African fashion lights up Lagos
It was celebration of creativity, style diversity and elegance at this year’s African Fashion Week Nigeria (AFWN) as designers showcased their pieces on the runway.
The three-day event, which took place at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, was not only a platform that showcased talented upcoming designers from across Africa, but also one that exhibited black beauty and the uniqueness of the continent’s fashion space.
The organiser of AFWN, Princess Ronke Ademiluyi described the event as an unparalleled fashion festival in Africa as the idea encapsulates unadulterated Africanism.
According to Ademiluyi, AFWN is aimed at promoting African culture and creating pathways to wealth and economic empowerment through amplifying the place of Nigerian fabrics and fashioning them to meet current trends.
The 2022 AFWN, which was concluded last Friday, kicked off on Wednesday September 7 with Adire People’s Catwalk by Atoke Atelier. Other lined up activities, including Adire Odua – RTW runway show followed suit.
The event, on its second day, showcased Funto By Funto, a female designer with models who graced the runway with Ankara pieces and Adire. The beauty of her collection is the perfectly suited combination of the fabrics, some of which were embedded with stones and crystal ornament. Benoski was another designer whose attires were predominantly plain and floral satin fabrics. The high point of Benoski’s collection would have been said to be the green leave dress catwalk, until the elegant model wearing a black dress with multi-colour led light graced the runway, leaving guests marveled at the creativity.
Also, there was Folat Outfit designed by Ifeoluwa Ayobami Amosun with the embroidery dynamics collection, and Anasam Collection from a South Sudan designer whose models showcased boubou outfits made with different indigenous fabrics. SM Class, a Cameroonian clothing brand with a collection of jackets made with African fabrics and Ihekubi Lagos, with Ohun Olori collection – a set of elegant outfits designed for queens were also displayed. There was also Dunsincraft Collection, a Nigerian-designed Afro blink collection of creative handbags for male and female, amongst others.The last day of the event had it all as guests revealed how they felt that the organisers saved the best for the last when the First Lady of Kwara State and Founder of Ajike People Support Centre, Dr. Olufolake Abdulrazaq, who is also the matron of the AFWN, made her remarks.
Mrs. Abdulrazaq, who commended Ademiluyi’s initiative, said: “Indeed, I am proud of what Princess Ademuyili has been able to achieve over the years through the African Fashion Week initiative which has provided a veritable platform for Nigerian fashion designers to exhibit their designs and showcase their creative ingenuity in Lagos, London and New York. Interestingly I attended African Fashion Week London in 2016 and have been supporting the brand since, and she made me matron in 2018 even before becoming First Lady of Kwara State.
“The different engaging sessions that had been held in the course of this event speak to the importance of African and Nigerian textile in the global cultural and creative economy, and promote it as a non-oil commodity. Interestingly, this rapidly growing sector can boost economies and drive inclusive socio-economic development. Its significant contribution of three percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) highlights the economic potential of cultural and creative industries as a source of growth and job creation. In Nigeria alone, the cultural and creative industries contributed approximately $18 billion to GDP according to a World Bank 2020 report.”
She commended the House of Oduduwa and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II for championing the sustenance of the Nigerian culture and heritage, and most importantly for promoting creativity among young Nigerians.
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