Day 2 of Lagos Fashion Week delivered bold experimentation, captivating runway moments, and unforgettable style.
Lagos Fashion Week returned for day 2 with its signature flair — heels clicking, lights flashing, and guests dressed as though the runway belonged to them. The day unfolded in spectacular fashion, with twenty designers — both established and emerging — bringing their unique visions to life.
This season, the runway became a canvas for storytelling: designers experimented with unconventional materials like mats and cowries, reimagined prints and silhouettes, and used paint to narrate memories of childhood, family, and heritage. Some even turned the stage into performance art, featuring live music to deepen the emotional pulse of their collections.
Here are the standout moments from day 2 of Lagos Fashion Week.
A landmark year for Lagos Fashion Week
For its 15th anniversary, Lagos Fashion Week — sponsored by Heineken, Meta, and MTN — took over the Federal Palace Hotel in grand style. Traditionally, the hotel hosts all the on-site Lagos Fashion Week shows — collections that are not strictly by designer invitation. While the event itself isn’t held inside the hotel, it takes place in the marquee at its Balmoral Centre. This year, however, Lagos Fashion Week expanded beyond the tents, incorporating other parts of the hotel, including the ballroom and the exhibition centre.
The exhibition centre showcased pieces from scheduled designers like Kadiju, Orange Culture, Eki Silk, and Emmy Kasbit, while the ballroom buzzed with conversations from the Fashion Business Series and Fashion Lab panels.
Beyond the hotel doors, the iconic Lagos Fashion Week arch once again marked the entrance to the Balmoral Centre. Crossing that threshold led guests straight into the Heineken District — or as regulars fondly call it, Street Style Heaven.
Read more: Beyond the runway: How Lagos Fashion Week is powering Nigeria’s creative economy
Twenty shows, endless inspiration — the standout trends from day 2
The District is the perfect location for the staged photos and vox pops that dominate the fashion season. Nevertheless, the star of the day is the fashion shows. Twenty shows were slated for the night, including event staples like Emmy Kasbit, Fruché, Ajanee, Lilabare, Imad Eduso, Boyedoe, Studio Imo and Hertunba, who had an exquisite after-party. The show also featured returning rookies such as Dimeji Ilori (Green Access 2024), Calcul (The Or Foundation), Alpha Tribe (The Or Foundation), and Koma (The Or Foundation).
At the end of the day, everyone was a winner. Executing a collection is no small feat, but some designers went beyond craftsmanship — weaving heritage and storytelling into every look. A few even received bouquets from the audience in appreciation, like Eki Ogunbor presenting one to Emmy Kasbit. Now, let’s revisit the standout moments that drew admiration across the room.
The return of sensuality
Lagos is a mixed bag of personalities, and a lot of the city’s soul blurs between sultry and conservative. Designers like Studio Imo and Ajanéé chose to explore the risqué.
Studio Imo was one of Day 2’s standout showcases. The brand reimagined its signature knit and crochet techniques with fresh texture and structure, creating pieces that felt both intimate and avant-garde. The runway came alive with jewellery from Unrefyned (Green Access 2025), a live performance by Celeste Ojatula, with singer-songwriter Dwin The Stoic walking the runway — blurring the line between fashion and performance art.
The show leaned into a more sensual aesthetic — a deliberate contrast to the structured, heritage-inspired looks that defined earlier presentations. This celebration of form and allure found its boldest expression in Ajanéé’s collection, which delivered one of the most dynamic sets of the night. Models exuded confidence in daring pieces — from denim cut-outs to bare-chested men in stockings — commanding attention with every step.
Ajanéé’s opening look made a striking “free the nipples” statement, boldly pushing the boundaries of self-expression on the Lagos runway. The mood embraced a secure and provocative energy, a reminder that fashion is once again embracing the body — and the unapologetic drama that comes with it.
A spice of fringe
The standout design element of the day was undeniably fringe — seen across multiple collections, adding movement, texture, and a sense of drama to the runway. Emmy Kasbit, who opened the evening, set the tone with a collection defined by neutral, sun-warmed hues, Quaker-style straw hats, and headscarves, where fringe brought each look to life.
Hertunba reimagined its signature silhouettes with fringe and new motifs, including halter-neck dresses adorned with eye, nose, and lip appliqué — a striking blend of art and fashion.
The trend continued with Y’wandelag, whose accessory-led looks paired fringe with a rich palette of browns, oranges, and yellows. However, Imad Eduso added tactile depth to its velvet-focused pieces. Alpha Tribe, showing under The Or Foundation, pushed the theme even further with experimental, deconstructed designs.
One thing’s clear — fringe is officially in.
The rise of the power accessory
A clear accessory trend emerged this season — the bigger, the better. Onalaja foreshadowed it on Day 1 with oversized bags and sculptural earrings that set the tone for what followed. Across several runways, the spotlight turned to exaggerated carryalls and bold jewellery, signalling a shift toward statement-making fashion over function.
Emmy Kasbit and Hawa made the big bag the hero of their collections, while Dimeji Ilori elevated the trend by pairing large accessories with natural textures like raffia and woven mats, giving them an earthy, handcrafted edge. The message was unmistakable: accessories are no longer supporting acts — they are the statement.
Patchwork, denim, and heritage
Patchwork remained one of the strongest visual narratives of the night — a fusion of denim, sustainability, and local craftsmanship that spoke to both heritage and reinvention. Hawa embraced the trend through bold colour blocking and inventive denim compositions, while Boyedoe reaffirmed its mastery of patchwork denim with intricate, textured layering.
At Koma (The Or Foundation), the technique took on a conceptual edge as models carried real flowers, blurring the lines between fashion and performance art.
Fruché, true to its unapologetic aesthetic, reimagined patchwork through vibrant coats and sculptural silhouettes — including a voluminous sleeve reminiscent of a croissant shape. The brand also reaffirmed its colour vibe, adding hoods to silky men’s tops, giving them a fluid appearance. Fruché has always been about being bold and showing some skin, and they brought that back.
Colour palettes, details, and expression
Day 2 was a vibrant celebration of colour and expressive detail. Beyond Hawa’s coloured blocking, designers offered diverse palettes: Lumina favoured elegant beads, pleats, and soft pastels, while Wote Ki Design brought a fresh mix of yellow and green in their knitwear collection. Detailing was key to individual brand identity: Lilabare marked the return of the cowrie shell motif in a brown and white palette, and ChicNiCity stood out with unique sleeves and the playful silhouette of “MC Hammer pants.” The confidence of the collections was also seen in the bold styling choices for men, with both Fruché and Wote Ki Design featuring bare-chested men on the runway, embracing a relaxed and sensual mood.
A vibrant close — and a promise of more
It was clear that the creativity and energy on display set a thrilling tone for what’s to come. From the standout designs of Studio Imo and Ajanéé to the embrace of fringe and straw accessories, the runway truly celebrated the spirit of fashion and Africa. With every designer bringing their unique perspective, the event reminded us why we love this creative industry. We look ahead with anticipation as Lagos Fashion Week enters Day 3.
