Different styles, technology, and personalities were forces to behold during AmDiddy’s The Experience fashion show.

Held at the Monarch, Lekki, Lagos, the show was a marriage of fashion, African colour, technology and style, graced by the high and mighty in and out of Nigeria, including Oba Elegusi, Saheed Ademola Elegushi, political figures, Mai Atafo, actors and other players in the fashion industry.

A total of 135 persons, including Timi Dakolo, Stan Nze, Bimbo Ademoye, Okusaga Adeolu, Uche Nnaji, and others, walked the runway.

For the show tagged The Experience, technology came into play to lead the audience into the heart of the creator.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), which tells the story behind every look on the runway, was incorporated to give the full Am Diddy Experience. This fashion and technology brought the Nigerian cultural heritage onto the runway. An Oculus VR led the audience to interact with every piece brought to the stage.

Speaking during the show, CEO and Creative Director, Am Diddy, Samuel Udeji, described the show as the beginning of a journey of something remarkable.

He said he started planning for the show in 2020 before staging it in 2025.

On what he intends to achieve with the show, he said: “I want this to be imprinted in the mind of everyone that Am Diddy is a brand to be recognised with and to understand that Nigeria is blessed. Our cultural heritage is so rich that we can leverage it. Seventy per cent of the outfits on the runway were made in Nigeria and with Nigerian fabrics. We have fabrics from Abeokuta, Ogun State, Anambra, Abia, Kaduna, and Ibadan, bringing the entire Nigerian heritage onto the runway. We are launching our handbags, and the leather is sourced in Kano State.

“We are building a legacy and not numbers; whoever wears any of our pieces will feel special and feel the intentionality of the design. I will be more than happy to control 40 per cent of the Nigerian fashion industry, and more than happy to see how players in the fashion space can collaborate. The industry needs to come together to build a sustainable industry.”

On why he decided to be on the runway, Stan Nze said: “The Am Diddy Experience is more than fashion; it’s a lifestyle, our story, and embodies our culture. Am Diddy has styled me since the first AMVCA I won.

“Am Diddy has always clamoured for a story that will show the Nigerian culture. I am working on a fashion story to hit the screen in collaboration with Am Diddy.”

Timi Dakolo said: “Diddy is an amazing person, and he wows everybody. He has his style, and you feel comfortable in them. I love to support everything Africa. African fashion has announced itself to the world. We should be on the world fashion stage like everybody else.”

On her part, co-founder, Am Diddy, Esther Udeji, said: “Sometimes when I look at pieces we created, I marvel. Am Diddy CEO put so much into it. I think the Nigerian fashion industry is competing favourably, but it needs the global stage to acknowledge that we have something to give to the world. We have the talents, the people, the creative minds, and I know that we will be there one day.”

On what it takes to put the show together, she said: “I took a lot of sleepless nights, tears, finance, prayers. My husband had to travel many times to different countries and villages, so it was done to make everything perfect.

“Every piece is created with a story in mind.”