From Lagos to the world

“The big fashion moments at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs) add to the allure of the award show, but they need not overshadow the ceremony’s core celebration of African cinematic excellence.” 

These are the words of OkayAfrica.com writer Nelson C.J after this year’s event, held on May 10, which saw Nigerian stars grabbing the attention of observers worldwide with a red carpet that rivals any of Hollywood’s best. Whether it is unfortunate that the red carpet did indeed overshadow the actual function of the ceremony is up for debate. What’s true is that it’s becoming increasingly obvious that something special is happening for Nigerian fashion right now. 

All over TikTok and other social media platforms, content creators such as art historian John M Villa clocked millions of views and likes across several videos spotlighting the annual event’s red carpet. This gave an unprecedented amplification of the Nigerian fashion industry, given that global mainstream media seems to be catching on only slowly when it comes to covering Nigerian fashion outside events such as Lagos Fashion Week. This is despite the fact that Nigerian global stars such as Tems, Tiwa Savage and Burna Boy, among others, have been representing African fashion or fashion by African designers for quite a while now.

Remember when Tiwa Savage made history as the first Nigerian artist to perform at a British royal event during King Charles III’s coronation concert? There, the Nigerian singer wore a bottle green iridescent gown by Nigerian designer Lanre Da Silva Ajayi. The off-shoulder tube gown featured a ruffle at the side and a beautiful train, symbolising her pride in Nigerian culture. 

Similarly, designers including British-Nigerian designer Tolu Coker, Kenneth Ize, and Lisa Folawiyo have become mainstays in global fashion editorials, and notable platforms on the global fashion calendar such as Paris Fashion Week. Vogue Business has described Lagos Fashion Week, which was founded by Omoyemi Akerele in 2011, as “Africa’s leading fashion week”. Business of Fashion (BoF) has noted that the event has effectively positioned Nigeria as a hub for emerging design talent, aiming to demonstrate the country’s potential for commerce and creativity. 

The platform has facilitated Nigerian designers’ participation in international trade fairs, such as Pitti Uomo in Florence, enhancing their global visibility. Designers such as Maki Oh and Lisa Folawiyo, have garnered commercial success and a celebrity following, with their designs stocked in stores worldwide as a result. It’s about time, if you ask me. 

Not only are Nigerian designers offering a whole new perspective on luxury, the country has a long tradition and history of innovation in style that draws from its rich cultural heritage. Using aso-oke (a traditional Yoruba woven fabric), brands such as Orange Culture are challenging gender norms and African masculinity, incorporating hand-dyed fabrics with androgynous silhouettes and storytelling rooted in Nigerian youth culture. 

Kenneth Ize has been known for working closely with local weavers to create vibrant, contemporary textiles, thereby preserving the raw, tactile beauty of handwoven cloth while recontextualising them in sharp, modern tailoring. Lisa Folawiyo has been credited with making Ankara fabric fashion-forward by combining it with luxurious tailoring and intricate embellishments. Her eponymous label transforms what was once considered everyday fabric into high-fashion, red-carpet-worthy garments.

Nkwo, an artisanal brand at the forefront of sustainability, uses what they call “Dakala cloth”, developed by the Nkwo Design Studio from using a stripping and sewing technique where waste fabric – such as denim and offcuts — is stripped into yarn and then woven by traditional aso-oke artisans. Supermodel Naomi Campbell wore Nkwo on the cover of Vogue Arabia’s November 2022 edition. 

We’ve also seen how Nigerian leather took the spotlight in the recent debate about luxury fashion and where it’s made, as many observers highlighted that international luxury brands are increasingly sourcing Kano leather. Kano, the capital of Kano state in northern Nigeria, has a long and rich history of textiles that dates back centuries. This history includes the Kano dye-pits that were established for the production of fabrics as far back as 1496.

This heritage is important to note as it contributes to the unique characteristics of Nigerian fashion. This, at a time when luxury fashion is notably stuck in a creative stagnation that is most evident in the lack of diversity, as global luxury behemoths continue to hire typically male, and specifically white designers to steer them creatively. As BoF’s Imran Ahmed notes in a recent op-ed: “The locus of fashion is shifting away from a singular focus on Western fashion capitals to seize on the palpable optimism, creative energy and economic growth of the Global South, with young, digitally enabled populations and a hunger to be seen and credited for their creativity, not just consumption.”

So, sure, the fashion on the red carpet at the AMVCAs overshadowed the ceremony’s core celebration of African cinematic excellence, but this is surely a net positive for African creativity in general. Fashion is, after all, indispensable to cinema, music and other popular art forms.