With an industry that has previously been dominated by white designers and white models, Lagos puts a foot down and says no more. In the wake of Black History Month, there is no better time to spotlight the amazing efforts of up and coming designers coming straight out of Nigeria. Lagos is proving why the city of over 21 million should be added to the list of fashion capitals of the world alongside Rome, Paris, New York, and London. With the beauty of the prints and traditional culture kept within the clothes, Nigerian designers display their pride of Nigeria, which has caught the eyes of many fashion editors and designers alike around the world. Launching in just 2011, Lagos Fashion Week, also known as Lagos Fashion and Design Week has grown immensely since. Just this past fall, the event featured dozens of Nigerian designers of both tender and established experience. The Lagos Fashion and Design Week aims to encourage creativity within their Nigerian designers. Because of their exposure in Nigeria, designers like Folake Folarin-Coker (Brand: Tiffany Amber), have had the opportunity to display their clothing during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
But the bold and striking tribal designs influenced by African culture are not the only things catching fashion's eye; it's the models. With Lagos slowly gaining their credibility as a fashion capital, people are noticing the plethora of black models being showcased in the shows. This is not something common in the fashion industry, where many of these models of color are not given a fair chance. Because of the opportunities given to them by LFDW, they are now being able to build stable careers as models elsewhere. It is a sign of the times, and the strides we have made not only in the industry, but in society, accepting the beauty of black. The power and positivity of these changes only preview what's to come. The barriers that Nigeria has broken in the industry, supporting these black models is overflowing into fashion's realm.
