Street photography is the art of capturing moments of people’s lives as naturally and, at the same time, profoundly as possible. It is a very immediate type of reportage photography that has always been closely connected with the Leica brand. In many ways, street photography holds up a mirror to society – be it from a humorous, insightful, or critical perspective. The genre shares this trait with two other art forms that capture the urban zeitgeist: streetwear and street art. Now, Leica has brought these three creative branches together in a strictly limited, special edition compact camera: the Leica D-Lux 7 “A Bathing Ape®︎ X Stash” consists of a black-finish variant retailed by Leica, and a silver version which is available exclusively via A Bathing Ape®︎. The special edition features the signature ABC CAMO look of the streetwear label Bape®, and the brand’s Ape Head insignia; it is also marked with the distinctive wildstyle tag of American 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. From the Asian metropolis, we turn our attention to New York, where pioneering street-art legend Stash (aka Josh Franklin) paved the way for a new genre by moving his creations from the anonymity of subway tunnels into the public eye. And, finally, we turn to Wetzlar: the German city that has become almost synonymous with the art of optical engineering and camera design. This is where the creative energies of Tokyo and New York have converged to produce a unique limited edition compact camera. Photography has always been used to document both street art and street fashion – now the Leica D-Lux 7 “A Bathing Ape®︎ X Stash” is a tangible manifestation of this connective link.
The Leica D-Lux 7 “A Bathing Ape®︎ X Stash” offers the same technical specifications as the serially produced model. This includes the large Micro Four Thirds sensor, and the fast zoom lens with optical image stabilization, which covers focal lengths from 24–75mm (35mm camera equivalent), with an aperture range of f/1.7–2.8. For the effective resolution of 17 megapixels, the lens utilizes a central portion of the sensor (whose total resolution is over 21 million pixels), resulting in even higher image quality. In addition to high-resolution photographs, the sensor also delivers 4K 30fps and full-HD 60fps videos. The black-finish Leica D-Lux 7 “A Bathing Ape®︎ X Stash” retails at €1,990 incl. VAT. It comes with an additional carrying strap, a specially designed camera pouch, and an auto lens cap that opens and closes as the lens retracts and extends.
