Lagos Fashion Week 2026: Day 1 Conversations on the Future of African Fashion

Published: October 29, 2026 Last Updated 18 hours ago by Esther Ejoh

Lagos Fashion Week 2026 returns for its 16th edition under the theme CRAFTED: Heritage. Innovation. Circular Futures.

This season explores the knowledge, skill, and creative processes shaping African fashion, bringing heritage into conversation with contemporary design, innovation, and new perspectives on the industry’s future.

From discussions on artisan recognition and sustainable business models to financing opportunities and runway presentations, Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1 brought together designers, industry leaders and creative professionals to examine the ideas shaping African fashion.

The opening day placed equal attention on the people behind the craft, the business structures needed to support growth and the fashion designers finding new ways to interpret traditional materials.

Here is a look at the key highlights from Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1

“Crafted”: By Whom, For Whom and at What Cost?

Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1 opened with the Fashion Business Series session, “Crafted: By Whom, For Whom and at What Cost?”

Moderated by media personality and digital strategist Ayo Lawal, the discussion featured Sunny Dolat, Kenyan Cultural Producer and Creative Director; Ifebuche Madu, Founder of Afrikstabel; Aisha Ayensu, Creative Director and Founder of Ghanaian fashion brand Christie Brown; and Dr. Christine Checinska, Senior Curator, Africa and Diaspora Textiles and Fashion at the V&A.

The conversation examined how the fashion industry can better support textile artisans, increase their visibility, and build more equitable, long-term relationships with the people whose skills and knowledge underpin African fashion.

As African fashion designers continue to draw inspiration from traditional textiles and indigenous techniques, questions about recognition, compensation and collaboration remain important. The discussion highlighted the need to ensure that the people responsible for preserving and developing these skills receive meaningful support as the industry grows.

“It is necessary to build a sustainable relationship with African artisans, because the success of any African fashion brand relies on the craft people,” said Aisha Ayensu, founder and creative director of Christie Brown.

The session established an important starting point for Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1, placing the people behind the work at the centre of conversations about the future of African fashion.

Fashion Business Modelling and Franchising

Sponsored by Deloitte, the session on “Fashion Business Modelling and Franchising” was moderated by Temitope Olugbile, Manager, Strategy and Business Design.

The discussion offered fashion entrepreneurs practical perspectives on business models, franchising and the structures required to build and grow sustainable fashion businesses.

As African fashion brands look beyond individual collections and seasonal sales, establishing repeatable business processes becomes increasingly important.

Entrepreneurs must consider how their operations can accommodate expansion, maintain product quality and preserve their identity as they reach new markets.

The session formed part of the wider Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1 programme, which explored the commercial decisions that can help creative businesses move from promising labels to established enterprises.

Akindele Phillips, Founder and Managing Partner at We Practice Africa, led a conversation on the distinction between generating sales and building a commercially sustainable business.

The session emphasised the importance of putting standard processes and structures in place to prepare businesses for growth and potential investment.

For fashion entrepreneurs, strong sales figures do not automatically translate into profitability. Understanding expenses, maintaining accurate financial records and monitoring cash flow are essential to knowing whether a business is performing well and can sustain further growth.

“Build a business that not only looks successful online, but is also successful in real life. Keep every single record,” Phillips advised.

This conversation added a practical dimension to Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1, reminding designers and founders that commercial success requires more than visibility, customer interest and social media engagement. A clear understanding of business performance is equally important.

The final panel discussion explored financing pathways available to fashion businesses and the considerations that shape funding decisions for creative enterprises.

Moderated by Kemi Ogunleye, Marketing Communications and Brand Strategy Professional, the session featured Gbolade Okeowo, Director and Fund Manager at Kuramo Capital Management, alongside Dolapo Adedapo, Creative Specialist and IDCE at the Bank of Industry.

The discussion highlighted opportunities for fashion businesses seeking to scale, while underscoring the importance of financial accountability, proper documentation and a clear understanding of business performance.

Access to appropriate financing remains an important consideration for fashion entrepreneurs looking to invest in production, develop new collections, expand distribution and enter new markets.

However, securing funding often requires businesses to demonstrate that they have clear plans, reliable records and a practical understanding of their financial needs.

By addressing these issues, Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1 extended the conversation beyond creativity to consider the financial structures needed to support the industry’s long-term development.

On the Runway: Akwete Reimagined, Some Birds Fly South and The In-Between

Alongside its business discussions, Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1 featured three presentations exploring different approaches to craft, materiality and contemporary African design. Each collection offered a distinct perspective on how fashion designers can work with textiles, shape silhouettes and develop new visual expressions.

Akwete Reimagined by Emmy Kasbit and ALÁRA

The day began with Akwete Reimagined, a capsule collection collaboration between Nigerian designer Emmy Kasbit and ALÁRA.

Featuring statement pieces made with Akwete, the collection explored how traditional textile techniques can be reinterpreted through a contemporary design lens.

The presentation placed a recognised Nigerian textile tradition within a modern fashion context, demonstrating how heritage can inform new creative directions.

Akwete’s inclusion was particularly relevant to the CRAFTED theme, which examines the knowledge, skills and processes behind fashion. By bringing the textile into a contemporary collection, the collaboration highlighted the continuing role of traditional craftsmanship in the development of African design.

The presentation was one of the notable runway moments from Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1, connecting the season’s wider conversations about heritage and craft with the work of designers.

Sisiano: Some Birds Fly South

Sisiano followed with its Spring/Summer 2027 collection, Some Birds Fly South.

The collection featured sheer pieces and fringe detailing that introduced movement, alongside relaxed menswear silhouettes and an array of hand-printed fabrics. The combination brought together different textures and proportions, creating a presentation that explored the relationship between fabric, form and movement.

Through its use of hand-printed materials and varied silhouettes, the collection offered another perspective on contemporary African fashion. It also demonstrated how textile choices and garment construction can shape the character of a collection without relying on a single design approach.

As part of the Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1 runway programme, Some Birds Fly South contributed to a broader exploration of material experimentation and individual creative expression.

Orange Culture: The In-Between

Orange Culture presented its Spring/Summer 2027 collection, The In-Between, bringing together familiar silhouettes, uneven proportions, sheer layering, hand-stitched embellishments and looped-yarn surfaces across a varied colour palette.

The collection explored contrasts in texture, construction and shape, using different techniques to give familiar forms a new direction. Hand-stitched details and looped-yarn surfaces added further interest to the garments, while sheer layers and uneven proportions introduced variation across the presentation.

The In-Between was another highlight of Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1, reflecting the range of approaches fashion designers are taking to contemporary African fashion.

Together, the three runway presentations showed how heritage, textile experimentation and new design perspectives can exist within the same fashion programme.

The Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1 Welcome Party

The day concluded with the Heineken Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Welcome Party, hosted by Moët & Chandon.

The event brought together fashion designers, fashion industry leaders, media representatives and guests for an evening of celebration and connection ahead of the runway shows.

The gathering provided an opportunity for members of the fashion community to connect as the 16th edition got underway.

Beyond the runway and business sessions, such occasions create space for conversations and relationships that can contribute to future collaborations across the industry.

Following a day focused on craftsmanship, business development, financing and contemporary design, the welcome party marked the close of the opening day’s programme.

What Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1 Revealed About African Fashion

The conversations and presentations at Lagos Fashion Week 2026 Day 1 highlighted several issues shaping the industry’s direction.

Supporting textile artisans, building financially sustainable fashion businesses and expanding access to appropriate funding remain important to the development of African fashion.

At the same time, the runway presentations demonstrated the range of possibilities available to designers working with traditional textiles, hand-crafted details and contemporary silhouettes.

From Akwete Reimagined to Sisiano’s Some Birds Fly South and Orange Culture’s The In-Between, the collections offered different interpretations of material, form and creative expression.

Together, the sessions and presentations reflected the central idea behind this year’s theme, CRAFTED: Heritage. Innovation. Circular Futures. The future of African fashion depends not only on the garments presented on the runway, but also on the people, skills, resources and business structures that make those garments possible.

As Lagos Fashion Week 2026 continues, these opening-day discussions provide a useful starting point for understanding the opportunities and questions facing designers, artisans, entrepreneurs and the wider fashion community.

The 2026 season is title-sponsored by Heineken, alongside key partners NIVEA, MTN, Bank of Industry, Lord’s Gin, Molped, Nigerian Exchange Group, Africa Finance Corporation and Lush Hair.

For more details, visit lagosfashionweek.ng or follow Lagos Fashion Week on Instagram at @lagosfashionweekofficial and X (formerly Twitter) at @LFW_NG.

Photo: Lagos Fashion Week