Nigo Is the Godfather of Japanese Streetwear

Nigo created a hit shark hoodie, brought Japanese streetwear to America, and helped produce “Tokyo Drift”, earning him a pop culture star.

Nigo is the godfather of Japanese streetwear and in this industry, he’s been behind the scenes running things.

He was born Tomoaki Nagao in Maebashi, a central city in Japan, and Nigo always had an eye for fashion and American pop culture. He took his interest to Tokyo to study at Bunka Fashion College which is a prestigious school known to produce Japanese fashion legends. While in school, Nigo was enrolled in a fashion editing class and started his career working for Popeye Magazine, one of Japan’s most influential publications.

In 1993 Nigo borrowed 4 million yen from a friend to open ‘Nowhere’, his very first clothing store in the Harajuku District. Here he began selling t-shirts and camouflage hoodies which would later be recognized as the highly desired brand A Bathing Ape also known as BAPE.

At first he was designing thirty to fifty pieces at a time, sending half of them off to his buddies in the industry including big names like Pharell Williams and Kanye West. With pink shark zip ups and limited edition drops, BAPE quickly became one of the most popular brands amongst teenagers and rappers in both the U.S and Japan.

By the late ‘90s, BAPE had six stores in Japan that were bringing in 2 million yen a year. For decades Nigo’s iconic designs were the most recognizable Asian streetwear symbols expanding to shoes and children’s clothes.

But BAPE wasn’t Nigo’s only endeavor. In 2003 alongside Pharell Williams, he launched Billionaire Boys Club and sister brand Ice Cream. Together the duo combined Japanese streetwear and U.S. hip hop with their bright graphics and flashy details.

That same year Nigo expanded his talent into the music industry, becoming the DJ and producer for Japanese hip hop group Teriyaki Boyz who are responsible for the hit “Tokyo Drift” from The Fast and the Furious series.

In 2011 Nigo sold 80% of BAPE to Hong Kong fashion conglomerate I.T for $2.8 million before officially leaving in 2013 to work on expanding another one of his labels called Human Made. Even after departing from BAPE, Nigo’s influence continued to be recognized.

He worked with Louis Vuitton and style visionary Virgil Abloh on two exclusive collections in 2020 and in 2021 he was named the new artistic director at KENZO.

Aside from KENZO, Nigo is still collaborating with major brands and paving his way as a cultural icon. He’s climbed the industry ladder, shaping Japan’s street style to running global fashion houses proving his legacy to be a global movement.