Nigo-designed, Pharrell-backed streetwear label Human Made lists successfully in Tokyo

Mid-morning in Tokyo. The Harajuku flagship store of Human Made Inc. is busy with tourists speaking Mandarin, English and Korean, to the background beat of a 1980s pop soundtrack. Inside, white walls and exposed pipes frame shelves of duck-print sweatshirts, mounted over storage boxes printed with Human Made’s signature retro graphics. The staff, sporting Converse sweatshirts and sneakers, makes everything flow at a smooth pace, as befits a label that staged a bumper IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The man behind Human Made once said “I’m unable to do business”. Now, Tomoaki Nagao, aka Nigo, who has turned camo-print hoodies into a global status symbol, has masterminded such a hot streetwear IPO that it was subscribed 60 times over, according to sources familiar with the operation, for a market valuation firmly placing Human Made among the new fashion elite.

Human Made debuted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday, with an IPO that valued the company at $460 million. Its listing was a unique occasion in which streetwear, once a rebellious anti-luxury subculture, matured to become one of luxury’s most valuable exponents. Nigo’s stake amounted to nearly $285 million, propelling him from underground fashion icon to stock market tycoon. He is said to have already grossed approximately $56 million from the operation.

“This is a symbolic moment: a creative company rooted in Japanese street culture is recognised as a valuable capital market entity,” said Kaori Nakano, fashion historian and visiting professor at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. “I expect this [listing] to fuel expectations of greater investment in Japanese brands,” she added.

Institutional investors applied for 35 times the number of shares earmarked for them, while demand by Japanese retail buyers was about 80 times higher, according to sources who preferred to remain anonymous, since the operation’s details aren’t public. At the IPO price, Human Made shares are trading at a much higher valuation multiple than its Japanese fashion counterparts. Human Made’s recent results show the company is thriving, and the forecast for the current fiscal year is for both revenue and earnings to grow by about 20%.

“[Human Made’s] high valuation multiple won’t be justified unless the prospects of revenue and profit growth are realistic,” said Ikuo Mitsui, fund manager at Aizawa Securities Co., adding that “if the market was to regard Human Made as a growing stock, it wouldn’t be surprising if in future it will trade at about 50 times the profits.”

The IPO has placed Nigo among a new class of the fashion wealthy, distinct from old-time billionaires like Ralph Lauren, Miuccia Prada and Donatella Versace, who have dominated the fashion scene for decades.

“In recent years, younger consumers have started to find that old idea of luxury unpleasant. They want something that seems fairer, where owning a product connects you to a community, not a hierarchy,” said Nakano.

Interest in the IPO was feverish. Among the major beneficiaries was Pharrell Williams, musician, producer and longtime collaborator, currently creative director of Louis Vuitton‘s menswear, who has a 25.7% stake, worth approximately $117 million. He sold about $33 million worth of shares at the time of listing. Institutional investors included Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, MY.Alpha Management HK Advisors Ltd., and Asset Management One Co.

“What investors appreciated most is that [Human Made] has been growing at an exceptional rate for a company of its size,” said Takamasa Ikeda, senior portfolio manager at GCI Asset Management, who bid for the shares at the IPO but didn’t receive any due to disproportionate demand.

“Human Made has increased revenue and profits more than five-fold since 2020, but maintaining this momentum will be a challenge. The company needs to expand its offering to maintain a 20% revenue growth rate,” added Ikeda, noting that the label has partnered with Nike Inc., Levi Strauss & Co. and Pokémon. “Extending the product range and collaborating with multiple global brands could be a solution. Investors are now looking at whether Human Made will be able to forge new alliances,” said Ikeda.

Human Made’s senior executive team is highly experienced: CEO Rei Matsunuma spent 16 years at Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo, and Rehito Hatoyama was formerly with Sanrio Co., the $9 billion company behind Hello Kitty, where he led the brand’s global expansion strategy.

Nigo was born in December 1970 in Maebashi, Japan, and grew up in a working-class family. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a metalworker. His passion for Western style was sparked by Popeye magazine, which introduced post-war Japanese youth to the American Ivy League looks of the 1950s. His curiosity led him to Bunka Fashion College, where he studied fashion editing and where his own distinctive mix of design, branding and storytelling began to take shape.

For the generation that grew up in the 1990s, Nigo was already something of a legend. His A Bathing Ape (BAPE) label defined Tokyo’s Harajuku scene, fusing hip-hop and skateboarder influences with Japanese pop culture well before streetwear became a global currency.