Words and Interview The Kanto team
Images Nicolo Nimor for New Era Philippines
“I don’t follow with the trend. I make the trend,” Cebu-based artist Nicolo Nimor told The FREEMAN back in 2013, a claim he’s spent the years since building into an entire creative universe: Nick Automatic, a world of bold characters and streetwear-inflected graphics that grew from a personal doodling habit into a brand with tens of thousands of shirts sold. New Era CO11ECTIVE‘s 11th anniversary capsule collection paired four Filipino artists with four core values, with Nimor receiving Authenticity, fitting for an artist who’s spent over fifteen years insisting his identity isn’t for rent. But staying true to himself while designing for someone else’s brand meant deploying a different skill entirely: finding the balance between New Era’s world and his own, which he describes as landing the Nick Automatic universe in a “whole new galaxy.”
Nimor talks Kanto through what such balance required, and how it held up alongside Jethro Olba, Lei Melendres, and Raco Ruiz’s creative interpretations.
In a 2013 interview with The FREEMAN, you said, “I don’t follow with the trend. I make the trend.” For a value like authenticity, that’s a strong stance to start from. Does that instinct get harder or easier to hold onto after 15-plus years of turning your art style into a business?
Nicolo Nimor: It has had its ups and downs, but once you are locked in on who you are, authenticity becomes easier to protect. Failures are part of the learning curve, and consistency is what keeps you grounded. After 15-plus years, I have learned that you can evolve without losing your identity.
Nick Automatic built its name on characters people wore as identity. What did staying “genuine” look like in practice when designing for someone else’s brand?
Nicolo Nimor: Staying genuine means translating my style into design elements that still serve the client’s identity. I get to know the brand, understand what it needs, and find the right balance between their world and mine. I try to imagine the design from their perspective while keeping the Nick Automatic character intact.
Authenticity is one of those words every brand claims. What’s one design decision in your work that only makes sense because it’s you making it?
Nicolo Nimor: It comes down to the style, the colors, composition, penmanship, and all the small moving parts. Each element may seem simple on its own, but once they come together, the design becomes unmistakably mine.
Your work seems to find its way to musicians and bands, from local acts to international ones. Do you see this collection reaching that same kind of wearer, or are you after a different one for a change?
Nicolo Nimor: This New Era collaboration feels different. It brings together New Era’s influence on street culture, sports, and fashion with my own world, Its grit, energy, characters, and raw visual language. I see it reaching both longtime followers of my work and a wider audience that connects with what New Era represents.
You’ve spent your whole career building your own creative universe from scratch. What does it mean to share a piece of that universe into the anniversary of a lifestyle institution like New Era?
Nicolo Nimor: It feels like landing the Nick Automatic universe in a whole new galaxy and that galaxy is New Era. To bring my characters and visual language into a brand with such a strong cultural legacy is both surreal and exciting. It is a small piece of my world becoming part of something much bigger. •
New Era Philippines turns 11 this year, and celebrated with New Era CO11ECTIVE, a capsule collection handing its core values, Individuality, Collaboration, Authenticity, and Pride, to four different Filipino artists to interpret however they saw fit. The result: a red 59FIFTY carrying tonal embroidery and an undervisor combining every artist’s work, a deep green Camper with swappable Velcro patches, a navy 9TWENTY embroidered with all their visual languages at once, and a commemorative tee that folds each artwork into a single design. Every purchase also comes with a blind pack, a randomly selected print from one of the artists, while supplies last.
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