Tatsushi "Tabo" Kagaya

Tatsushi 'Tabo' Kagaya (often just called Tabo) was a Japanese fashion designer and streetwear pioneer who spent much of his life in Hong Kong. He was born in Tokyo in 1964 and died in Japan in 2006. At the time of his death he was the co-founder, operations manager, and designer of the Hong Kong based streetwear brand Fiberops.

Tabo Kagaya History

• Moved to Hong Kong from Tokyo, Japan as a teenager to work for his father's commercial diving company. Already fluent in his native Japanese, Tabo taught himself English and Cantonese.

• 1991 - Opens BFD, a skate and streetwear shop in Hong Kong. The shop is now considered by many to be one of early importers of streetwear brands into the Hong Kong scene.

• While running BFD, Tabo encouraged DJs to spin hip hop records in Hong Kong club. Also became a DJ himself, helping to popularize hip hop music in Hong Kong's early 1990's club scene.

• Tabo became the brand manager of Alphanumeric in Japan before starting his own fashion label, Fiberops.

• 2002 - Launched Fiberops fashion brand with American designer Alyasha Owerka-Moore in Hong Kong. The brand immediately became popular in Hong Kong and Japan (where they had a shop in Harajuku) and began getting noticed in the U.S. and Europe as well.

• 2005 - Tabo develops severe signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but continues with his work at the label.

• 2006 - In December, Tabo passed away.

External Links

• 2004 Tabo Kagaya Interview (with pictures)
• Friends of Tabo at MySpace
• Fiberops Official Website (English)