7 Emerging Fashion Designers We Would Love to See at Lagos Fashion Week 2026

Published: October 8, 2026 Last Updated 6 hours ago by FPN

Lagos Fashion Week has established itself as one of Africa’s most important fashion platforms.

Founded by Omoyemi Akerele, the annual event has grown into a global meeting point for fashion designers, buyers, creatives, media, and fashion audiences interested in the future of African design.

Held each October, the platform places African creativity, craftsmanship, sustainability, and new ideas at the centre of the international fashion conversation.

Yet, as Lagos Fashion Week continues to grow, there is an important conversation worth having about who gets to shape its next chapter.

The biggest headlines often go to established fashion designers with international stockists, years of industry recognition, high-profile celebrity clients, and guaranteed runway presentations.

Their contribution to African fashion is significant, but another group deserves equal attention: emerging designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026 who are experimenting with new materials, challenging traditional production methods, and developing distinct creative languages.

This is particularly relevant for the 2026 edition, themed “CRAFTED: Circular Futures,” which will take place from October 28 to November 1 at the Federal Palace Hotel in Victoria Island.

With runway presentations, creative exchanges, exhibitions, and immersive experiences planned around the event, Lagos Fashion Week 2026 offers an opportunity to look beyond familiar names and make space for the fashion designers building what African fashion could become.

The emerging fashion designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026 should not simply be viewed as newcomers waiting for their big break.

Many are already building serious practices, earning international recognition, participating in sustainability programmes, and finding new ways to connect African craftsmanship with contemporary fashion.

This list focuses on fashion designers who are still building their identities, developing their craft, experimenting with materials, and waiting for the kind of major runway opportunity that can take their businesses to the next level.

These are the emerging fashion designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026 who have already shown their potential within the wider fashion ecosystem but have yet to receive the runway exposure that could significantly expand their reach.

Here are seven emerging designers we can’t wait to see at Lagos Fashion Week 2026.

Studio Imo is a boutique design label founded by design duo Edwin Okolo and Imobong Emah.

Established in 2013, the brand began as a remote collaborative project between the two designers while they were studying in Ghana and Nigeria.

The label has developed a strong identity around crochet, a technique Okolo learned as a child while apprenticing with his grandaunts.

Rather than treating crochet simply as a decorative detail, Studio Imo has explored its potential as a primary fabrication method. The brand has also used the technique to explore sustainable approaches to fashion, including upcycling plastic waste.

That commitment to material experimentation makes Studio Imo particularly relevant to the conversation around emerging fashion designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026.

The brand has spent years refining its language, exploring how technique, construction, material, and drape can work together to create contemporary clothing.

Studio Imo has also collaborated with established Nigerian labels including Orange Culture and IAMISIGO, as well as peer brands such as Denike and Maxivive. These collaborations demonstrate that the label is already connected to Nigeria’s wider creative community.

What it has not yet received is the kind of major runway platform that could introduce its work to a much larger audience.

That is where Lagos Fashion Week could make a difference.

Studio Imo’s use of crochet and recycled materials fits naturally within the “CRAFTED: Heritage. Innovation. Circular Futures” theme.

Its work shows how a traditional technique can be pushed into new territory while maintaining a strong connection to craft.

NAKOI is another name worth watching among the emerging designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026.

The Nigerian fashion brand was featured at Woven Threads VII, Lagos Fashion Week’s sustainability-focused exhibition that brings together designers working across textiles, materials, craftsmanship, and form.

Its participation placed NAKOI among emerging fashion designers exploring how fashion can respond to questions around production, resources, and material use.

The Woven Threads VII exhibition, themed “Crafted,” featured brands including Hertunba, Pettre Taylor, Yoshita, This Is Us, WOTE K.I Design, The OR Foundation, Studio Namnyak, and Eki Kere.

Being part of an exhibition, however, is different from receiving a runway platform.

NAKOI’s presence within the Lagos Fashion Week sustainability ecosystem shows that the brand is already on the radar. The next step is giving audiences a stronger opportunity to experience the work through a full fashion presentation.

For an emerging label, a runway can do more than generate photographs.

It can help communicate a complete design language, introduce new collections to buyers and editors, and give the fashion designer space to establish a stronger public identity.

NAKOI has already entered the conversation. Lagos Fashion Week 2026 could give it the space to push that conversation further.

WOTE K.I., developed at the Kokrobitey Institute in Ghana, approaches fashion through teaching, textile production, and design.

The brand focuses on repurposing discarded textiles and extending the life of existing materials through continuous reworking.

Its work at Woven Threads VII strongly exemplifies this philosophy.

The brand presented the Esi sweater, which reinterprets traditional loom techniques by transforming hand-cut strips of secondhand men’s garments into handwoven clothing.

That approach speaks directly to the “Circular Futures” part of Lagos Fashion Week’s 2026 theme.

WOTE K.I. also participated in the Green Access textile workshop at the Kokrobitey Institute, an initiative that brings textile practitioners and artists from across Africa together to explore traditional techniques through hands-on learning.

For the emerging designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026, craft should not simply mean producing garments by hand.

It should also mean understanding where materials come from, how techniques are preserved, and how traditional knowledge can be adapted for contemporary consumers.

WOTE K.I. offers a compelling example of that approach.

Its work connects textile heritage with environmental responsibility while also creating opportunities for knowledge sharing and economic participation.

A Lagos Fashion Week runway could give the brand a chance to share that story with a broader fashion audience.

Tuntunre approaches fashion through one of the most recognisable materials in everyday wardrobes: denim.

The Nigerian brand transforms discarded denim into handbags, wallets, laptop bags, and other accessories, giving unwanted garments a new purpose instead of letting them become waste.

At Woven Threads VII, Tuntunre hosted a workshop that encouraged participants to experiment with existing textiles and create new designs from discarded materials.

The focus was not simply on recycling, but on changing the way people think about what already exists.

That philosophy fits directly into the conversation around emerging designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026.

The fashion industry is increasingly being asked to consider what happens to clothing after it is purchased and worn.

Brands such as Tuntunre approach this problem at the design stage, using materials that already exist and finding ways to give them a second life.

Tuntunre has participated in the Lagos Fashion Week ecosystem through Woven Threads and has also been involved in the Irapada Circular Design Initiative. These opportunities have helped establish the brand within sustainability-focused fashion conversations.

A runway presentation would provide a different kind of visibility.

It would allow Tuntunre to demonstrate how discarded denim can move beyond accessories and become part of a larger fashion proposition.

Juoby & Co creates bold, culturally rooted ready-to-wear aimed at the modern woman who wants colour, playfulness, and indigenous fabrics without sacrificing wearability.

The brand’s strength lies in its ability to make heritage feel current rather than archival.

Vibrant palettes, unexpected silhouette pairings, and a clear sense of individuality have already earned it attention in the contemporary Nigerian market.

A Lagos Fashion Week slot would provide the scale and production visibility needed to move from a strong local following to wider regional and international consideration.

Eki Kere brings something different to the list.

Where some designers focus heavily on material innovation or circular production, the Nigerian brand is known for a more whimsical approach to fashion and storytelling.

At Woven Threads VII, Eki Kere presented pieces inspired by a summer escape. Raffia hat details and playful silhouettes created a sense of movement and childlike wonder, giving the collection a distinct personality.

That individuality is one reason Eki Kere deserves attention among the emerging designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026.

Fashion Week is not only about demonstrating technical ability.

It is also about creating a world that audiences can recognise. Eki Kere has the beginnings of that world in its playful approach to clothing, styling, and visual storytelling.

The brand was also selected as a grantee for Lagos Fashion Week’s Irapada Circular Design Initiative and was part of the Green Access 2023 cohort. Those milestones show that Eki Kere has already been recognised within the wider ecosystem.

A runway presentation could help translate that recognition into greater public visibility.

The brand has been in the pipeline for several years.

Giving it a larger platform in 2026 would provide an opportunity to see how its playful design language develops when presented as a full collection.

Nya is another Nigerian brand featured at Woven Threads VII, where it was presented alongside names including Emmy Kasbit, Hertunba, and This Is Us.

Its participation in the “Crafted” exhibition places it among designers exploring artisanal production, textiles, and material innovation. Yet Nya remains at a stage where a larger platform could significantly influence its next chapter.

That’s why the distinction between established and emerging matters.

Nya does not have the extensive international infrastructure associated with some of the industry’s better-known names.

It represents the kind of fresh perspective that can easily be overlooked when Fashion Week schedules repeatedly return to designers audiences already know.

For the emerging fashion designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026, visibility is part of the development process.

A runway appearance can help a young brand attract buyers, media attention, collaborators, customers, and potential investors.

Nya already has evidence of industry interest through its inclusion in Woven Threads. A runway presentation would simply take that recognition to another level.

The seven emerging fashion designers highlighted here represent a different stage of fashion development.

They are not being presented as alternatives to established Nigerian designers.

Rather, they represent the next layer of talent that needs opportunities to develop alongside the names that have already built strong careers.

That distinction matters because fashion ecosystems do not grow simply by celebrating the designers who have already succeeded. They grow by creating pathways for new designers to develop.

The emerging fashion designers at Lagos Fashion Week 2026 featured here have already participated in different parts of the Lagos Fashion Week ecosystem.

Some have appeared through Woven Threads, others through Green Access or the Irapada Circular Design Initiative. They have demonstrated their interest in sustainability, craft, material experimentation, storytelling, and contemporary African design.

Yet participation in an exhibition or development programme is not the same as receiving a major runway opportunity.

A runway can change the trajectory of an emerging fashion business. It can put a designer in front of international editors, buyers, stylists, retailers, investors, and potential collaborators.

More importantly, it can give the designer the opportunity to present a complete creative vision rather than a selection of individual pieces.

That is why the question of who gets to show matters.

If Lagos Fashion Week 2026 is looking to the future, then its definition of emerging should make room for designers who are still building.

The next generation should not have to wait until they have international stockists, major celebrity clients, or global recognition before they are considered worthy of a major platform.

The seven names on this list are already doing the work. They are experimenting with materials, developing new approaches to craft, rethinking waste, preserving techniques, and building distinct identities.

Now, they need the opportunity to be seen.

And that may be the most important role Lagos Fashion Week can play in 2026: not simply showcasing where African fashion is today, but giving the designers shaping where it goes next the room to lead the conversation.

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