About
Our Philosophy
Bibisama aims to be the first true Otaku clothing brand that positively represents the culture and art style unique to the genre. Using premium materials, original art designs, and high-tech manufacturing, we have created an Asian pop-culture inspired streetwear that is comfortable to wear at home, yet stylish during a night out.
Vertical integration allows Bibisama to maintain a high quality standard and complete artistic freedom. With owning our supply chain, we are able to transform creative concepts into physical reality. Furthermore, we are proud to pay our employees ethical wages and source materials only from responsible suppliers.
At Bibisama, we embody the Otaku culture and are proud to present our work to a worldwide audience.
Our Story
In 1994, I got sucked into the world of Final Fantasy 6 without knowing how to navigate the Japanese menus. In 1997, I started reading a humble Japanese manga, later known to the world as One Piece. Growing up in both Beijing and Toronto, anime and gaming played a huge role in my personal development. What I loved the most was that anime allowed me to immerse myself into different worlds and cultures by using the combination of captivating art styles and engaging stories.
As years went on, I kept wishing that there was a tasteful clothing brand that represented this part of me. A brand that celebrated the beauty of the art, culture and styles born from manga; but there was nothing. Nothing I would be proud of wearing, at least, not for a long time.
More recently, anime has become a global phenomenon that is loved and cherished globally. Old series are now available online for streaming. Manga has been translated and is available at major book stores. Artists and studios from all around the world started to adopt anime's unique art style into their own work. Now, amazing artwork, series and collaborations are being created internationally. Anime, which used to be a subculture, is now celebrated internationally. This is currently the Golden Age to be an Anime fan.
But to this day, very few clothing brands are able to represent this culture in a positive manner. The few brands that exist tend to just take official artwork and slap it on a T-Shirt, labeling it as Anime merchandise without any thought behind the quality or subtleties in the product. To have an article of clothing that was stylish enough to wear among people that are not into this culture was unthinkable.
In an age where everyone is embracing the Otaku culture, in an era where there are amazing artists and artwork out there: there aren't many brands doing the culture justice. Looking at my friends in other subcultures; whether it's the hip hop, athletic, high fashion, or indie scenes, I couldn't help but notice the high quality and unique street apparel options available to them. Options that allowed them to proudly and boldly express themselves. I was a bit upset and kind of frustrated at the options available to anime and gaming fans.
That is when I started Bibisama.
Wesley Zhang, CEO
Quality and Manufacturing
Bibisama is devoted to high-quality products. In order to meet our high-standards, we are involved with the entire process.
From initial design, choosing the right materials, picking the best manufacturing process and packaging; everything at Bibisama is meticulously done from scratch and done with intent.
So what's so unique about our products?
Our Cotton:
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Result of feeling, wearing and testing over 300 types of cotton.
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Made 50 different shirt prototypes.
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Made very specific adjustments to come up with our current material.
Our Printing:
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Highly complex screen printing with over 10 layers of color
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Premium colors which are breathable, last long and don't feel heavy
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High quality digital printing that ensures the details in the artwork are not lost.
Our Embroidery:
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12-15 Color Embroidery
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State of the art embroidery techniques
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Very few places around the world can match our complexity.
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Each Embroidery takes over 12 hours to complete!
Everything Else:
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Attention to even the smallest of details
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Tags, Zippers, Labels, Packaging, all created from scratch.
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We are constantly looking at ways to innovate our designs, examples such as our popping cat, combining embroidery and printing.