Four days ago, rumors surfaced that Nike & Nigo would have just signed an agreement to launch products next year 2024. The news came from the hand of Brendan Dunne for Complex, and since then the hypotheses have not stopped circulating. But what is his story, what has made him one of the most important personalities in fashion today?
The truth is that Nigo has not stopped scoring so many goals lately in the industry. His role in promoting urban fashion in Southeast Asia has been fundamental and unquestionable. Fashion designer -as well as DJ, drummer and producer-, the Japanese is the creator of the brand “A Bathing Ape”, and together with Pharrell he created BBC, Ice Cream and Human Made. Although since his arrival at Kenzo his name has made more headlines in the fashion world, the Japanese has always been one of the forerunners of urban fashion.
Nigo was born in Maebashi, a city in the interior of Japan; since his childhood he has had a weakness for the world of fashion. His first contact with fashion was through the monthly men’s fashion magazine Popeye, based in Tokyo and launched in 1976.
Nigo’s real name is Tomoaki Nagao. His pseudonym literally translates as “second place”, as he adopted it as a sign of respect to Hiroshi Fujiwara,
considered the precursor of Japanese streetwear.
When he came of age, Nigo moved to Tokyo to study at Bunka Fashion College, the prestigious Japanese fashion school. This, in his own words, did not bring him anything academically worthwhile. What he did make was great friendships that opened many doors for him, such as that of Jun Takahashi, founder of the firm Undercover, and the aforementioned Fujiwara. It was Fujiwara who got him a job as a stylist and editor at Popeye magazine. He also took advantage of his first years in Tokyo to get to know the depths of Tokyo’s nightlife, which would later serve as inspiration for his career.
In 1993, Nigo opens his NOWHERE store with Jun Takahasi and launches “A Bathing Ape”. Known for its iconic ape, camouflage print and shark hoods, the brand has been the most identifiable Asian streetwear reference around the world for 30 years. In 2011 he sold the company to Hong Kong fashion conglomerate I.T for around $2.8 million and would later, in 2013, permanently leave the brand by divesting his remaining 20% stake.
After his journey with his daughter BAPE, Nigo began a path that would lead him to become an established urban culture guru. In 2014 he became the creative director of Uniqlo’s UT line, and in 2020 he worked with Louis Vuitton to create a capsule collection with Virgil Abloh.
NIGO EN LA MÚSICA
Como músico participó en el proyecto Teriyaki Boyz, una banda de J-hip hop originaria de Yokohama. Su primer álbum “Beef or Chicken?” (Def Jam, 1999) fue co-producido por artistas como Daft Punk, DJ Shadow o The Neptunes.
En el 2000 lanza otro álbum titulado “Ape Sounds” a través de Mo’Wax Records.
In March 2022 Nigo released “I Know Nigo!”, an album that features collaborations worthy of a rap star: Kanye West, Pharrell, A$AP Rocky, Pop Smoke, Pusha T, Teriyaki Boyz, Kid Cudi, Lil Uzi Vert… And it is that the creative has moved among the crème de la crème of rappers. These collaborations not only make sense musically, but also socially and culturally. It is another demonstration of how Nigo has expressed his passion for everything related to hip-hop. A passion never questioned and always seen as an essential driver in streetwear culture.
NIGO + PHARRELL: THE ULTIMATE FASHION DUO
Pharrell and NIGO had their first contact in the recording studio inside the former Nowhere offices in Tokyo. There, the singer discovered NIGO’s private museum, where he kept part of pop culture history. There was everything there: The Beatles’ instruments, pieces of art, historic clothing, toys, arcade machines, jewelry, the BAPE archive. And from that moment on, the couple has done nothing but make history in the streetwear and fashion industry worldwide.
NIGO admitted in the book “Pharrell: Places and Spaces I’ve Been,” that his fame and impact could not have been achieved without Pharrell’s recognition and collaboration. “I wouldn’t be who I am today if I hadn’t met him and worked with him. I don’t think I could have made it out of Japan – that was something I really wanted to accomplish.”
Their unbreakable union and great understanding has led them to push streetwear culture around the globe, collaborating on music and fashion constantly. This alliance has led to projects such as Billionaire Boys Club or Ice Cream, and collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Uniqlo or Adidas.
Coincidence or coincidence, today both occupy the position of creative direction in two important houses: Nigo has been doing so at Kenzo for just over a year and Pharrell has just been announced creative director of Louis Vuitton.
THE KENZO REVOLUTION
At the end of 2021, Nigo was named the new creative director of Kenzo and presented his first collection in January 2022 in Paris. Nigo’s debut at Kenzo marked a new chapter not only for the Japanese brand but for the course of the industry. If Virgil Abloh changed the system forever, Nigo is one such follower of his path.
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