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Lagos Fashion Week 2019: Vibrant Spectacular Trends

By Christopher Ebuka

03 November 2019   |   2:00 pm

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Lagos Fashion Week, 2019, started and ended on a high note. The bi-annual event saw over 30 established and new designers on the runway. What Lagos Fashion Week has done and continues doing is its ability to put Nigeria on a global map as it now includes more African designers in their lineups. This year…

Lynthia Abila. | Photo Kola Oshalusi

Lagos Fashion Week, 2019, started and ended on a high note. The bi-annual event saw over 30 established and new designers on the runway.

What Lagos Fashion Week has done and continues doing is its ability to put Nigeria on a global map as it now includes more African designers in their lineups. This year was no different. Speaking of designers, who did what?

Orange Culture opened the show with a spectacular collection. The brand, true to its DNA, had a progressive, gender-neutral view. Prints were the order of the day; they filtered into the blazers, shirts, and trousers. Sheer fabrics in free-flowing silhouettes. The hard-to-miss, stand out piece was the white hats with crystal tear-drops. Orange Culture is not stopping anytime soon.

Orange Culture. | Photo Kola Oshalusi

Last year’s Fashion Focus Fund winner, Emmy Kasbit, showed a more vibrant collection than the brand used to. With the brand’s signature Akwete in full display, the brand introduced lace in its collection. “It’s inspired by the New Yam Festival in Arochukwu,” said Emmanuel Okoro, the brand’s Creative Director/Founder. “I want it to depict joy and celebration. And I hope I’ve achieved that.”

The first thing one notices when the Fruché show started was the craftsmanship and attention to details. The other thing one notices is a female jacket made of camouflage. Would someone wear that in Nigeria? It becomes an obvious question. Or maybe it’s for international clients? Perhaps, a metaphor for women taking back their power? Whatever it means, it was stunning.

Fruche showcase | Photo: Kola Oshalusi

The collection saw some of the brand’s signature pieces like the graphic and two-toned structured shirts. But the real scene-stealer would be the black dress with red and orange feathers symbolizing, perhaps, a phoenix rising.

The trends this season are a comeback of older trends and a re-interpretation of new ones. From bold to conceptual designs, Lagos Fashion Week sets the tone for what we’d be wearing for months to come.

Chisom Njoku for Maxivive. Photo: Idris Dawodu

A non-fashion enthusiast would wonder why a designer would send down an unfinished outfit on the runway, but the unfinished hem outfit did not happen by chance. The unfinished hem is when a designer makes an outfit and instead of hemming the tips, they would decide to leave them undone. This trend gives an artsy vibe and is sure to get you one or two looks as you walk down the street.

The Inside Out, just like the unfinished hem, the designers design the clothes to make them look as though one was wearing them inside out. These designs, when styled the right way could be luxe.

The print is in but, then again, it never really left. Lynthia Abila, Orange Culture and Rick Dusi sent down some of the most vibrant shades of print down the runway. Abila’s dominantly yellow prints are the fun we’ll all need in our wardrobes.