Best Week Ever in Lagos: Fashion Week + Art X
Highlights from back to back art and design moments in Nigeria and why it’s the best time to visit West Africa.
It’s official, November may be the best time to take a trip to Lagos. This may ruffle the feathers of those who swear by the everyday turn-up of the Christmas season in Nigeria but we’re happy to rest our case on this. If you’re seeking real insights into where the culture is headed, make some solid connections, and have an incredibly good time - Heineken Lagos Fashion Week and Art X are the best access points. From the surge of international visitors solidifying the world’s attention on Africa’s most populous city, to the presence of the continent’s top artists, designers, writers, and thinkers, to the sheer “African-ness” embedded in luxury and contemporary spaces it is as interesting as it gets. Here are our highlights and takeaways from the weeks events:
Heineken Lagos Fashion Week and Art X are the premier Pan-African art and design events on the continent.
While neither event approaches the scale of the Johannesburg Art Fair or of South Africa’s Fashion Week’s, what’s clear in both shows is the sheer display of trans-continental connectivity. From South Africa’s Maxhosa by Laduma taking center stage as one of the closing shows of the final night of Fashion Week to Brooklyn-based Olalekan Jeyifous doing a multimedia VR installation at ArtX the storyline of a strengthened African connection was evident at both events. Even the closing party held at the David Adjaye designed, Alara, had Gqom vibes from South Africa piping through the sound system. Guests from NYC to Kigali, London to Sydney filled the city looking for the trends and people that will dominate African design for years to come.
Tradition is Linked to The Future of “Afropolitanism”
One of our favorite Fashion Week runways was that of Nigerian designer Mai Atafo who included a traditional drummer paired with a model that doubled as a violinist. The former marketing exec turned bespoke tailor’s collection took notes from the Nigerian tailoring tradition and blended them with military inspired details, rich natural hues, and a timeless array of mens and women’s styles. Notably absent throughout the entire production was Ankara, the dutch wax print fabric most of the world associates with “African fashion”. Instead linens, silks, and native African textiles like Batik and Adire took center stage. A different take but on the same thread at ArtX was the hallmark presence of the Ooni of Ife, the Yoruba King, at the shows opening event. A nod to the importance of Nigeria’s traditional leadership at an event ushering in the future of art as an economic engine in Africa was a departure from the days of Western approval being key to things coming out of the continent. This re-centering of the aspirational narrative as distinctly African in its root is a shift and one that we celebrate.
The Road To The Global Stage Can Begin And Remain At Home
While the consumer base for premium goods like art and fashion still remains a small portion of the population at home, designers and artists alike are placing a priority on serving up experiences that cater uniquely to this burgeoning and powerful base. While it is still every designer’s dream to be at New York Fashion Week, the effort that is placed into not only the runway looks for the Lagos edition but the entire experience around the shows from pop-ups at Temple Muse to meet and greets with collectors illustrates a desire to bring the commercial value of the industry home. On the art side of things, ArtX saw Kehinde Wiley, a powerhouse in the space, make his way to Lagos alongside greats like Yinka Shonibare all giving credence to the importance of this market not only as the point of inspiration but as a place where power players convene. Even behind the scenes, African outlets, photographers, and writers took centerstage in covering the events of the week alongside journalists from Vogue, BBC, the Fader and others while brands like Heineken, who poured nearly $1M into scaling and growing Lagos Fashion Week are finally beginning to write real checks clearly demonstrating the importance of not only the industries but their impact on the consumer.
A Perfect Time To Discover Lagos
For anyone looking to explore Africa’s art and design scene with some level of depth, Art X and Fashion Week offer the perfect window. For collectors and style connoisseurs, first hand looks at the most prominent up and coming artists and designers on the continent cannot be matched anywhere else. For the curious traveler looking to do more than a standard tour, this is a place to build the kind of connectivity to a place that can last a lifetime. You’ll skip inflated hotel prices, crowds, and other “December” scamming in exchange for rubbing shoulders with some of the most interesting people on the continent, solid parties and networking events, and a reason to return every year.
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