How Nigo Ended Up At Kenzo: A Timeline

As the artistic director of Kenzo, Nigo will present his much-anticipated debut collection this Sunday.

The classic Japanese designer has been cultivating his own version of luxury for decades before presenting his first collection at Paris Fashion Week. Nigo has recognized streetwear as a coveted commodity for decades, pioneering creative collaborations with brands such as adidas, Nike, Nudie Jeans, and Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton. 

When Pharrell spoke to Complex back in 2013, he said, "Nigo is a sage, an unstoppable force that will never cease to inspire."

In preparation for Nigo's debut show at Kenzo this weekend, take a look at some of the biggest milestones that brought him to this point. —Mike DeStefano

Nigo Enrolls at Bunka Fashion College, Links With Hiroshi Fujiwara

Nago was born in 1970 to a nurse mother and a metal fabricator father. Despite his impact on the fashion world, Nagao is not a formal fashion designer. Nagao, who hails from Maebashi in the Gunma Prefecture of Japan, says he first became interested in fashion by reading the influential Japanese men's fashion magazine Popeye. Nagao, in an interview with Pig, said he was first attracted to the ‘50s Americana fashion trend that took over Tokyo in the ’80s before admiring rap artists such as Run DMC in his later teenage years. 

As a result of reading Japanese fashion magazines growing up, Nagao moved to Tokyo with aspirations of becoming a fashion journalist when he was 18 years old. The street culture magazine Takarajima, which he grew up reading, featured a monthly column called "Last Orgy." Written by Kan Takagi and Fragment Design founder Hiroshi Fujiwara, "Last Orgy" showcased the eclectic interests of two influential Japanese tastemakers. Fujiwara was a prolific influencer in Japan who popularized Western brands such as Stüssy and hip-hop culture. Nagao has said Fujiwara's column had captivated him in interviews. Nagao befriended the Japanese fashion designer Jun Takahashi, who introduced Nagao to Fujiwara in the late 1980s. Those in Nagao's inner circle began noting that he looked like Fujiwara. Therefore, Nagao was nicknamed Fujiwara's "Nigo," which means "number two." -Lei Takanashi

Nigo Begins Writing For ‘Popeye Magazine’

Nigo entered the fashion industry in the same way he was introduced to it: through a magazine. Nigo went to Popeye Magazine to work as a stylist and writer after joining Fujiwara's team. Nigo wrote a column titled Last Orgy 2 with Jun Takahashi, which carried on the spirit of Fujiwara's and Takagi's columns. His experience as a fashion designer was influenced by his experience in magazines. As a result, I was able to learn and gain experience in editing, photography, writing, and composition. Nigo said in an interview that he has never studied fashion at university or otherwise. Through editorial and that experience, I began making clothing, and all of this has led to where I am today. Things like street culture were born from these experiences. I don’t draw or sketch designs either.”—Lei Takanashi

Nigo Opens NOWHERE Store in 1993 and Launches Bape

Together with Takahashi, they wrote for various magazines about fashion and other cultural events before deciding to open their own company. The NOWHERE store was opened by Nigo and Takahashi in 1993 in "Urahara" or "hidden Harajuku." One half of the store sold Takahashi's punk-inspired label Undercover while the other half featured curated products by Nigo such as the Adidas Superstar sneakers. While Takahashi's Undercover clothing was selling well, Nigo's curated wares weren't as successful. The fall of 1993 was the year that Nigo and graphic designer Sk8thing came up with the idea of A Bathing Ape based on the Planet of the Apes films. After two years of producing Bape T-shirts, Nigo sold half of them to friends while he kept the other half for himself. The author of ametora, David Marx, Nigo started developing a cult following in Japan shortly after launching Bape. The brand was photographed in Japanese magazines by young people. Marx further described Nigo's business strategy as selling clothes that are "limited-edition, detail-oriented, and high-priced so that they feel fashion-worthy." The concept of Nigo's approach to Bape has been adopted by luxury streetwear labels up to this day. Bape had collaborated with major brands like Pepsi, revered artists like Futura, opened six stores in Japan, and brought in 2 billion Yen a year by the end of the ‘90s. —Lei Takanashi

Introduces The Bapesta in 2002

In 2002, Nike released the Bapesta sneaker, which was a riff on the Air Force 1. The silhouette has been updated with a star and lightning zap, which replace the Nike swoosh, and APE and BAPE, which replace the AIR text. Air Force 1s were a staple when Nigo released the sneaker, but they didn't exactly lend themselves to creativity. In the 1980s, Dapper Dan specialized in customizing sneakers with designer logo fabrics, but other than that, Harlem's Uptown sneakers, also known as Uptowns, remained fairly basic unless they were customized. In the Bapesta, Nigo released the sneaker with new materials such as patent leather, and interesting color combinations. By collaborating with artists such as Kanye West in 2007, as well as KAWS in 2005, Nike turned them into collectors' items. KAWS collaborated with Supreme and Nike on an Air Force 1 design a few years before Kanye West did. Additionally, N.I.GO released a collaboration with SpongeBob, N.E.R.D., and DC Comics. Nigo elevated the sneaker into a collector's item. —Aria Hughes

opens the first Bape store in the United States in 2005

With the help from architecture firm Wonderwall founder Masamichi Katayama, Bape's Japanese parent company Nigo had already established a strong retail footprint in Japan and Hong Kong before it arrived in SoHo. Bape stores displayed their products as if they were art pieces in a museum and showcased colorful Bapesta sneakers encased in glass on a rotating conveyor belt. The experience of working with Nigo opened Katayama's eyes to the limitations of conventions and preconceptions. "Building a Bape store wasn't just about planning and design.". Nigo was also concerned with the quality of the execution. Together, we created original work without adhering to market trends or stereotypical retail formats. He taught me to create my own rules and to choose what I thought was right." 

Bape's store in Soho demonstrated to the competitive New York retail market that streetwear stores could still offer a high end experience, and for the first time in America, residents could buy Bape pieces directly from the retailer.—Aria Hughes

Nigo launches Billionaire Boys Club/Ice Cream with Pharrell

The launch of Billionaire Boys Club/Icecream in 2003 was the result of Bape's entry into the United States market, thanks largely to Pharrell. As a streetwear label, Frontin' immediately made an impression, both because of the influential men behind it and clever product placement in the "Frontin'" video, but also because of its eye-catching graphics. It immediately acquired an audience with the help of its astronaut head logo, T-shirts with its now iconic arc logo across the chest, and colorful zip hoodies covered in diamonds and dollar signs.” The pieces were expensive in comparison to its streetwear counterparts at the time due to the line being 100 percent manufactured in Japan. Despite the steeper prices, the line was incredibly successful and became a symbol of the era. In a way, it showed that streetwear items like colorful graphic T-shirts and While all-over print hoodies are now on the runways of luxury fashion houses, it wasn't so accepted at the time. While BBC might not have the same cache it once had in the aughts, the brand is still going strong today. And it wouldn't have been possible without Nigo.

To Design Louis Vuitton's Millionaire Sunglasses, Nigo Collaborates With Marc Jacobs, Pharrell, and Pharrell

Nigo has been connected with LVMH for years, even before he was approached by Virgil Abloh for collaborative capsules or Kenzo to design sunglasses. In 2004, he and Pharrell were asked by Marc Jacobs, then-creative director of Louis Vuitton, to design a line of sunglasses. Known as the Millionaire, the $1,200 Carrera-inspired frames came in various colors and came with gold hardware. With the help of Nigo and Pharrell, the design became coveted by more than just luxury consumers. It was so popular that more colorways would be released in 2007. Virgil Abloh created his own version of the Millionaire shades, the 1.1 Millionaire, for his debut collection with LV in 2019. Nowadays, luxury products are adopted by streetwear consumers on a regular basis. But the Millionaries are yet another example of Nigo introducing luxury to a big audience long before it was expected..  —Mike DeStefano

Launches Human Made in 2010

Nigo started Human Made after successfully launching and running his first clothing business, Bape. The brand's name was inspired by the evolution of an ape into a human and offered more mature designs that veered away from Bape's trademark logos and bright colors.Nigo instead turned his attention to workwear and craftsmanship with Human Made, replicating details no longer found in contemporary workwear. In 2012, he explained: "The old clothing I'm inspired by for Human Made represents lost technology: the machines and stitching used to make old clothing don't exist anymore." Since launching Human Made, the brand has also expanded to accessories. This brand has partnered with artists like Lil Uzi Vert and American fast food chains, such as KFC. It demonstrates Nigo's ability to create brands people care about.—Aria Hughes

Sells Bape to IT Company in 2011 For $2.8 million

By After becoming less and less exclusive, Bape was no longer profitable and therefore in extreme debt. Nigo then sold a 90 percent stake to I.T Ltd., a Hong Kong-based retailer for $2.8 million. He stayed on for a while but eventually left Bape to focus on Human Made..—Aria Hughes

Nigo Is Hired as The Creative Director of Uniqlo’s UT Line in 2014

Following his departure from Bape, Nigo took the reins of Uniqlo's UT T-shirt line, becoming the chain's first-ever creative director. In an interview with Highsnobiety, Nigo explained why he wanted the T-shirts to feature tubular knit instead of side seams.. “The quality was all good, but it looked good flat and [boxy] when you wore them. I wanted it to be [comfortable] and breathy when you wear them. Nigo started by using Uniqlo UT T-shirts that included a new T-shirt model called "The New Model T" and collaborations with Star Wars, Line Friends, Peanuts, and more" The first Uniqlo UT T-shirts Nigo released introduced a new T-shirt model called "The New Model T." “It was about the global reach of the company,” Nigo said in another interview. “UT is streetwear, effectively. It’s what people really wear on the street. It’s interesting for me to be able to influence that.”

The biggest collaboration Nigo brought to UT was with Kaws, even though he brought friends like Jun Takahashi and Pharrell for Uniqlo collaborations. Streetwear enthusiasts were thrilled since Kaws shirts had previously only been available through his defunct clothing label OriginalFake or limited-edition collaborations with streetwear brands such as Supreme. Kaws has since collaborated with Uniqlo three times, and his releases have always been met with such tremendous hype that shoppers in China have practically trampled each other to get their hands on them. But Nigo's work at Uniqlo showed that his creative eye could resonate with a much broader audience and bring new energy to a sleepy brand. — Lei Takanashi

In 2020, Nigo will release a collaboration with Virgil Abloh and Louis Vuitton

In Virgil Abloh's time at Louis Vuitton, his collaboration with Nigo was a watershed moment. Nigo announced his LV2 collection in December 2019. By nodding to the streetwear era of the 2000s, it further pushed traditional streetwear into the luxury market. When speaking about the collaboration, Abloh told i-D, "Being at Louis Vuitton, I felt it was essential to see through a Nigo project at one of the highest levels of Parisian fashion, and to make it happen with my interpretation, too."

Both collections, which Abloh and Nigo would unveil in tandem, featured motifs like ducks, hearts, and tigers that are common to Human Made offerings, all while paying homage to UK's Savile Row and mod era. Nigo also took LV's iconic Damier and monogram prints in new directions by incorporating dripping paneling into denim and leather goods that echoed his previous collaboration with BBC ICECREAM. His whimsical approach made the capsules feel uniquely Nigo even as they kept traditional pieces such as tailored chinos, knit cardigans, and minimally branded kimono coats. When Nigo was given the keys, its playful approach could translate to luxury items that were desirable without completely abandoning the brand's DNA. At the very least, it should make you hopeful that he will be able to reinvigorate Kenzo in his new role. 

While speaking on the project, Abloh stated, “For me, there is no one like NIGO. He helped us understand how luxury can relate to a new generation.” —Mike DeStefano

As of 2021, Nigo will be the Artistic Director of Kenzo

Nigo began shaping luxury as we know it through his ventures such as Bape, BBC ICECREAM, and Human Made, and will become Kenzo's new artistic director on Sept. 20, 2021. 

The way Kenzo san created originality was by understanding various cultures. "My philosophy of creativity also revolves around this," Nigo wrote on Instagram when announcing his new role. “Inheriting the spirit of Kenzo san’s craftsmanship to create a new KENZO is the greatest challenge of my 30-year career, but, together with the team, I intend to devote myself to it.”

Despite little information about Nigo's plans for Kenzo, many hope he can restore the brand's luster. Nigo will present his first collection for Kenzo at Galerie Vivienne in Paris on Jan. 23, the same venue where Kenzo Takada premiered his first collection in 1970. WWD spoke with Nigo about his upcoming debut and his goals. 

The current fashion scene seems quite boring to me, and fashion shows have compensated by hyping up the spectacle element as a distraction from the clothes," he said. "I want to rediscover the joy that comes from fashion alone." -Mike DeStefano