Japanese fashion designer and musician
Musical artist
Nigö (ニゴー, Nigō, born Tomoaki Nagao (長尾 智明) on December 23, 1970) is a Japanese fashion designer, disc jockey (DJ), record producer and entrepreneur. He is best known as the creator of the streetwear brand, A Bathing Ape (Bape), and currently serves as co-founder creative director for Kenzo.[2][3] Additionally he is a member of the Japanese group Teriyaki Boyz, serving as their official in-house DJ since the group's 2005 debut.
Fashion background
Nigo's venture into fashion started when he founded A Bathing Ape in 1993.[4] Hiroshi Fujiwara is considered his mentor.[4] He initially sold a few Bape Hoodie and T-shirts and camouflage print hoodies in a small store, items which became very popular among teenagers. In 2002, Nigo released the Bapesta sneaker,[5] which according to BBC presenter Jonathan Ross, later became the "epitome of collectable footwear".[6] The sneaker resembles Nike's Air Force 1 design,[7] but instead of the swoosh on the side, it has Nigo's Bapesta logo, a star with a lightning bolt extending out of it. In the cover news of the April issue of the trend magazine WWD for Japan, Bape's boss Nigo (formerly known as Tomoaki Nagao) announced that he is about to leave and he will be leaving with Takahashi UC (Undercover) designer Jun Takahashi. Nowhere, established on April 1, 1993, no longer serves as the designer of Bape. In 2003, Nigo partnered with Pharrell Williams to create and launch the streetwear brands Billionaire Boys Club[8] and Ice Cream footwear. Nigo himself also established his personal new company Nigold on April 4, 2009.[9] In 2010, he launched his new brand Human Made. In 2013, Nigo left Bape for good.[4] In 2014, Nigo became the creative director for Uniqlo's UT brand.[2][10] In 2020, Nigo partnered with Luxury brand Louis Vuitton alongside Virgil Abloh to create a capsule collection.[11] In September 2021, Kenzo appointed Nigo as its new artistic director. In July 2023, Australian winery Penfolds appointed Nigo as its Creative Partner of two years.
Musical and entertainment background
Nigo's first involvement with music was playing in punk cover band Tokyo Sex Pistols while at university, alongside fellow fashion figures Hiroshi Fujiwara, Jun Takahashi and Hikaru Iwanaga.[4] Nigo collaborated with James Lavelle, creating a compilation called A Bathing Ape vs Mo Wax, which was released in Japan in 1997.[4] He would go on to join forces with Lavelle's project, U.N.K.L.E., and Scratch Perverts, to release the single Ape Shall Never Kill Ape, in 1998.[4] The following year saw the Japanese release of Nigo's debut album, Ape Sounds, on which he showcased a blend of trip-hop, dub, indie rock, and psychedelic pop.[4] The album featured contributions from Ben Lee, Money Mark, Shawn Lee and Cornelius.[4] It was released internationally by Mo Wax in 2000.[4] Nigo subsequently released a number of non-album singles, which included collaborations with Rakim and Flavor Flav, as well as compilations Ape Sounds Remix, (B)APE Sounds, and Return of the Ape Sounds.[4]
Soon after the establishment of Billionaire Boys Club, Nigo formed rap group Teriyaki Boyz alongside Ilmari, Ryo-Z, Verbal, and Wise.[4] The group released the albums Beef or Chicken in 2005 and Serious Japanese in 2009, respectively.
Nigo has been associated with popular rap and hip hop artists such as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. He is the DJ of Teriyaki Boyz and is also owner of Bape Sounds record label.[12] He also has an MTV Japan show which he created called Nigoldeneye.[13]
Together with BiS manager Watanabe Junnosuke, Nigo was the producer and manager for the female pop group Billie Idle.[14] His involvement with the group began in 2014, when he directed a music video for BiS' song "Nerve",[15] and after the group disbanded, Nigo and Watanabe offered BiS members First Summer Uika and Hirano Nozomi the chance to join their new project, Billie Idle. The group debuted in 2014 with the album "Idle Gossip", for which Nigo is the executive producer.[16] Billie Idle would go on to release a further four albums before disbanding in 2019.[4]
On January 28, 2022, Nigo and ASAP Rocky released the song "Arya", serving as the lead single for Nigo's album, I Know Nigo!, released via Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records on March 25, 2022. It marks Nigo's first solo album since 2005's Nigo Presents: Return of the Ape Sounds.[17] I Know Nigo! was co-executive produced by Nigo alongside Pharrell Williams. Williams and Nigo had first collaborated nearly two decades earlier, when the Neptunes contributed production to Beef or Chicken. The album's second single, titled "Want It Bad", was released in collaboration with American musician Kid Cudi. The album includes guest appearances from Tyler, the Creator, Clipse, Gunna, Teriyaki Boyz, ASAP Ferg, Pusha T, Lil Uzi Vert, and the late Pop Smoke.
Art collector
Nigo met artist Kaws in 1996 and became an early supporter of his work. In 2005, he commissioned him a painting and Kaws painted the Kaws Album.[18] The painting was sold in 2019 for $14.8 million at Sotheby's in Hong Kong among other artworks. The total of the sales of his art collection was $28 million.[19][20]
He also worked with Futura, Stash, Hajime Sorayama, and André Saraiva.[21]
