Update, October 16: BAPE has now confirmed the drop on its own BAPE STA 25th anniversary page: after the ComplexCon booth exclusives on October 3 and 4, a wider release with tees, additional BAPE STA styles and a matching hoodie goes in-store and online starting Saturday, October 17. For context, the booth-only "Past, Present, Future" trio (a cracked-silver STA, a black STA OS and a silver STA SHARK) went for $355 a pair, with a $449 shark zip-up hoodie. BAPE still hasn't posted pricing or a launch time for the October 17 wave, so treat those booth numbers as a ballpark, not a promise.
Translation: if you didn't fly to Los Angeles for a convention badge, this is the version of the birthday party you actually get invited to. Have us.bape.com open early Saturday, and if a North American BAPE STORE is near you, that's still the most reliable way to see the crackle finish in person before you commit.
A BATHING APE is throwing the BAPE STA a 25th birthday, and like any proper streetwear birthday, the guests show up mostly in black, a little shiny, and with teeth. Per House of Heat, the BAPE STA 25th Anniversary Collection brings three commemorative pairs of the star-stamped court shoe plus six apparel pieces, and it lands Saturday, October 17 at North American BAPE STORE locations and on us.bape.com.
The sneaker trio splits two mostly-black pairs against one mostly-white pair. Across the range you get shark teeth, patent leather and distressed finishes, and two of the three let the STA logo spill down onto the midsole. BAPE's own campaign zooms in on a black pair with a crackle-finish upper, a cracked silver star and an aged cream sole. It looks like it already survived the first 25 years on its own.
The apparel keeps the theme literal: graphic tees and hoodies that nod to the anniversary with either BABY MILO or the BAPE STA itself, including a black hoodie with a full grid of classic STA colorways printed across the back. It's basically a wearable museum wall, and a gentle reminder of every STA you talked yourself out of in 2005.
Our take: BAPE has been celebrating this milestone all year, with patent-leather STA throwbacks over the summer and ComplexCon exclusives earlier this month, so this capsule wins or loses on finish. The crackled black pair is the one to chase. The white pair is for people who keep a toothbrush just for midsoles. Pricing still isn't listed, so check us.bape.com on launch day.
The details: A BATHING APE BAPE STA 25th Anniversary Collection, three BAPE STA pairs plus six tees and hoodies, out Saturday, October 17, 2026 in-store at North American BAPE STORE locations and online at us.bape.com (confirmed by BAPE). Price and launch time not yet listed.
At ONENESS: The anniversary pairs aren't in the ONENESS catalog. Shop A Bathing Ape at ONENESS for the BAPE STAs and apparel we're carrying now.
Official photos by A BATHING APE, via House of Heat.
Source: House of Heat; A BATHING APE; photos via A BATHING APE.
