Rapper Kid Cudi (real name Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi) and Human Made designer Nigo (real name Tomoaki Nagao) sat for a dual interview with Complex magazine in an exchange that wove together their stories as impactful cultural influencers.
When asked about the wide acceptance of streetwear within fashion, Nigo explained, “Virgil Abloh becoming men’s artistic director of Louis Vuitton felt like a victory, so to speak, for our team, the streetwear crowd. I’d consider that a success, like we finally earned it. I’m not responsible for creating streetwear alone. It’s something we all played a part in, in building up the culture. It’s finally bearing fruit.”
On seeing Abloh bring back the Millionaire sunglasses he designed in 2004 with Pharrell and then Louis-Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs, Nigo stated, “I was really honored to be respected like that. After all, I’m an old timer now.”
Perhaps most famous for founding Japanese streetwear label BAPE in 1993, Nigo, who is no longer associated with the brand, expressed surprise it’s retained it’s popularity. He said, “To be honest, I think people who like BAPE and the people I click with don’t really overlap at this point. To me, BAPE is an old design, and my main focus now is Human Made.”
At the same time, he’s become less interested in collaborations as a way to make a statement. When asked about brand partnerships, he explained, “You know, it’s funny. I think people probably associate me with a lot of collaborations, but take Human Made, we have almost no collabs. I only like working with people I’m interested in working with. There are so many collabs out there today, and a lot of them are bland. A collab should be something that adds a little spice or touch to an existing brand, not something where the whole brand exists for collabs.”
In the exchange, Cudi also discussed plans for a second Kids See Ghost album and work on an animated effort with Netflix called Entergalactic, which will include a soundtrack produce by Cudi. “It’s really written from my imagination and this character,” explained Cudi.
Check out Complex’s exchange with Cudi and Nigo below.
