What are Nigo and Murakami Doing Today?
One as the new creative director of a konbini chain, the other dropping hit songs
Fashion Flash Week 6
© FamilyMart
Nigo is Family Mart’s new Creative Director
One week Nigo is on the runway with Pharrell presenting the latest Louis Vuitton collection; the next he is taking the bow at Kenzo’s fashion show, and the following he is announcing his new role as Family Mart's new creative director. Talk about range. What could possibly be the future of Nigo, The Nigo, one of the biggest staples of the Japanese fashion industry, as the creative head of a konbini chain? Well, we tell you all about it here. But for now, what you need to know is that this announcement was made public by Nigo himself on his Instagram profile on February 5, and according to Family Mart, he is set to perform in fields like the creation of next-generation stores, strategic product categories, supervision of marketing campaigns, and the development of next-generation marketing.
“Together, I hope to bring joy to the daily lives of people in Japan and across the globe,” said the founder of A Bathing Ape about his new creative venture, which results in something funny or confusing at first, but that is nothing more than another canvas to express his unique vision on. On his back, multiple and successful collaborations outside of fashion with brands and companies as diverse as Coca-Cola or the wine producer Penfolds made this new task just a new interesting addition to his vast resume and something exciting and interesting to look forward to this year.
Another Nigo side quest you need to know - BAPE CAFE!?
With its first store inaugurated in 2002 in the neighbourhood of Aoyama in Tokyo, what first was a fashion brand that had already been on the market for almost ten years, shaping the notion of streetwear and setting trends that have an impact up until this day, expanded its universe to the food & beverage industry, keeping its essence intact. With the help of the interior design firm founded by Masamichi Katayama, Wonderwall, the cafe embodied the spirit of the brand just like the fashion stores did. “The cafe expresses the double-edged concept of pop: lightness and poison. In the centre is a large four-metre-long APE table with a matching luminous ceiling above,” is the description made by Wonderwall about it.
The original Aoyama branch is no longer open, but new cafes have been opened recently in Hong Kong at Harbour City and in Kuala Lumpur at Suria KLCC, both inside BAPE stores. The menu is mentioned to be a fusion of Western and Japanese cuisine and is served on a special tableware collection released in 2017 with mugs, coasters, plates, placemats and more featuring the iconic camo motifs. This cafe is not the only adventure of Nigo in the gastronomical world; you can read about Curry Up, his restaurant inspired by this Indian dish, here.
BAPE CAFE!?│© Kozo Takayama
Takashi Murakami & JP THE WAVY (MNNK Bro.) release “LV MURAKAMI”
The acclaimed collaboration between the French maison and the Japanese visual artist saw an awaited revival after its first drop together back in 2003, a couple of months ago, with the release of a new collection featuring the iconic and culture-defining Monogram Multicolour, Cherry Blossom, Panda, and Cherry motifs that made waves in the 2000s and made waves now reimagined in new designs and becoming as viral as its first iteration. To celebrate the success of this joint project, Takashi Murakami and the Japanese rapper JP the Wavy have released a single named LV MURAKAMI, produced by JIGG, with an upcoming music video directed by BRTHR.
The song makes reference to diverse concepts directly linked to Louis Vuitton with lyrics like “Cramming the whole world into the trunk” and “I'm on my shit/action speedy”, both Trunk and Speedy being two of the most recognised models of LV bags, while also tapping into the bond between the two countries, France and Japan: “14 hours flight, Tokyo to Paris.” The music video is said to be reminiscent of the short film Superflat Monogram from 2003 while exploring the notion of travel, a key concept to the foundation and history of Louis Vuitton.
Another Murakami side quest you need to know - Mononoke Kyoto by MNNK Bro.
The debut single of the duo formed by Takashi Murakami and JP THE WAVY and the music video are a whole trip into Murakami’s mind and universe, full of colour, fun and creativity. They are at the same time a visual journey and a deep dive into some of his most renowned art creations. This unexpected duo was formed when Murakami heard Pick N Choose by JP THE WAVY at his daughter's dance recital two years ago and, surprised by the fresh sound coming from one of the main representatives of the new wave of Japanese hip-hop, decided to get in touch and collaborate, quickly releasing Mononoke Kyoto under their new unit name MNNK Bro.
The track was first teased at the artist's exhibition at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art and then released to the public with an accompanying music video directed by Spikey John and filmed at the museum with the artwork as background and with Murakami dropping some sick moves for the camera. This first bond between the two has only grown stronger with the release of LV MONOGRAM, and the possibility of releasing a mini-album has been mentioned before, so the only thing we can do is wait for it while we vibe to the two songs we do have.
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