- Title: Sustainability takes centre stage at the 13th annual Lagos Fashion Week
- Date: 31st October 2023
- Summary: SHOREMEKUN’S MODEL ON THE RUNWAY SPECTATOR TAKING PHOTOS SHOREMEKUN’S MODEL ON THE RUNWAY SPECTATOR TAKING PHOTOS SHOREMEKUN’S MODEL ON THE RUNWAY SHOREMEKUN TAKING A BOW SPECTATOR SEATED/CHEERING
- Embargoed: 14th November 2023 09:47
- Keywords: CULTURE FASHION FASHION WEEK LAGOS FASHION WEEK NIGERIA UNESCO
- Location: LAGOS, NIGERIA AND PARIS, FRANCE
- City: LAGOS, NIGERIA AND PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Africa,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Fashion
- Reuters ID: LVA003403330102023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Models wearing designs made with raffia and the local tie-dye fabric strut the runway at the 13th edition of the Lagos Fashion Week held in Nigeria’s commercial city.
The five-day event which began on Wednesday (October 25) and ended on Sunday (October 29) hosted runway shows, presentations and pop up shops for sellers and buyers.
The theme for this year’s event was ‘’Standing the test of time,’’ in line with a global call for a sustainable fashion ecosystem.
‘’Globally there’s been a clamour for sustainability, there’s been a clamour for the circular fashion economy, there’s been a clamour for designers to adopt a different…you know a more circular approach to creating and designing, and for us at Lagos Fashion Week, you know it is important that we emphasize that we have quite a huge community of designers who already produce responsibly, who source responsibly, produce responsibly, and for us that is the future that we hope to see,’’ said Omoyemi Akerele, founder of the Lagos Fashion Week.
Tunde Shoremekun who runs fashion brand, 'E.S.O By Liman', debuted his new collection of pre-owned fabrics turned into innovative and eco-conscious designs.
Shoremekun said the idea for his new collection came after years of struggling with his identity as a designer, and is happy with the fashion risks that his buyers are ready to take.
‘’People are much more open and much more daring in taking fashion risks and fashion choices. The kind of trends and the kind of audience that we are currently experiencing now was not what we were experiencing like back then, and it is just amazing seeing the growth and seeing how much people are embracing new fashion experiences and embracing sustainable practices,’’ Shoremekun told Reuters.
For this season, Lagos Fashion Week launched the first African fashion report with The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), reporting on trends, challenges and growth opportunities in the African fashion sector.
With African fashion growing bigger and bolder at home, and starting to register on the radar of design houses and style magazines abroad, there are still some missing gaps.
From finding a way for banks to give credit, legislations to protect copyright issues, and most recently, the mass immigration of people and their talents.
‘’It is an opportunity not only for growing at the economic level but also job creation, quality jobs, fairly numerated, jobs in an industry that today sees all the creativities are leaving the continent to establish in other continents...in western countries, to put in place these creativity that goes away from the African countries,’’ UNESCO's assistant Director-General for Culture, Ernesto Ottone Ramirez said.
In more than one decade, the Lagos Fashion Week believes the industry can take its place on the continent as an engine of growth and development. It has sustained the fashion ecosystem by discovering, nurturing and supporting new talents through various initiatives like skills development and access to the market.
Guests shopped or swapped pieces from shops at the event.
‘’We get to see persons who are very intentional and very excited to swap, meaning that persons want to go out of their comfort zone to try new stuff, you know be adventurous with style, they are open to having new things in their closets, they are not restricted,’’ Swapshop Coordinator, Shekinah Hopewell said.
Featuring 50 on-site and nine off-site designers this year, the Lagos Fashion Week is an annual event determined to celebrate African designers, culture and creativity.
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