Nigo announced via social media on Thursday that KAWS will serve as an advisor for Otsumo Co., Ltd. Otsumo is the parent company of HUMAN MADE.
“Welcoming our new advisor @kaws to the HUMAN MADE team,” Nigo captioned a photo of the two.
“Nigo and Tokyo’s street culture are the source of my design inspiration,” KAWS, real name Brian Donnelly, said in a statement “Throughout the series of my collaborations with HUMAN MADE, Otsumo’s vision of ‘making life on Earth more interesting…from the street’ has always resonated with me, and I’m excited to join the team as an advisor to help bring more ideas to life.”
Nigo says the two have known each other for about 30 years, according to HYPEBEAST, and they have collaborated many times over the years. He feels confident that KAWS is the person to lead Otsumo on its future endeavors.
“We both come from the streets and continue to see each other grow professionally and personally, and I look forward to our unique new ideas realized through Otsumo,” Nigo said of the collaboration. “Thank you for joining us, KAWS!”
Nigo is best known as the creator behind the A Bathing Ape clothing line, which he sold in 2013. He has worked with the likes of Pharrell Williams and Virgil Abloh. He launched Human Made in 2010, and in 2021, he was appointed as the artistic director of KENZO.
