A Lagos Fashion Week runway in full swing. In its 15th anniversary (Oct 29–Nov 2, 2025), LFW adopted the theme “In Full Bloom,” celebrating a decade and a half of African creativity with bold new energy. The week highlighted sustainability and community initiatives from its Green Access upcycling incubator to XRetail commerce experiments, reaffirming LFW’s role as the continent’s premier fashion platform. Over five days in Lagos’s Federal Palace Hotel, 60+ African designers unveiled SS26 collections that mixed traditional craft with modern innovation.
Runway Trends and Styles
Craft meets drama. Lagos designers once again drew on rich Nigerian heritage, but with theatrical flair. Beads, sequins and elaborate embroidery abounded: for example, Kanyinsola Onalaja’s opening collection featured pearl‑fringed gowns and jewel-toned dresses inspired by traditional scarification motifs and indigo adire cloth. Fringe was everywhere; Emmy Kasbit and Hertunba used sweeping straw hats, crocheted edges and dangling fringe to add movement and texture to their lines. There was also a fierce celebration of confidence and the body: Ajanéé’s gender-fluid show famously opened with a “free the nipples” statement, complete with bare-chested male models in stockings. Overall the fall/spring runways were a canvas of contrasts; artisan fabrics reinterpreted as 3D sculptural pieces, all worn with a sense of unapologetic exuberance.
Standout Collections & Designers
Onalaja’s triumph. British-Nigerian designer Kanyinsola Onalaja was one of the week’s biggest stories. Her sculptural SS26 dresses, shot through with colors and rhinestones, drew rave reviews. Onalaja builds each collection around Nigerian culture: here reimagining Yoruba adire and scarification patterns, while insisting on real inclusivity: all looks were offered in sizes XXS through 4XL. The front row sparkled too: American singer Ciara (shown) attended in Onalaja’s designs, underscoring the label’s global reach. Behind the scenes, Onalaja explained that she’s finally “not trying to fit into what the West wants” but instead embraces Nigeria’s “chaos, beauty, color and vitality” in every piece.
Veteran Lagos brands and fresh faces both made statements. Emmy Kasbit’s lineup played with neutral, sun-washed colors and extra-large hats for a refined boho look, while Boyedoe and Fruché continued their creative patchwork and print experimentation. Green Access alum Dimeji Ilori elevated the “power accessory” trend by pairing gargantuan handcrafted bags with raffia and woven mats. Meanwhile, emerging labels embraced sensuality: Studio Imo debuted knit-and-crochet sets with structured tailoring, and Ajanéé followed up its nude denim cuts with rhinestone-studded evening wear. In short, from heritage-inspired co-ords to avant-garde cutouts, Lagos designers covered the gamut all linked by a fearless, detail-obsessed spirit.
Street Style & Atmosphere
Lagos’s street style remains as vibrant as its runways. The crowds around Federal Palace (aka the Heineken District) served up “gender-fluid, maximalist silhouettes” in abundance. Attendees layered Nigerian textiles with global trends: indigo adire tops worn over raffia skirts, vintage sweatshirts, and skinny jeans teamed with designer mules. Men in flowing caftans and bold accessories strolled next to women in oversized printed blazers over sheer dresses. Accessories stole the show: every look featured statement pieces; towering headwraps, monumental earrings, and the season’s It bag (seen slung giant-size from shoulders). In Lagos, fashion is communal and extroverted; the street style mix of tradition and streetwear perfectly mirrored the creativity onstage.
African Fashion on the World Stage
Lagos Fashion Week’s influence extends well beyond Nigeria. Globally, the African fashion industry is on the rise, and LFW alumni have become key voices. For example, Style House Files (LFW’s design incubator) graduates like Bubu Ogisi (IamIsigo) and Yayra Agbofah have just won high-profile awards (a Zalando Visionary prize and an H&M Global Change award). International celebrities and brands are taking note: Nigerian designers have dressed stars from Diana Ross (wearing Ugo Mozie at the Met Gala) to Afropop icons Tems and Burna Boy. LFW itself is earning acclaim as a sustainability pioneer; it was even named a finalist for the global Earthshot Prize for its circular-fashion initiatives. In other words, Lagos Fashion Week doesn’t just reflect African fashion trends; it creates them and pushes them onto the global stage.
The October 2025 edition of Lagos Fashion Week proved once again why the Nigerian metropolis is a fashion capital. The runway collections mixed ancestral craft with cutting-edge design, as seen in Onalaja’s festival of color and couture. The audience – from governors to pop stars – embraced the looks with equal zeal. Through it all ran a message of empowerment: vibrant culture, personal expression, and inclusion. As Lagosians like to say, fashion here is something to live in, not just to look at. In full bloom, Lagos Fashion Week continues to redefine what African fashion can be locally grounded, globally resonant, and utterly unapologetic.