Lagos Slays Again: What to Expect at Lagos Fashion Week 2025
Every year, African fashion makes a bold statement in the global fashion industry, with Lagos, Nigeria, playing a key role in this. Known as a major creative hub for fashion retail and street style, Lagos hosts one of the most significant African fashion events: Lagos Fashion Week, a four-day event held every last week of October, featuring various creative styles from African designers on the runway.
As the 2025 edition of Lagos Fashion Week approaches, fashion lovers and creatives across the continent are planning outfits, curating new collections of styles and designs, and getting ready for one of the most anticipated fashion events in Africa.
Not Sure How the Lagos Fashion Started? Here’s a Quick Look at the Origin
The Lagos Fashion Event (often abbreviated as LFW) was founded in 2011 by Omoyeni Akerele, who is also the founder of Style House Flies. This fashion development agency promotes change in the African fashion industry. Inspired by the potential within Nigeria’s fashion industry, the raw talent, rich culture, and large population. She also recognized the gap in Nigeria's fashion system, so she decided to create a long-term solution to bridge it.
Her Vision is to
Encourage sustainability and innovation: In 2018, Akerele established an initiative under the Lagos Fashion Week called Green Access to support designers who focus on sustainability and resource management. These designers often use upcycled materials, natural fibers like rafia, and locally sourced materials to create.
Place a Spotlight on African designers: The LFW highlights several top fashion designers and rising designers as well. They get to showcase their talents through collections featuring a variety of African fabrics, a collection that tells a story about the rich traditions and cultures of Africa.
Reposition African Fashion in the Fashion Industry: Lagos Fashion Week also serves as a platform where designers, creators, and businesses can connect, grow, and transform fashion into a profitable venture. According to Akerele, “Beyond the runway, the annual event provides a physical platform that’s gradually repositioning fashion as a useful tool for commerce and creativity in Africa”.
Today, LFW is one of the largest fashion events in Africa, showcasing innovations and creating a spotlight for African Designers.
What to expect at the 2025 Lagos Fashion Week
Innovative Runway Shows
The runway will showcase creative and stylish designs that reflect African culture, featuring top African designers such as:
Adebayo Oke-Lawal, the founder of Orange culture
More up-and-coming designers from Green Access and their creative collection aren’t left out either.
Sustainability and Innovation: As it has always been known, the LFW encourages earth-friendly designs by using local natural fibers like rafia, upcycled discarded clothing to create a fresh look on the runway, promoting creativity and craftsmanship. This year’s edition will feature new talents from the Green Access Program, as LFW has taken the time to share stories and the inspiration behind the creative looks using these materials on its Instagram page.
Street Style Moment: Lagos Fashion Week is an event where the audience is also part of the show, allowing you to see fashion lovers in a variety of styles, ranging from minimalist to contemporary and vintage fashion and accessories. Talented photographers are turning moments into memorable shots.
Runway Highlights of Lagos Fashion Week 2024
The Ife Aso Anyi (meaning ‘What We Like’ ) by Ugo Monye. (Nigeria)
One of the standout collections from the 2024 edition of Lagos Fashion Week was Ife Aso Anyi by Ugo Monye, which captivated the audience with its presentation. The collection featured an Afrobeat artist, Davido, celebrating African heritage and culture.
Afrobeat artist, Davido, at Lagos Fashion Week 2025 styled by Ugo Monye
Source: Lagos Fashion Week
The Edo Odion by Oshobor (Nigeria)
This collection featured looks inspired by the traditional wear of the Edo people in Nigeria. It highlighted the Edo culture of Benin, showcasing the unique identity and traditions of the Edo people.
Model wearing Oshobor at Lagos Fashion Week 2024
Source: Lagos Fashion Week
Bi baami (meaning ‘Like my Father’ in Yoruba ) collection by Dust of the Earth (Nigeria)
This collection featured a fusion of contemporary fashion, traditional fabric, and upcycling to inspire sustainable practices. This look, in particular, features a hand-woven bralette top and skirt made from repurposed shoelaces.
Model wearing ‘Dust of the Earth’ at Lagos Fashion Week 2024.
Source: Lagos Fashion Week
Odeneho Patchwork Denim by Boyedoe (Ghana)
This collection focused on sustainability in African fashion through the use of denim. The outfit below features denim, with the skirt crafted from layered strips of recycled denim, stitched together in a patchwork design.
Model wearing ‘Boyedoe’ at Lagos Fashion Week 2024
Source: Lagos Fashion Week
Lagos Fashion Week is more than a showcase of clothes; it is a vibrant celebration of African identity, heritage, and creativity. Through bold fabric designs, traditional fabrics, and innovative styles, the designers convey the ancestral stories behind their creations. This event is taking place in Lagos, Nigeria, from October 29th to November 2nd. We can’t wait to see what they have in store; for now, we wait in anticipation.
So, whether you are attending in person or watching the highlights online, remember that Lagos slays again. And this time, it's bolder and bigger than ever.