Lagos Fashion Week 2023 Recap

Ten designers from this year’s Lagos Fashion Week took over Spotify’s flagship fashion playlist, Fashion Forward, for the month of October featuring tracks that complemented their runway exhibitions, providing a seamless fusion of music and fashion.

 

Lagos Fashion Week 2023 kicked off  on Thursday, October 26th, setting the stage for a thrilling exhibition of cutting-edge fashion from some of the industry’s most revered names. The event opened with Rendoll’s debut collection, a mesmerising display featuring a vivid tropical colour palette, contemporary silhouettes, and richly textured fabrics. A total of 11 more designers took to the runway, including Abigail Ajobi, one of the 10 designers who took over the Spotify Fashion Forward playlist, as well as Lulla House, Kadiju, and culminating in Cynthia Abila’s collection, aptly titled “Unbroken,” where the designer seamlessly integrated handwoven fabrics and raffia accents. Distinguished personalities such as Wurld, Eku Edewor, Eniafe Momodu, and Nicole Chikwe were in attendance, adding to the excitement of Day 1.

Friday’s proceedings were equally enthralling, with a larger audience in attendance, including industry luminaries SGaWD and ShineTTW who were there courtesy of Spotify. Cute Saint led the charge with their SS24 collection, “IGBOYA,” a fusion of metallics and knitted fabrics, masterfully interweaving textures within a monochromatic palette of blacks, whites, and greys.

More designers graced the runway with their enchanting collections, featuring talents from Nigeria such as Geto and LFJ, alongside Kenyan sensation Kiko Romeo, and Kente Gentleman from Ghana, who were also among the ten designers that curated the Spotify playlist.

 

Desiree Iyama set the tone on the final day with their SS24 collection, “Botanical Garden,” an homage to the vibrant hues found in flourishing gardens. Notable attendees in the front row included some of Spotify’s guests; Andre Vibez

, Victony, and Bloody Civilian, who were treated to showcases by an additional 17 designers, including Kilentar, also one of the playlist collaborators and Green Access participants like By.Wuzzy, BornstarNG, and Dust of the Earth.

Victor Okpala, Spotify’s artist and Label Partnerships Manager for West Africa said, “the impact of the intersection of  two of the most influential cultural forces, music and fashion, is evident and at Spotify, we will continue to find synergies to  amplify both worlds.” He also graced the stage as he walked the runway for Emmy Kasbit, a prominent Nigerian designer and one of the playlist’s collaborators. Kasbit’s collection marked the conclusion of the event for the night.

 

On Sunday, several designers presented their collections at various off-site venues, including Orange Culture and IAMISIGO, who were also curators of the playlist. “I think music is a huge part of my inspiration board, from creating the collection to how the collection is expressed on the runway, music is a key part of getting people to feel something when they look at the clothes,” Adebayo Oke-Lawal, Creative Director of Orange Culture explains.

 

“Sound goes into a lot of everything, whether it’s the beating of the fabric, the weaving on the loom going back and forth. And I guess with sound also, there is this act of repetition of beats, of counts. So for us too in creating or weaving, we’ll always have to count the number of threads we are using in terms of the colours that are broken down the same way you do with music,” adds Bubu Ogisi, Creative Director of IAMISIGO.