Nigo
Fashion background. Nigo's venture into fashion started in a small store selling a few Bape T-shirts and camouflage print hoodies, which became very popular among teenagers. In 2002, Nigo released the Bapesta sneaker, which according to BBC presenter Jonathan Ross, later became the "epitome of collectable footwear". The sneaker resembles Nike's Air Force 1 design, but instead of the swoosh on the side, it has Nigo's Bapesta logo, a star with a lightning zap 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. Nigo himself also established his personal new company Nigold on April 4, 2009. In 2005, Nigo partnered with Pharrell Williams to create and launch the streetwear brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream footwear. In 2010, he launched his new brand Human Made. In 2014, Nigo became the creative director for Uniqlo's UT brand. In 2020, Nigo partnered with  Luxury brand Louis Vuitton alongside Virgil Abloh to create a capsule collection. In September 2021, Kenzo appointed Nigo as its new artistic director. Musical and entertainment background. Nigo has been associated with popular rap and hip hop artists such as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. He is the DJ of the Japanese hip hop group Teriyaki Boyz and is also owner of Bape Sounds record label. He also has an MTV Japan show which he created called "Nigoldeneye". Together with BiS manager Watanabe Junnosuke, Nigo is the producer and manager for the female pop group Billie Idle. His involvement with  the group began in 2014, when he directed a music video for BiS' song "Nerve", 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. 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". "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. 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. He also worked with Futura, Stash, Hajime Sorayama, and André Saraiva.