日本潮流品牌 A Bathing Ape 創辦人 NIGO 幾年前傳出要將 A Bathing Ape 所有權出售給香港 I.T Limited 集團時，無疑為潮流界投下了一顆震撼彈，因為一切都來的如此突然；不過在此之後 NIGO 仍然隱居幕後與 I.T Limited 簽立合約擔任其品牌創意總監一職。然而日前 NIGO 卻又在個人 Instagram 上發佈了一則令人震驚的消息，那就是他已經正式宣佈其 A Bathing Ape 創意總監職務已於 2013.4.30 結束，其原文聲明如下：
“As of 30 April 2013 the term of my contract with I.T Limited (the new owners of A Bathing Ape since January 2011) as Creative Director has concluded. This brings to a close my 20 years of work creating and designing A Bathing Ape. From now on I will continue to work as a freelance creator in many different fields. I thank you in anticipation of your continued support. BAPE GENERAL NIGO® (1993-2013) painting by ©KAWS”
而聲明中所搭配的圖片則是藝術家好友 KAWS 為他所創作的畫作，KAWS Kimpsons 在畫中看似準備將手中的 NIGO 公仔埋進土中，象徵 NIGO 與 A Bathing Ape 的合作終止。這也不禁令人納悶究竟完全沒有 NIGO 介入的 A Bathing Ape 在日後會呈現怎麼樣的風貌？
