We know Lagos and Nigeria, as a whole, is filled with extremely talented designers. Many of them have shown in fashion weeks like Arise Magazine’s and Lexy Mojo-Eyes’ Nigeria Fashion Week. The trick, however, has been to really curate the kinds of designers that show and demand excellence in what they display. Necessarily, there must be a very strong effort to really vet/streamline Nigeria’s fashion industry and its accompanying fashion week productions with an eye towards creating a sustainable industry.
On October 24th, 2012, The Second Annual MTN Lagos Fashion & Design Week kicked off with a quiet but assertive force that tells us Nigeria’s fashion industry is in good hands. The event did exactly what we would like to see in fashion shows. It curated its designers starting with showing the exhibits of 12 young designers all competing for the 2012 MTN British Council Young Designer of the Year Award.
“With the young designer of the year award, MTN and British Council offers young fashion designers the opportunity to be participants at targeted seminars and workshops facilitated by British Council and a chance to exhibit their collection in front of a select audience at Lagos Fashion and Design Week.”
All 12 designers went through rigorous screening processes and will now compete for the coveted title and 4 Million Naira prize money, the winner to emerge on Saturday, October 27th, 2012.
The designers gave Nigeria’s fashion industry a teaser of what to expect with an exhibition at the Porshe Center in Victoria Island. All were impressive but particular standout for us are Meena, Wana Sambo, Josh Samuels, Agu and Weiz Dhurm-Franklin. We can’t wait to see the collections these talents will show this weekend.
-Uduak Oduok
Weiz Dhurm-Franklyn
Wana Sambo
Orange Culture
Old Religion
Mi Le
Meena
Josh Samuels
Isi Atagamen
House of Silk
Belle Du Jour
Agu
83 and 80s
Photocredit: Kola Oshalusi/Insignaonline.com
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
