Leica teams up with streetwear brand A Bathing Ape and graffiti artist Stash for new limited-edition camera.

Photography has long documented street art and street fashion, and now a limited-edition Leica, the D-Lux 7, A Bathing Ape x Stash, celebrates the link between photography, streetwear and graffiti.

The limited-edition model offers the same technical specifications as the serial production model, including a 17 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor capable of delivering 4K30fps and full-HD 60fps videos, a fast 24-75mm (35mm camera equivalent) zoom lens with optical image stabilisation, and an aperture range of f/1.7–2.8.

Offered with a black-finish version sold exclusively through Leica stores, and a silver finish version only available through the streetwear brand, each version features BAPE’s signature camo look on the camera body and the distinctive wild style of US graffiti artist Stash.

The streetwear label BAPE (A Bathing Ape) encapsulates the youthful spirit of a generation, bringing Tokyo’s urban street style to the world with its contemporary designs. It’s an ideal collaborator for New York-based pioneering street-art legend Stash (aka Josh Franklin), who paved the way for a new genre by moving his creations from the anonymity of subway tunnels into the public eye.

“When I started doing graffiti in the early 1980s, the term ‘street art’ didn’t exist,” says the artist. “It was only later, when we emerged from the tunnels and train stations, that we became much more visible. Documenting my art through photography has always been part of my creativity. With the advent of digital cameras, I got my first Leica.” When designing the special edition of the Leica D-Lux 7, the Brooklyn-based artist incorporated both the famously graphic-heavy style of the BAPE label, and his own distinctive visual approach.

Retailing at US$1,895, it comes with an additional carrying strap, camera pouch, and an auto lens cap that opens and closes as the lens retracts and extends.

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