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BAPE KICKS

"It's a high-grade bootleg," says Jason Keating, 26, co-owner o
f the Afficial sneaker store off South Street. He's talking about
the A Bathing Ape sneakers lined up heel-to-toe in the window.

The "Bape kicks," only recently available in the U.S., are mostly
Nike Air Force 1 reproductions with a shooting star replacing the
iconic swoosh. They're made in brighter colors than the originals,
with flashy patent and snakeskin leathers.

Afficial, which Keating's partner Matt Derago, 28, opened in
October, is the only store in Philadelphia where you'll find
authentic Bape sneakers. They start at $250. If you seem them
anywhere else, they're probably fakes.

"This is basically a bootleg of a bootleg," Keating says, holding
up a sample counterfeit as he pulls out the insole to expose a
cardboard insert underneath.

Welcome to the supply-and-demand-fueled world of sneaker obsession, where each new limited-edition "pack"-three or more styles united by a general theme-is highly anticipated and its inaccessibility revered.

The Tokyo-based Bathing Ape line is the creation of 34-year-old streetwear style maven and international hipoisie member Nigo, who launched his clothing line in 1993. The label capitalizes on the exclusivity of limited-edition items. At the underground outlets where it was originally sold, customers could buy only one piece from a given product line, and only in their own size.

The Bathing Ape name comes from the Japanese expression Nuruma-yu-ni-tsukaru, which means "to bathe in lukewarm water." It refers to a youth culture in Tokyo that, according to Nigo, is comfortable but shallow, devoid of street-savvy independence and originality. In 2004 fellow "it" boy Pharrell teamed up with Nigo to launch his Billionaire Boys Club clothing line and Ice Cream sneakers-also available at Afficial.

The store's minimalist design lends a gallery-level integrity to the few dozen sneakers on display-all of them rare or limited editions. The collection includes New Balance imports from Japan, plus London, Berlin, Buenos Aires and Boston models from the Adidas 35th-anniversary "City Series." And they've got the Kermit the Frog-a gray suede and green cloth Nike Dunk Lo that's part of the "Muppet Pack"-and a New Zealand-made merino wool exterior and leather interior sneaker from the "Inside-Out Pack."

Unlike most other sneaker boutiques in the city, which have accounts with Nike that restrict the sneakers they can sell, Afficial is able to stock Asian and European releases purchased from independent suppliers.

"We opted not to deal with Nike directly so that no one would be dictating what we can sell," Keating says. Shipment sizes vary from two dozen pairs to just five or six, depending on a model's exclusivity. The store caters primarily to sneaker collectors like Keating himself, who estimates he bought about a hundred pairs of sneakers of his own last year. "I usually buy two pair," he says. "One to wear, one to save."