User:Egalin17/sandbox

Introductory Statement
Tomoaki Nagao, better known as, notorious Japanese fashion designer, Nigo is widely known by masses as a designer/entrepreneur. He is creator of the famously known urban clothing apparel, A Bathing Ape (Bape), but while his most noticeable recognition in the industry is his fashion sense and influence, he also participates in the music realm as a producer/dj for the hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz.

Early Life & Education
Born in Gunma Prefecture Japan (December 23,1970), Nigo's early life and education revolved around the influences from Bunka Fashion College, a school strongly influenced by the fashion choice. Here is where Nigo would meet Jun Takahashi, his future essential right hand man. By have also meeting the proclaimed "godfather of Harajuku", Hiroshi Fujiwara (Japanese musician, producer, and designer) Nigo was able to kickstart his early career. With critical help from Fujiwara, the two founded Nowhere (1993), a boutique in the Harajuku district. In this exact boutique is where the first appearance of the upcoming streetwear clothing brand, A Bathing Ape (Bape), by Nigo in collaboration with SK8THING was first seen.

Work
Nigo is a notorious name in Japanese fashion, founder of the A Bathing Ape clothing apparel. By projecting hype onto the clothing line by only releasing 10% of demand. He was able to skyrocket the brand's notoriety, bringing in huge masses of fans of the work, which were mostly seen to be teenagers at the time. during the 2000's, Nigo kickstarted his shoe line Bapesta, essentially a Nike Air Force 1 knock off, which got a wide amount of notoriety and became a must have for millions of sneaker collectors, remaining its hype til this day (2021). He launched a streetwear brand with Pharrell Williams: Billionaire Boys Club, partnered with louis Vuitton (2020), collaborating with Virgil Abloh, became founder of fashion label: Human Made (2010), and received the role of creative director at Japanese retail powerhouse Uniqlo's UT line (2014). Nigo also has a background in musical and entertainment aspects, being dj of Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz and running the Bape sounds record label. Also creating similar hype seen in his streetwear clothing line Bape, but for the contributed music scene.

Awards

 * Style Award, MTV Asia Awards (2005).