The global fashion industry turns its attention to London this spring as NIGO: From Japan with Love opens at the Design Museum from May 1st to October 4th, 2026. Marking the first museum retrospective of NIGO outside Japan, the exhibition charts three decades of cultural disruption — from the streets of Harajuku to the ateliers of Paris.
Bridging streetwear and luxury long before it became industry standard, NIGO has reshaped how fashion communicates, collaborates and circulates. This exhibition positions him not simply as a designer, but as one of the most influential cultural architects of his generation.
NIGO: from Harajuku to the global fashion industry
Over a 30-year career, NIGO has continuously redefined the codes of the fashion industry. Best known as the founder of A Bathing Ape (BAPE) in the 1990s, he pioneered limited drops, graphic-heavy branding, and cross-cultural collaborations that anticipated today’s hype-driven model. His later ventures — Billionaire Boys Club with Pharrell Williams, HUMAN MADE, and his current role as Artistic Director of KENZO — cemented his reputation as a creative who seamlessly merges street culture with heritage luxury.
At a time when collaborations were rare, NIGO instinctively understood their power. Partnerships with Louis Vuitton, Nike, Disney, Pepsi and KAWS reshaped the commercial and cultural landscape, influencing how brands engage with youth culture. As Design Museum Director Tim Marlow notes, NIGO’s impact on the fashion industry remains “highly significant and under-explored,” particularly in how he blurred the boundaries between subculture and high fashion.
Inside “NIGO: From Japan with Love”
Featuring more than 700 objects, with over 600 drawn from his personal archive, NIGO: From Japan with Love offers an immersive journey into his creative universe.
The exhibition opens with a recreation of NIGO’s teenage bedroom in 1980s Tokyo — a space filled with toys, magazines, music memorabilia and vintage Americana. This intimate installation reveals the early collision of Japanese youth culture and American postwar influence that shaped his visual language.
Rare early BAPE garments, original design drawings and inventive packaging — including spray-can T-shirt containers and credit-card-style membership passes — illustrate how NIGO built desire through storytelling. Visitors will also encounter collaborations spanning decades, from sealed APE Force trainers to Louis Vuitton menswear pieces.
Music forms a parallel narrative throughout the exhibition. From founding BAPE Sounds to working closely with hip-hop artists, NIGO’s crossover between sound and style underscores his multidimensional creative approach.
A lasting influence on the fashion industry
NIGO: From Japan with Love ultimately reveals the designer’s true legacy: a redefinition of how culture moves — across continents, disciplines and generations. As the exhibition opens in London, it confirms what insiders have long known: NIGO did not just participate in fashion history; he rewrote it.
NIGO photographed at the DESIGN MUSEUM
Photography by ELLIOT JAMES KENNEDY
