New and established contrivers from each across Africa lately gathered in Nigeria for the mainland’s leading assiduity show, Spring/ Summer 2024 edition of “Lagos Fashion Week.” The confidential addresses revealed the event’s intentions and how Africa’s fashion makes the swells but still, why they aren’t transnational.
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Lagos Fashion Week
Lagos Fashion Week, lately took place in Nigeria, starting from 25th October. The event lasted till 29th October, consisting of colourful donations and featuring close to 50 runways. The event sought to produce a “Pan-African” event that can crack through to the global assiduity docket, becoming a magnet and attraction for the new generation of creative talented minds.
“This has been the stylish Lagos Fashion Week that I ’ve been to,”
– says Eniafe Momodu a British- Nigerian fashion pen, creative adviser , who worked for guests like Grace Ladoja’s popular Nigerian streetwear jubilee Homecoming. Lagos Fashion Week aims at, and has been working to rebuild in the wake of the epidemic. Epidemic muted the megacity’s buzzy busy fashion scene, forcing the contrivers to pivot to online activations. The epidemic, along with socio- profitable factors including cost of living and affectation — before this month the Nigerian naira fell 26 per cent against the bone to an each- time low — have hit contrivers hard.
” It was hard to rebuild. The socio- profitable challenges are deeply impacting the creative diligence, it feels like we’re swimming against the current. It’s in fact a phenomenon that we were indeed suitable to pull off Lagos Fashion Week this time. All thanks to mates, ”
-says Lagos Fashion Week author Omoyemi Akerele. “ effects have changed drastically, economically, socially and politically. ”The Lagos week this time, got a number of guarantors- Heineken, Ivorian e-commerce platform Anka, telecom company MTN and skincare brand Bioderma being the main sponsors. Organisers say the event is sluggishly gaining back its glory and instigation. Although it still requires to reach the number equal to its pre-pandemic attendees. Last time around 3,900 attendees attended the Lagos Fashion Week. And this time the number grew up to approx 4,400 people. Including notorious influencers, press and professional well given shutterbugs.
Africa and Fashion Weeks
The African mainland hosts close to 32 successful fashion weeks every time. The African fashion industry is valued at $15.5 bn worth of exports annually. Adding globalisation and massive relinquishment of western fashion in earlier times of the 21st century, lead to drastic decline in the use of traditional African fabrics and patterns, raise heavy enterprises about the corrosion of traditional African culture. Still, now we’re witnessing the late reversal of this trend.Africa presently is in a strong growth phase, with a current population of 1.3 billion people which is set to double by 2050.
According to UNESCO report notes, there’s a growing consumer trend in the United Nations for Made in Africa fashion, particularly among the youngish generation and the growing civic middle- class who make up more than 35% of the UN’s population.Access to social media on mobiles and rise in e-commerce is the perfect sweet drink for African Fashion to get worldwide exposure and enjoy the increased request openings. Social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok is a great helping hand for spreading the images and videos participated by African contrivers to the global population. Creative and unique effects get blown up on these social media platforms as relish and participating in them is just a matter of moments.
African Fashion Industry facing Investment problems
New Ideas, talent, creation and the demand from consumers are growing but still what’s not there is the right financial capital needed to support this sector. Answering the question of why it’s African fashion yet struggles to be international. Lack of private and public sector investment is the barrier stopping the African fashion sector in reaching its full potential. Therefore, the British Council recently announced about the highly successful fashion accelerator programme, Creative DNA, across the continent during The Creative Africa Nexus 2023. Aiming at sustainable fashion practices and use of traditional techniques to champion African fashion and provide designers with much-needed networking opportunities, market access and investment.
