Left, the rare Vintage Levi’s 501XX Buckle Back Jeans from the 1920s. Right, Nigo and Pharrell
Composite: Jeans photo: Kliton Ceku for JOOPITER; portrait courtesy of Joopiter.
A pair of 100-year-old jeans valued at US$50,000 to US$70,000 will headline a sale at Joopiter, an auction house founded by musician Pharrell Williams.
The rare Vintage Levi’s 501XX Buckle Back Jeans from the 1920s are described as being in immaculate condition and feature arcuate stitching, with a back strap, and suspender buttons. The jeans could exceed their high estimate based on recent sales—most notably, a pair of Levi’s salvaged from an 1857 shipwreck sold at auction in December for US$114,000, more than doubling the original estimate.
Williams’ digital auction house is partnering with the prolific Japanese designer Nigo for the sale, called From Me To You will feature a broad range of items — including luxury accessories, fine jewelry and watches, vintage clothing, denim and collectibles — from NIGO’s personal archives.
“From Me To You is named after one of my favorite Beatles songs, and it symbolizes the time to finally release my most cherished, personal collections out into the world. Each item is something that I have spent time and energy to collect, and many I’ve been privileged to help create. I am sincerely looking forward to seeing how they are passed onto the next generation, and I hope they continue to live on through the next,” said NIGO in a statement announcing the sale.
Often described as a visionary, NIGO has been at the epicenter of fashion, hip-hop and streetwear for decades. The designer — born Tomoaki Nagao in 1970 — first reached global audiences as the creator of the streetwear brand A Bathing Ape (BAPE), and currently serves as creative director for the French luxury fashion house Kenzo.
“NIGO is a cultural icon, transcending singular genres and categories, having had a monumental impact on music, culture, and art. His influence on fashion has touched the highest of French houses, while also defining an entirely new culture of luxury in skate and streetwear fashion. From Me To You is a celebration of this impact and legacy as a changemaker,” Caitlin Donovan, head of global sales at Joopiter., tells Penta.
The auction’s 61 lots feature culturally significant possessions from his many eras as a DJ, producer, and streetwear pioneer, with a strong focus on timeless vintage pieces.
“I’ve been wearing vintage since I was 15 years old. There was a big American vintage trend in Japan in the ’80s,” said Nigo. “The Japanese hardcore collectors were the ones who came up with the manual on vintage, and the culture still lives on today. The pursuit of learning from vintage clothing continues to inform everything I do.”
Nigo’s love for vintage has led to “amassing a collection of Americana clothing with pieces never before seen on the market, like a vintage Lee cowboy jacket from the ’40s,” Donovan says.
Other key lots highlighted in the sale include a travel-size Hermès Orange H clemence leather Birkin 55 bag with palladium hardware (2010), estimated to sell between US$8,000 and US$10,000; a custom Brooklyn Machine Works Nigo bike (2005) commissioned by the designer that features a Gucci link chain and is expected to go for at least US$5,000; and a pair of BAPE STA first-edition sneakers signed by Jay-Z (2002), which is set to sell between US$6,000 and US$8,000 USD.
Among the jewelry on offer is a pair of blinged-out items customized by the American designer Jacob & Co., a favorite among the hip-hop community. A Casio x Nigo white gold and diamond G-shock watch (2019) is expected to go for between US$12,000 and US$15,000, while a white gold and diamond running dog pendant and diamond Gucci link chain (2003) could sell for upward of US$20,000.
“Nigo’s eye as a collector is unparalleled, influencing brands and friends, such as the impact he has had on Pharrell. He has helped define for so many what it means to collect in a meaningful way, letting the inspiration he has taken from the multifaceted aspects of his life shape his collecting journey,” says Donovan.
Pharrell—who was named Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director this year—and Nigo have enjoyed a long relationship, having first met 20 years ago, an interaction that he describes in the auction notes.
“I was already familiar with his myth, but what I saw upon meeting him changed my life forever,” said Pharrell in the announcement. “Nigo blew me away with his taste and curation. Everything he bought was an investment, something that clearly fit in a defined collection. Looking through these pieces, it’s like walking down memory lane for me. So many of these items are from iconic moments in fashion and culture, it’s a history lesson.”
Joopiter, which launched in September 2022 and bills itself as “a global digital-first auction house and content platform,” had previously served as the platform for Pharrell’s own sale of personal archive pieces.
The Nigo: From Me To You online sale begins on Nov. 9 and runs through Nov.16. The lots will be on display at a public preview in New York City from Nov. 10-12.