This year, Lagos Fashion Week celebrated its 15th anniversary, with its biggest and buzziest fashion event yet. This season, over 60 designers showcased on the official schedule, while some 15,000 guests attended the five-day event in the Nigerian metropolis.
It’s been a long journey. Back in 2011, Omoyemi Akerele founded Lagos Fashion Week with the ambition of creating a platform to support and spotlight African creativity, craftsmanship and culture. Today, the platform has grown from its small and intimate origins to the biggest fashion week on the continent, with the ability to springboard designers onto the international stage — heavyweight alumni include Lisa Folawiyo, Orange Culture and Mai Atafo. Brands on the schedule this season, which ran from 29 October to 2 November, included Orange Culture, Iamisigo and Kilentar.
Lagos Fashion Week is not just for Nigerian brands. Over the past 15 years, several pan-African designers have traveled thousands of miles to showcase their collections in the Nigerian city, including South Africa’s Maxhosa and Rich Mnisi, and Ghana’s Christie Brown. Many designers who have graced the Lagos Fashion Week stage have also gone on to win or be shortlisted for global recognitions such as the International Woolmark Prize, or the LVMH Prize.
“Lagos Fashion Week has served as a catalyst within the African fashion ecosystem,” Akerele says. “The first Lagos Fashion Week was very humble, but it was bold. It was filled, at the time, by belief, grit and this [unwavering] commitment to proving that Africa is the backbone when we’re talking about creativity [and fashion] today.” Akerele and her small team have a “lot of conviction” to ensure Lagos Fashion Week continues to serve and uplift the African fashion industry. “What began as a fashion week is now a movement,” she adds, noting that it has become about economic empowerment, education and mentorship.
Akerele continues: “I don’t just see it as fashion week; we see it as a statement that says African creativity belongs on the global stage, not just as inspiration, but as leadership in sustainability and accountability.”
Last month, the 15-year-old fashion week was named a finalist for the Earth Shot Prize, an annual environmental award spearheaded by William, Prince of Wales, for the platform’s efforts in promoting new sustainable fashion systems. That same month, Akerele was named one of Time magazine’s most influential climate leaders in 2025.
But it hasn’t always been easy. Building a business in Nigeria comes with several challenges, including socioeconomic barriers, poor infrastructure, a fluctuating currency and limited funding opportunities. These external factors make the day-to-day runnings of a fashion week incredibly challenging, forcing the organization to look to technology and lifestyle brands for sponsorship. This year’s sponsors include Heineken, Nigerian telecommunications operator MTN and Facebook.
For the first time in several years, streetwear was present on the runway. Nigerian streetwear convention Street Souk brought seven designers to Lagos Fashion Week, including buzzy brands Go Crazy, Pieces and JBL. “I realized that for a lot of these young designers here, without being given a platform or an opportunity, might’ve never had the chance to showcase on a runway,” says Street Souk founder Iretidayo Zaccheaus. “The feedback was incredible and we definitely want to do more of this… I want these designers and more to do a full collection.”
The sustainability push continues
Since its inception, sustainability has formed a key pillar of Lagos Fashion Week. Its sustainability incubator –– now referred to as Green Access, though originally known as the Young Design of the Year Award –– was conceived to spotlight and nurture designers focused on sustainable practices, from upcycling to natural fibers. In 2022, the program opened up to talent from other African countries, and has since attracted designers from across the continent, including Morocco, South Africa and Kenya.
Elsewhere on the schedule, Ghana’s The Or Foundation brought three designers to showcase at Lagos Fashion Week. Titus Doku, a Ghanaian designer and founder of sustainable brand Calcul, showcased a small collection made entirely from upcycled garments sourced from Kantamanto Market, one of West Africa’s biggest secondhand markets. “Every week, we receive about 15 million pieces of clothing. The Or Foundation is helping upcycled brands [gain access to new markets],” Doku says.
Ria Sejpal, founder of sustainable Kenyan brand Lilabare, returned to the fashion week for a third season. For this collection, Sejpal mixed various botanicals to create her own dyes, including rosemary and plectranthus barbatus, also known as the “toilet paper plant” (its leaves are used by some as a natural, eco-friendly alternative to commercial toilet paper). “The collection is inspired by pushing the boundaries of what craft can be,” she says. “I wanted to really stretch the muscles, so to speak, of what is expected [and] of what people say is possible.” That also extended to beadwork and embellishment, which incorporates an array of Kenyan and Indian techniques.
Transforming retail in Nigeria
This season, the focus was on helping African designers enter retail spaces across Nigeria. Historically, it has been an arduous process to shop runway designers, as only a few have physical stores and active e-commerce sites. In a bid to streamline market access, new and established retailers stepped in to help.
Lagos Fashion Week tapped Nahous, a newly opened creative and cultural hub on Victoria Island, as one of its official retail partners, allowing guests to shop from seven fashion week designers. The goal is to improve access to market for young and emerging talent. “You go to fashion shows, but you can’t ever buy the [clothes] that are on the runway, which is a key issue,” says Nahous founder Richard Vedelago, noting that Nigeria’s poor retail network means brands are missing an opportunity to connect with new consumers during peak periods.
Vedelago wanted to help solve that issue. “We wanted to create a shopping experience associated with Lagos Fashion Week, where brands can showcase their current or main line collection,” he says, adding that the venue’s close proximity to the official Lagos Fashion Week venue made it an attractive opportunity. “It was really successful.”
Temple Muse, a Lagos luxury retailer that has been in operation since 2008, offered its store space to designers hosting offsite activations — shows or presentations that take place beyond the main fashion week tent. Both Iamisigo and Kilentar held their Spring/Summer 2026 presentations at Temple Muse. “We’re their official stockists,” says Temple Muse co-founder Kabir Wadhwani. “We want them to be seen and to grow. So during fashion weeks, we open our doors as a satellite site for various designers across the country.”
Over the last 15 years, perceptions of fashion’s inner workings have evolved, says photographer Stephen Tayo, who has been documenting Lagos Fashion Week for over eight years. “There’s been more understanding and realization [of the entire fashion sector],” he says, adding that platforms like Lagos Fashion Week are seeking to close the knowledge gap for those looking to break into the industry. “People now know what a buyer is, what they do — the art director, the PRs.”
A catalyst for cultural pride
The pool of local and international influencers is increasing like never before. This season, influencers and content creators from the US and Europe were present in Lagos, many of whom returned from AW25, including Tenicka Boyd, Frilancy Hoyle and Nneka Michel.
“[Last year] was my debut… and it’s become therapeutic for me because it’s my home. It’s [about] standing for what I believe in and what our country can do collectively through fashion,” says Michel. “For me, [Lagos Fashion Week] is now a retreat, a homecoming, [where I’m] always coming back to tap into my culture and coming back to tap into the talent we have here.”
There was also a wider governmental effort to boost tourism beyond Detty December, a period when the diaspora travels to Africa for festivities and celebrations from December to January. That led the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to invite American musician Ciara to Lagos to attend shows and experience the city during fashion week. Some 30 minutes before it began, Frank Aghuno, founder of contemporary fashion brand Fruche, was told the news that Ciara would walk in his show. “My mind was blown,” he says. “She’s someone I’ve listened to since I was a kid, and now she’s wearing my piece to close today.”
Each year, Lagos Fashion Week continues to grow, with more designers eager to be a part of the schedule. As Akerele puts it: “Lagos Fashion Week is showing that fashion can be a catalyst for cultural pride and systemic change, and we will continue to do that for as long as we can.”
