Since its inception in 2011, the Lagos Vogue Week platform, beneath the Model Home Recordsdata mom company, has efficiently managed to place itself as one of many pioneers of African vogue. From its collaborations, incubation packages, mentorship initiatives, and proffering of options to the skilled funding issues of vogue manufacturers in Africa via its Vogue Focus Fund— amongst many different means, the impacts of the platform are so strong it rubs off on key stakeholders within the vogue trade together with fashions, designers, photographers, patrons, stockist, and the likes.
The just lately concluded 2022 version of Lagos Vogue Week (October 27— October 29) noticed an immersion like no different. This SS/23 season recorded nicely over 3,000 attendees, on-site reveals on the conference heart of the Federal Palace Resort, and personal reveals/displays by designers like Dye Labs, Banke Kuku, Lagos Area Programme, Sisiano, and some others.
This season, themed ‘Collaboration, Co-creation and Group,’ noticed particular person works, collaborations, and partnerships with different high-profile businesses, all focused at a method to elevate the African vogue trade. “To take care of our three strategic pillars for the season— collaboration, co-creation and neighborhood, we at Model Home Recordsdata and Lagos Vogue Week have had to consider new methods to interact the African vogue ecosystem in a approach that may generate lasting influence, which is the final word purpose,” founding father of Kinds Home Recordsdata and Lagos Vogue Week, Omoyemi Akerele, tells ESSENCE.
Following this, LFW continued its ongoing relationship with World Vogue Trade via the Swap Store initiative, a program the place customers may convey their graded vogue objects in change for an additional. World Vogue Trade is at the moment established in over 90 international locations and has over 250 companions throughout the globe, together with Lagos Vogue Week. “The Lagos, Vogue Week neighborhood, is doing such an unimaginable job in selling sustainability and circularity,” Patrick Duffy, founding father of World Vogue Trade, tells ESSENCE. “What’s nice about that is that it opens a complete new door of ‘swap-ortuinities’ for individuals seeking to have interaction with vogue week and past.” Sustainability is a crucial subject inside the vogue ecosystem, and Lagos Vogue Week is utilizing this to additional the dialog.
Additionally, via the Inexperienced Entry program, rising designers are skilled, mentored, and supported to construct manufacturers that have an effect on financial, environmental, and social impacts, all in a bid to ascertain a extra eco-friendly atmosphere sooner or later. Whether or not it’s via the Swap Store the place established manufacturers like ATAFO or rising manufacturers like Abiola Oluso are being racked, or it’s via the displays from Inexperienced Entry finalists, one factor is for certain— it’s an avenue for the African vogue trade to thrive. “This has been the driving power behind our initiatives,” Akerele says.
Africa’s vogue retail sector has additionally been influenced by the LFW platform. For instance, Lagos Vogue Week labored with retailer, Zinkata for its XRetail initiative and with e-commerce platform, The Folklore for its first-ever Digital Purchaser’s Preview. Every of those gross sales fashions have been focused at bringing manufacturers off the runway and nearer to the market. “Lagos Vogue Week is essential as a result of it’s afforded us the chance to find new manufacturers,” Amira Rasool, founding father of The Folklore, tells Essence. “You recognize, when individuals are on the lookout for the most effective of African vogue— not simply Nigerian vogue, they’re seeking to Lagos Vogue Week.”
In establishing this partnership with Lagos Vogue Week, manufacturers of curiosity are simply inside their attain, as they’re in a position to work with them on B2B wholesale ranges. “[Lagos Fashion Week] have been gracious sufficient to open up their listing of taking part manufacturers to us, offering their contact particulars, and sharing with these manufacturers what our platform presents,” Rasool continues. “A partnership like this that furthers a wholesale e-commerce capability is unquestionably invaluable and one thing we’re extraordinarily grateful for.” Via this, customers are in a position to digitally discover these designers and are in a position to have interaction with them digitally and in a single location.
Nigeria’s magnificence market was not disregarded. Over the previous months, Nigeria’s beauty market hit NGN1 trillion turnover, and a file of about 14.5% development. The Lagos Vogue Week platform has for a really very long time, constructed profitable sponsorship offers with high-profiled magnificence manufacturers like Lush Hair and Mac Cosmetics. “Lagos Vogue Week is an enormous platform for us, and could be likened to different prime vogue weeks like Paris Vogue Week,” Bimpe Onakoya, the inventive director of Make-up for Lagos Vogue Week, and creative director for Maybelline New York, tells Essence. “This 12 months, Mac Cosmetics got here onboard because of the massive affect Lagos Vogue Week has, and it’s actually attention-grabbing to see the collaboration between vogue and wonder come into play right here.”
Watching tens of fashions pose for cameras backstage or effortlessly strut the runways is a particular stamp on the influence the platform has had on the modeling trade. From Beth Fashions Few Fashions, and 90’s Fashions Administration, to MyBooker Mannequin Administration, and LED Mannequin Administration, the platform has supplied itself as a stepping stone for fashions, most of whom at the moment are being snagged internationally.
“It’s been a journey ‘trigger we began from Lagos Vogue Week, but it surely’s thrilling to see that we’ve lastly gone worldwide,” says picture advisor and founding father of 90’s Fashions Administration, Maurice Sokari, to Essence. “Now we have fashions strolling for probably the most prestigious vogue homes on the earth. Lagos Vogue Week gave us the forefront we would have liked to push these fashions internationally.”
With Nigeria being a conservative nation and with guardians hardly keen to permit their wards to chase desires within the path of modeling ,Lagos Vogue Week, which is a well known and trusted platform, has “strategically been positioned as a channel for entry to those ones, because it’s one thing they will see,” Sokari continues. At present, a lot of male fashions from 90’s Mannequin Administration like Hamaam Peleruwa, Nonso Ojukwu, and Feranmi Ajetomobi, are all unique to vogue home, Prada, whereas others proceed to stroll for powerhouses like Bottega Veneta, Balmain, Dries Van Noten, and Celine.
“Lagos Vogue Week is a platform of discovery. It provides a fantastic influence to the modelling trade, particularly to the upcoming fashions,” Perpetua Oforah, one of many breakout stars from this season of Lagos Vogue Week, says. Signed to Reivon Administration, Oforah walked a complete of 13 reveals— one of many longest walks this season recorded. Lagos Vogue Week continues to set priority for the African vogue trade, and grant help to her trade dwellers. “Lagos Vogue Week is about commerce, not assist,” Akerele provides. “It’s in regards to the best craftsmanship that Africa can boast of. It’s about creativity and innovation. It’s about job creation and empowering individuals. It’s about collaborative efforts, it’s about setting the tempo for African vogue to thrive and it’ll.”
The growing effort of the Lagos Vogue Week platform to contribute to pivoting the African vogue trade is a really apparent one, and sure key stakeholders are beneficiaries of it. Past its affect within the diversified sectors of the trade, it has been a way for sensitization on key features within the trade— sustainability, collaborations, funding, partnerships, and many others. There’s, for positive, a renaissance within the African vogue and wonder house, and it’s thrilling to see the place it’s headed.