100. 22 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (99 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• BAPE's name comes from Planet of the Apes.
• ABC Camo hides a distorted Ape Head inside the pattern.
• Nike first objected to BAPE's sneakers in 2009 but did not sue until January 2023.
• Nigo sold 90.27% of the company in 2011 for HK$21,850,000.
• As part of the 2024 settlement, BAPE agreed to change the design of the BAPE STA itself.