Lagos Fashion Week is transforming one of the world’s most wasteful industries by creating a new fashion economy: one rooted in purpose, sustainability and cultural integrity.
Today’s fashion industry has an urgent problem. At the heart of the sector lies a relentless cycle of overproduction and overconsumption.
The figures tell the story. Consumers now buy around 60% more clothing than they did twenty years ago yet keep each item for only half as long. At the same time, less than 1% of textiles are recycled into new garments. This throwaway culture is fuelling devastating environmental consequences and cementing fashion’s place as one of the world’s most polluting industries.
Against this backdrop, the need for a new model is urgent. Enter Lagos Fashion Week, whose forward-thinking ambition has been reshaping fashion’s DNA and proving that style and sustainability can go hand in hand.
Founded in 2011 by Omoyemi Akerele, Lagos Fashion Week is leading a transformative movement. By placing circularity, craft-driven innovation, and community empowerment at their core, they’re tackling fashion’s biggest issues of overproduction and overconsumption.
Now in its 15th year, Lagos Fashion Week has grown to become Africa’s largest and most influential fashion event. They have become a vital cultural force, redefining the industry in Africa and beyond through a distinctly African lens.
Every designer wishing to show at Lagos Fashion Week must demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practice — from how materials are sourced and dyed, to how garments are produced and transported. These standards ensure responsible and ethical practices are embedded throughout the supply chain.
Beyond the runway, Lagos Fashion Week also invests in long-term change. Since their inception, they have run skills programmes focused on strengthening local supply chains, reviving native craftsmanship, and turning waste into valuable material. By holding fashion houses accountable during Africa’s most important fashion week, they have as shaped brand behaviour year-round.
The result is clear: fashion can create jobs, drive economies, and inspire a more responsible global industry.
Lagos Fashion Week proves that a better world can emerge from a sketchbook — not only from a laboratory or government building.
The recognition from The Earthshot Prize is not just about me or Lagos Fashion Week, but about the community of designers, artisans, and young people who continue to prove that African fashion has something powerful and lasting to offer the world.
Fashion has the power to create jobs, preserve culture, and transform lives – that is why we do this work, and why being nominated as a Finalist will allow us to keep pushing for a future where fashion is not just beautiful, but also meaningful and responsible.
