London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 19, 2025

The Six Best Shows From Lagos Fashion Week

The Six Best Shows From Lagos Fashion Week

The events of the past year provided inspiration for many designers.

Lagos Fashion Week returned after a year’s hiatus last week in fine form. The global COVID-19 pandemic and countrywide protests made physical shows in 2020 impossible and left industry insiders wondering how the pandemic would affect the African fashion industry. However, through a combination of digital-only shows, intimate presentations, and physical runways at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos, Fashion Week was better than ever.

The events of the past year provided inspiration for many designers. Some turned to the Nigerian End SARS protests against police brutality, which took place almost a year ago to the date of Lagos Fashion Week 2021, while others drew on the losses from the COVID-19 pandemic and even more focused on themes of healing and surviving. As for trends, many designers had an affinity for bright primary colors and military-inspired shoulder details. The sheer number of clutches and purses on the runways proved that Lagosians are still very fond of their bags.

Below, the six best collections from Lagos Fashion Week 2021.

Cynthia Abila




The show opened with a model wearing a mask and a layered multicolored gown that seemed to draw inspiration from traditional Nigerian masquerades, and the methodically playing drums helped drive this home. The rest of the collection upgraded familiar silhouettes into daring outfits, thanks to the brand’s craftsmanship. Think colorful power suits made of aso-oke, silky trench-coat dresses with shoulder details, and bright two-pieces with extravagant bottom halves complete with fringes and well-placed cuts.

Emmy Kasbit




Emmanuel Okoro, the creative director of Emmy Kasbit, won the inaugural African Fashion Up prize in partnership with Balenciaga in September. Fresh off his win, he returned to release his latest collection in Lagos. Inspired by the Nigerian-Biafran civil war, which occurred from 1967 to 1970, Okoro drew on the colors of the Biafran flag-red, yellow, black, and green-as the foundation of the collection. The result? Neon jackets with strategically placed gashes, bucket hats, and short-sleeve shirts paired with ties and shorts. Printed on the locally sourced cotton used in the collection were texts from the bunker of Ojukwu, the leader of the Biafran forces. The result: a stirring, applause-eliciting testament to Okoro’s skill in referencing the past and preserving the culture.

Lagos Space Programme




Of all the collections showcased, Lagos Space Programme’s looked the most like an art exhibit as well as a fashion show. Their spring 2022 collection-according to the brand’s founder, Adeju Thompson-was inspired by the Yoruba deity Osun, with indigo representing her connection with water. Held in Alara, the famous Lagosian concept store, the presentation featured several videos and audio clips playing scenes from annual festivals honoring Osun to create an immersive experience. Carefully designed coats, flowy culottes styled over similarly voluminous indigo shirts, and deconstructed gowns spoke to the brand’s desire to erode gender binaries in fashion.

Andrea Iyamah




Designer Andrea Iyamah’s knack for storytelling and subtlety sets her apart as a designer. She showcased her spring 2022 collection to a limited number of guests in a white dome away from the hubbub of the Federal Palace Hotel. With an earthy color palette, the collection explored the art of healing and thriving in uncertain times. The flowy dresses evoked goddesses, while halter tops and swimsuits in bold colors reminded viewers of a life pre-COVID-19.

Odio Mimonet




The Odio Mimonet spring 2022 collection explored the art of finding happiness and joy, regardless of the current state of the world. Mimonet creates pieces that channel multiple eras while also appearing trendless. By marrying primary colors with rich textures, Mimonet crafted dresses that bring to mind Nigerian traditional silhouettes and also have a strong futuristic feel to them.

Orange Culture




The Orange Culture spring 2022 collection began with audio from the 2020 End SARS protests. The clip, which went viral last year during the protests, featured a girl screaming, “We want to be fresh,” referencing how the police seemingly attack stylish young people. Orange Culture has a reputation for being a rebellious brand unafraid to restart essential conversation. What was new was how Adebayo Oke-Lawal, creative director of Orange Culture, paired his signature cutout tops and trench coats with new designs, including shimmery see-through gowns that stopped just above the knees and dark overshirts layered over more colorful shirts. The result was a balance between the crazy and the calm. Finishing off with performances from musicians Falana, a favorite of the brand, and Lojay, who performed his breakout hit “Monalisa,” the show was a delight.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
DeepSeek Claims R1 Model Trained for only $294,000, Sparking Global Debate Over China’s AI Capabilities
SoftBank Vision Fund to Cut Nearly Twenty Percent of Staff in Bold AI Strategy Shift
Intel’s Next-Gen Manufacturing Gets a Lifeline from Nvidia’s Strategic $5B Deal
Erika Kirk Elected CEO of Turning Point USA After Husband Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
×