DARK: A CELEBRATION OF THE CREATIVE PERSEVERANCE OF NIGO

Words

ROHIN JOHAL

@br0hin

For me, Nigo is one of the most influential designers within a streetwear context but not only has he worked with his heroes in the fashion world in Japan, he has also collaborated with some of the biggest celebrities and designers in the world. However it wasn’t always easy going for him, but is a clear indicator that his creativity, design and work ethic will always prevail.

Bape was launched in 1993, working with Jun Takahashi with the main inspiration coming from the film series Planet of the Apes. During the first two years of Bape, Nigo kept collections extremely exclusive in order to create hype around the product. Working with graphic designer Shinichiro Nakamura ‘Sk8thing’, the pieces would be worn by friends and a few lucky people that managed to buy some of the select few pieces. With this, a cult following emerged with only the coolest kids walking around Harajuku wearing their Bape outfits. Stepping into the new millennium, Bape went from strength to strength with the release of the Bapesta’s in 2002, then going onto work with and style Kanye and Pharrell in the following years. Over the following decade, Bape would grow into a worldwide success and Nigo himself would work with fashion houses like Louis Vuitton and launch other projects such as Billionaire Boys Club.

It seemed like everything was going well and Bape was becoming this superpower within the world of streetwear and it was a cornerstone in contemporary fashion in Japan. However, on February 7th 2011, Nigo was forced to sell Bape. After sitting at the helm of Bape for almost two decades, Nigo’s mental health undoubtedly suffered. From this, a notable dark period began, yet Nigo still kept his creative dream alive and almost 10 years later he was appointed creative director at Kenzo.

With the trials and tribulations of trying to always achieve more and putting your own personal stamp on things, Nigo is really thriving at Kenzo but it wasn’t without its teething problems of his first few shows. But this highlights the tenacity and the love for the work he has. He could have easily lost hope and the drive behind his creative spark when he had to sell Bape, but he kept going with Human Made and with Kenzo and now he is finally back to where he should be in the fashion world; a high flyer. Without his long term vision he would have perished back in 2011 and the world would have never seen the beauty of what he could design which would have been the biggest tragedy.