Major Trends at the 2026 Lagos Fashion Week

Lagos Fashion Week 2026 kicked off with a bang. The season featured a packed schedule and greater visibility for many emerging artists. The runway shows featured standout looks and cultural moments that lived on long after the curtains closed. An influx of global fashion voices gave this year’s LFW a stronger form and further gave the season heft. In honor of what has been an electric and exciting LFW, OkayAfrica put together a list of trends that defined this year’s edition of LFW.

Akwete Fabrics

Made into suits, cut into skirts and inserted into other fabrics, Akwete is a traditional Nigerian woven fabric native to the town of Akwete in Abia State, in the Eastern part of the country. On the runway and in street style, Akwete was a recurring statement. The fabric was once a statement piece and a design language for designers like Emmy Kasbit and, most recently, Hertunba. Their popularization of it has spilt into everyday looks and the mood boards of other designers. 

Cultural Collaborations

This year, Lagos Fashion Week extended itself into cultural collaborations, in expansive and interesting ways. The cultural immersion transcended fashion, moving into music with shows like Bandage Sessions, expanding into conversation panels and exchange programmes within and outside the official Lagos Fashion Week programme, and was evident in activities that expanded how fashion is perceived and experienced. A great example of this is the getaway experience Andrea Iyamah gave her guests at the presentation of her latest collection celebrating the brand’s 15th year. The location, a lulling, expansive resort outside central Lagos, complemented the brand’s resortwear sensibilities. These cultural collaborations were also present in the use of spaces; with some shows, like Sise’s, staged in an old colonial-era building in Lagos Island.

International Fashion Voices

Lagos Fashion Week has never suffered from international coverage. It has always drawn interest from foreign publications and a handful of respected fashion platforms. This year, though, that international attention has expanded as Nigerian fashion travels both virtually and physically. A notable list of fashion voices planned their year and were present at this year’s Lagos Fashion Week. This season saw faces such as Eni Poopola, Marvella and American actress Yaya DaCosta, to name a few. The significance of having international fashion voices flying in and documenting their Lagos Fashion Week experience goes beyond the global attention it drives towards LFW, there is a strong opportunity to further create stronger ties between the global fashion community and local designers whose work may not travel virtually, but are worth experiencing up close and amplifying. As Nigerian Designer Weizdhurm Franklyn puts it “With The Remembering, our Igbo-Ukwu-inspired collection, we were engaging with a rich artistic heritage and bringing it into a contemporary fashion context. Having international voices present creates an opportunity for that heritage to be experienced, understood and appreciated beyond its geographical origins. For me, the value is in creating a dialogue where our culture is not simply being observed, but actively contributing to the global fashion narrative.”

Experimental Presentations

For her presentation, Bubu Ogisi of IAMISIGO asked guests to consider ecologies by designing a space that was a cross between a swamp and a material lab. THISISUS presented a show in the courtyard of Suudu, using members of their community as models who walked around a courtyard filled with other members of their community. Meanwhile, Weizdhurm Franklyn used human mannequins, standing in different formats of stillness to showcase a stunning and technically sophisticated collection. All in all, this year’s LFW was filled with experimentation, with playful nods to ideas and influences and with a thrill for the unconventional.

Fringe Everywhere

This year, fringe was everywhere. On the runway, yes, but most impressively on the street. Spotted on tight-fitting gowns, inserted into billowy skirts, layered onto the tail end of a deconstructed skirt and tasselled into a long top, fringe was a strong motif this year. It is a reflection of how playful and whimsical Nigerian fashion has been this year. What felt most interesting this year was in how fringe details served different purposes both on the runway and in street style. On some, it had a regal effect, accentuating already sculptural looks. On others, it had a more complementary effect, filling out looks that would otherwise have been boring without it. 

Artisanal Accessories

The street style accessories at this year’s LFW went beyond function into artistic territories. Attendees at this year’s LFW opted for sculptural pieces, ditching classic pendants for more artisanal statement-making pieces. There were large gold ringlets, feathered hats, fur bags, butterfly hair clips, pearl hair clips, etc. 

Suits & Skirts Reimagined

Much of the recurring structure of outfits this year veered towards traditional outfits, reconsidered through form. Nowhere was this more evident than in the many deconstructed suits and skirts that ruled the runway and the street style. From a blue suit adorned with cowrie-like shapes to a long suit coat made with hemp fabric, each attendee and runway look brought a strong personality and daring perspective to classic silhouettes.