Top 10 Designers At The Lagos Fashion & Design Week 2017

One of the first things you observe when you start working in Fashion (especially in Nigeria) is that there is more phoney than real. Often times, you see people with zero talent presented like they’re the best thing to ever happen, simply because they’re friends with the “right people”, have the prerequisite foreign accent and enough confidence to sell rubbish as art.

So it was pleasantly surprising the amount of substance that the designers who showcased at the just concluded Lagos Fashion and Design Week actually had.

Of course, it wasn’t devoid of a few “What The Hells” – like P.O.C.’s very lazy and unimaginative collection that had half the audience (who are the designer’s friends) clapping and cheering. There was also Kinabuti whose pieces had me thinking, “what in the ugliness is going on?” and Maxivive’s rather unfortunate collection.

But I’m going to just focus on the good because, most of the designers were really really good.

This year’s theme was Africa: Shaping Fashion’s Future and the designers made an effort to Africanize their pieces as much as they possibly can with small or conspicuous details. For instance, there was a reoccurring aso-oke theme that ran across a number of collections, and it made such a beautiful sight – reminding everyone how rich our heritage as Africans really is.

Everyone who showcased brought their A game – or at least tried. And there were so many beautiful collections but of the 53 designers that presented, here are our favorite 10.

Christie Brown

Christie had, arguably, the most brilliant collection of 2017 Lagos Fashion and Design Week. In all my years of oogling at collections, I’ve never seen a better play with textures, prints and structures.

A single outfit for instance had a mix of velvet, different ankara prints all perfectly layered and topped up with a shirt collar. Genius!

Every single piece the Ghanaian designer showcased was very well thought out.

Gert-Johan Coetzee

Largely popularised by South African media personality, Bonang Matheba and more recently, embraced by Toke Makinwa and Stephanie Coker, Gert-Johan Coetzee made his official debut in Nigeria at LFDW 2017 and it was a grand one.

Top model, Tarmar Adebotu opened the show wearing an exquisite off-the-shoulder bodysuit tucked into a sheer detailed skirt, accessorising with a white faux fur shawl.

She made way for even more elaborate pieces that came in white, peach, pink, nude and black.

The collection was sexy, glam and very feminine. An absolute winner!

Style Temple

Introducing the collection, the designer, OG Okonkwo said it was inspired by women like her mother and her who are fierce when life forces them to be. The collection stayed true to those words – it was a perfect blend of soft and fierce.

Power suits in soft colours, a sheer skirt matched with a white tee shirt, and a model who suffered a nip slip (that in hindsight might have been intentional) but saw it through to the end.

OG has never disappointed and this collection wasn’t an exception.

Meena

It’s been 7 years she stepped out on her own from beneath the wings of Ituen Basi and in those seven years, Uju Offiah has continued to grow in her craft. Her outing at LFDW was a testament to that.

There was something so effortless and captivating about the pieces. The colours, the simple cuts, the cinched waists and the prints all had more than a few heads nodding.

Titi Belo

I was screaming YASSSS! all through Titi Belo’s show.

It was young, fresh and hella sexy! Denims, corduroys, white tees, green flared dresses, pinafores, playsuits and more – every look banged!

Tiffany Amber Culture

Considering that the brand wasn’t listed in the show schedule, Tiffany Amber made a very huge splash when they were surprisingly announced to showcase their Culture line.

Exaggerated sleeves on iro and buba, coats, kimonos, tench coats with fur details on the sleeves, all in rich prints and colours made for a winning outing.

Andrea Iyamah

Andrea Iyamah didn’t come to play. She started by teasing us with a variety of beautifully detailed chic and sexy pieces in vibrant prints and colours, then went on to wow us with her dreamy bridal collection worn by beautiful models with Agbani Darego leading the pack.

Elie Kuame

Elie Kuame’s pieces came in champagne gold, blue, burgundy and more. His fabric choices were amazing and so were the designs.

There were dress coats, blazers with slightly puffed up sleeves, thigh high slits, sheer details and more. The Parisian designer put in work.

8th Wanda

It was my first time of seeing 8th Wanda and I was greatly impressed, even more so as an avid believer in oversized clothes.

Everything sat well with me – the very wide-legged pants, the big tops accessorised with beads, the neutrals, white and black colour palette. A very laid-back and chic collection.

Bridget Awosika

Queen of the motifs, white shirts and silk blouses, Bridget stayed true to her signature and wowed while at it. The tailoring was exquisite – just like we’ve come to expect from her.

Worthy Mentions: DZYN (asymmetric hemlines, dramatic sleeves, floral details et al), Emmy Kasbit (I loved, loved loved what he did with aso-oke), Orange Culture (the silk fabric, the presentation, the youthfulness of it all), Moofa (if I had one more space on my list, Moofa will definitely be my pick) Moagusto (another fave!).