HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong enthusiastically announces NIGO® ONLY LIVES TWICE, a sale of the personal collection of Japanese designer, music producer and creative entrepreneur NIGO®. Celebrating NIGO®’s 25 years as an influential force in the fashion landscape, the sale will be held on 7 October during Sotheby’s Hong Kong Autumn Sale Series 2014.

Widely known as an apparel magnate, NIGO® is also a longtime collector who has, over the past four decades, built a dynamic private collection. Gathered into 108 lots, the 250 pieces of collectibles, jewellery and watches, luxury goods, design furniture and contemporary art on offer epitomise NIGO®’s eccentric and highly informed pop aesthetic. In collecting as in his visionary career, NIGO® has consistently forged his own path, relying on personal instinct and a playful approach to produce a one-of-a-kind collection. Bold and imaginative: NIGO® ONLY LIVES TWICE will ring in a quarter-century of his distinctive taste in both fashion and art.

Since NIGO®’s first encounter with the concept of ‘collecting’ – a puppet set at the age of five, he has been driven by a powerful personal attraction to art and designed objects as varied as Star Wars figurines and Charlotte Perriand furniture. NIGO® now shares part of his collection which has been his source of inspiration, offering a rare chance for collectors and his followers alike to understand this creative figure from a new angle, while marking a key milestone in his ongoing collecting journey.

Discussing the sale, Nicolas Chow, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said: "The singular collection of visionary designer NIGO® is unlike any Sotheby’s has ever sold and stands at the neon-lit crossroads of street culture, fashion, art and music. It packs an explosive mix of the best mid-century design, hip hop bling jewellery, street art, vintage toy and fashion collectibles, with a cool disregard for aesthetic hierarchy."

Isaure de Viel Castel, Head of Mid-Season Sales, Contemporary & Modern, Fine Art Department at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, said: “We are thrilled to team up with NIGO® in offering part of his private collection. The staggering variety of properties for sale is set to bring Sotheby’s to a new level by engaging not only the art circle but anyone who has been inspired by NIGO®’s vision, in Asia and beyond.”

NIGO®, born Tomoaki Nagao in 1970, is a Japanese designer, music producer and creative entrepreneur.

In 1993 he opened a store named "Nowhere" in Harajuku, Tokyo, and founded the popular street fashion brand A Bathing Ape in the same year. NIGO® later co-founded Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream – two other hugely successful clothing lines – with his longtime friend and collaborator Pharrell Williams.

NIGO®’s distinct taste and his diverse interest have driven him to embark on various design ventures – most notably his fruitful relationship with the New York-based artist and designer KAWS. He also manages to create much hype in the music world, having owned a record label and is the DJ and producer of the Japanese hip hop group TERIYAKI BOYZ®. NIGO® sets foot in the restaurant and cafe business as well, overseeing CURRY UP® and 2-5CAFE.

Currently, NIGO® is Designer of Human Made and Creative Director of UNIQLO’s t shirt brand UT. adidas Originals has recently announced a long-term partnership with NIGO®, in which the global launch is scheduled in October 2014.