EXCLUSIVE: KidSuper’s Colm Dillane Gives First Look at New Bape Collab Sneakers, Clogs
The scene was chaotic at KidSuper’s temporary space in Paris just a few nights before designer Colm Dillane’s fall/winter 2025 show.
Dillane, who took a quick break in between recording a song for his upcoming Saturday night show, styling looks and shooting product shots, spent 15 minutes with FN earlier this week to give a first look preview of his upcoming collaboration with Bape.
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“It’s a fun, but chaotic time right now,” Dillane said with a laugh. “But in all honesty, it’s pretty cool for me to finally get to work on a Bape collab. “When I was 12 or 13, I used to try to sell KidSuper shirts to the people waiting in line outside of the Bape store in New York. Then, I bootlegged Bape, and then I sent a bunch of DMs to the marketing guy for years. So now to have a full Bape collab is pretty amazing.”
As for the footwear range, the star of the show is a Bape Sta sneaker done in a special Japanese fabric. Called the Super Sashiko Bape Sta, Dillane dubbed the style the “shoe of the year.”
“Not only is the shoe just amazing, but the story behind its creation is amazing,” Dilllane said. “We’re using this vintage indigo fabric from a Tokyo market then brought it to the shoe factory to create this beautiful sneaker. The finished product just feels like a collectible item. I think it’s one of those shoe drops when streetwear was at its height and everybody was lining up for sneakers. This takes me back to that time.”
Along with this sneaker, there is also a patent leather brown Bape Sta and another in a mint green colorway. There are all three sneaker-clog hybrids with a KidSuper face print mashed up with signature Bape motifs. Throughout the range, Dillane also added an eye to the shoe’s signature star on the side.
“It is pretty cool because I have my own face print, and it’s definitely based off and inspired by the Bape original print,” Dillane added. “It was cool to mesh those two ideas together for this project.”
Mahmoud El Salahy, chief executive officer of Bape, is just as excited for this new tie-up.
“One of the major things we really like about the co-creation process with Colm and KidSuper is the fact that he is a personification of our DNA – fearless expression,” the CEO told FN exclusively. “And we could clearly see that this has been accomplished through this particular product by taking our iconic Bape Sta and reimagining it through his own creative lens. It is actually the 25th anniversary of the Bape Sta this year, so we’re excited to have this as a key product in this co-creation.”
El Salahy also revealed that the shoes will be released with a bespoke “Super” cartoon featuring KidSuper and Bape icon Baby Milo, drawing cues from the toy-inspired packaging in the Japanese brand’s archive and is redesigned with manga-inspired cartoons of KidSuper and Baby Milo.
The full KidSuper fall/winter 2025 collection, including his brand new Bape collaboration, will be unveiled in Paris on Saturday.
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