MR. BATHING APE x Nigel Cabourn FW26 Gears Up for Antarctic Duty
The labels’ first team-up borrows from polar research missions and finishes them with shearling, camouflage and cuff embroidery.
Summary
MR. BATHING APE and Nigel Cabourn have joined forces for the first time on a Fall/Winter 2026 collection
The lineup draws on the cold-weather clothing worn during Operation Deep Freeze, the American missions to set up research stations in Antarctica
Outerwear leads the range, supported by knitwear, check shirts, work trousers, footwear and accessories
MR. BATHING APE and Nigel Cabourn have unveiled their debut FW26 collection, a cold-weather capsule that pairs the British designer’s military and workwear expertise with the tailored sensibility of A BATHING APE’s premium menswear line. Built around Operation Deep Freeze, the series of American missions that established and supplied research bases in Antarctica, the collection reworks expedition-grade outerwear into pieces made for layering through the colder months.
The down jacket serves as the clearest expression of that polar brief, insulated for serious cold and topped with a shearling collar to seal out wind around the neck. Opening it reveals a camouflage lining, a hidden nod to the camo motifs that run through MR. BATHING APE’s otherwise understated tailoring, while co-branded embroidery marks the exterior. Styled in the campaign over hoodies and check shirts, it reads as functional gear first and fashion piece second.
Military aviation supplies the reference point for the B-15C flight jacket, which takes its cues from the classic US bomber silhouette. The collaboration keeps the jacket’s utilitarian bones intact and adds a joint logo patch at the chest, giving the piece a more graphic presence without losing its service-issue roots.
Knitwear grounds the collection with a turtleneck sweater finished in ribbed cuffs and a ribbed hem for a close, heat-trapping fit. Nigel Cabourn’s signature cuff embroidery appears at the wrist, the detail that ties the knit most directly to the designer’s own catalog. Check shirts, work trousers, footwear and accessories fill out the remainder of the range, giving wearers the base layers to build full looks around the outerwear.
The pairing makes sense when you look at what each label stands for. Nigel Cabourn has spent more than five decades building collections around historical events and human endeavour rather than seasonal trends, pulling from a deep personal archive of vintage garments and working with heritage fabrics such as Harris Tweed and Ventile. MR. BATHING APE approaches menswear from the opposite direction, taking traditional British tailoring as its foundation and folding in subtle camouflage and streetwear sensibilities. The result places British vintage culture alongside Japanese menswear design, with each brand’s codes clearly visible in the finished garments.
The MR. BATHING APE x Nigel Cabourn FW26 collection drops October 31 at BAPE THINK in Tokyo, select BAPE STORE and I.T locations in Hong Kong and Mainland China, and online via BAPE JP and ITeSHOP.
