When it comes to African fashion particularly in Nigeria, they’re lot’s of uniqueness in this part of the world, it is completely infinite. African fashion designers in Nigeria have established so much authority in their kind of fashion, where most of the fashion patterns in Africa are links to the African heritage and history, some are a hybrid of the western fashion and African fashion, while others are already establishing the foundation for the future of African fashion.
Let’s take a close look at the top 10 African fashion designers in Nigeria and how their impacts on the evolution on African fashion in Nigeria and Africa at large.
Deola SagoeLisa FolawiyoDoru OlowuFolake CokerMai AtafoZizi CardowFrank OshodiLola FaturotiSoares AnthonyYomi Makun
Deola Sagoe
Background
She has the top of the list because of specialty in African fashion. Deola Sagoe is a top fashion designer in Nigeria, an indigene of Ondo state, she was born in 1966 August 21 into the family of Chief/Mr.s Micheal Ade-Ojo, as the first child of the family. She schooled in both university of Miami and university of Lagos graduating with a M.A in Finance and management.
According to her “Deola Sagoe” in an interview with Globe Trotter, 26 October 2019 she said “The story of life as a fashion designer all started from her grandmother who usually sale’s woven cloth, where her mother then picked up the skill to weave cloths, which also descended to herself”
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Deola launched The House of Deola Sagoe in 1988, taking her mother’s Odua Creations to another level in the African fashion as a fashion designerl in the African fashion as a fashion designer. Her daughters also launched “The Clan” in 13 August 2011 where the famous music artist Davido was present, according to her it was the stepping stone for their fashion career. She was married to Kofi Sagoe, and blessed with three kids, Teni, Aba, and Tiwa, who were the brains behind “The Clan”. In 2015 she won the AMVCA for the best costume designer for the movie “October 1”.
She was made the ambassador to represent Nigeria in the international campaign, titled “Catwalk the World: Fashion for Food.” Organized by the UN World Food Program The campaign was created to raise money towards halving the number of hungry people in the world, particularly children. Deola again won the “Africa Designs” and the MNET/ Anglo Gold African designs 2000 awards, nominated by Andre Leon Tally.
She has made so much impact on the African fashion as a fashion designer, her works have shaped the statue of fashion in Nigeria and international.
Lisa Folawiyo
Background
When you talk about contemporary African fashion, you’d definitely hear the name “Lisa Folawiyo”. She’s a top African fashion designer who is born in Nigeria, June 5, 1976. Her mother hails from west Indian, while her father is a Nigerian. Lisa Folawiyo graduated from the university of Lagos as a certified attorney but later left the profession for fashion.
Lisa disclosed in an interview with NdaniTV’s Platinum Standard in 2013 that the birth of Jewel by Lisa was after she had her first daughter and child in 2004 when she had left her legal profession and was home taking care of her daughter”
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In 2005 the famous fashion designer Lisa Folawiyo lunched her fashion brand known as “Jewel by Lisa” according to her it all started in her home in 2004 while taking care of her first child, the thoughts of what she could lay her hands on, got her to think of making a skirt with her friend and that was it. Soon after that she had her first fashion show “The Safari Chic”. Her fashion design pattern is a mix of African fabrics and style with contemporary fashion, she uses Ankara fabrics to create embellished Ankara which was something that was rarely seen in 2005. Lisa also owns her own fabric line which also produces jewelries and purses.
In 2012 Lisa won the African fashion designer of the year awards. She also won an award for one of eight emerging talents by WWD “Women’s Wear Dail” in 2014. And again she was Featured in the BOF500 in 2015. Her works are being showcased in different places such as the UK, US, and South Africa. Lisa being a phenomenal fashion designer also participated in the 2010 New York fashion week.
She is indeed a game changer in the African fashion industry.
Duro Olowu
Background
“Fashion is one thing” they say “But style is another thing” Duro Olowu is one African fashion designer in Nigeria that has raised the bar for this quote. Duro Olowu was born in Lagos, Nigeria but to a Jamaican mother, he’s popularly addressed as a London based Nigerian fashion designer.
At the age 16 he moved to the United Kingdom, where he schooled, he’s another lawyer who left his legal profession so pursue a career in the African fashion industry. In 2008 he got married to Thelma Golden, director and curator of studio museum of Harlem in New York. Duro graduated as a lawyer in university of Kent, UK.
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Eponymous women’s wear label, was launched in 2004 by Duro Olowu his collection also has a lot to do with contemporary African fashion like that of Lisa Folawiyo, his first design from the Eponymous women’s wear label was an empire-waist multi print silk dress which is something that was rarely seen in 2005. He’s African fashion design went quickly viral that he was awarded the new designer of the year at the British Fashion Awards in 2005. His designs have been sold in top stores such as, Ikram in Chicago, Browns and Harrods in London, and the popular Barney’s New York.
Michelle Obama is one of the first persons to take Duro Olowu’s fashion to world, she really admired and often wore dresses made by Duro, she made his brand become very famous. In 2007 he was present in the London fashion week, were he made his runway debut. He’s also popularly known for his contemporary art curating and exhibition in museum. Indeed Doru Olowu has greatly influenced the African fashion industry over the years.
Folake Coker
Background
Folake Coker is an outstanding African fashion designer who has continued to bring so much fame and transformation into the African fashion industry. She was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 28 February 1974. Her father Chief Bode Akindele who is the founder of Mondondola Group of Companies, an indigenous conglomerates in Nigeria. He’s also the Parakoyi of Ibadan land. Folake has three children and was married to Folorunsho Coker, who is the director-general of the Nigerian tourism development corporation.
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‘Seems there’s a strong relationship between “Nigerian attorneys” and the fashion industry, particularly the African fashion industry’. Folake Coker is another Nigerian top fashion designer who schooled in UK, Switzerland and in Nigeria as well, graduating with a Masters Degree in Law. According to her in an interview with Ndani TV in 2012 she says her career for fashion design all started during a 13 months break while she was in Law school, like any other students she sort for what to lay her hands on and started making dresses for herself as a hubby. People started admiring these dresses and also asking for theirs to be made. And this was the birth of Tiffany Amber in Lagos,1998
As at 2008, history was made as she became the first African-based fashion designer to stage a show twice at the New York Fashion Week and this still stands. She received an Enterprise Award in 2013 at the women, inspiration and enterprise (WIE) symposium. She also made it to the Forbes Power women list. In 2011 she was awarded “Fashion Brand of the Year” at the ARISE Magazine Fashion week. And again She was awarded the first recipient of the “Designer of the Year” at the African fashion week in Johannesburg in 2009. Indeed Folake Coker is an outstanding African fashion designer.
Mai Atafo
Background
I call him “the man of the house”, Ohimai Atafo popularly known as Mai Atafo was born and breed in Ile-Ife, Osun state, Nigeria. His story is one of the most intriguing ones so far, according to Mai Atafo his fashion career all started in primary school where he stitched an apron that he later used, he says he never had difficulties understanding what he was taught in Home economics.
In his secondary school he says he still continued stitching and sewing using bedsheets to make shirts for himself and his classmates, “what a skill” let’s save the gist for later. Mai Atafo schooled in City University in UK graduating with a M.A. in Information Systems and Technology. He’s born into a family of 9.
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Atafo on completion of his Masters Degree in the Uk came back to Nigeria in 2002, to complete what he started years ago, though this didn’t come off so soon. He’s known to have worked with British American Tobacco Nigeria and from 2016 to 2010 he also worked with Guinness Nigeria . In 2011 he founded the fashion brand “Weddings by Mai”. As a top African fashion designer, he won the City People Fashion and Style, Hottest New Male Designer in 2009.
In 2010 his fashion brand Atafo won the FAB Magazine, Fashion Brand of the Year. His designs have been rocked by lots of celebrities like Banky W. 2 Baba, Mercy Johnson, to mention but a few. In 2011 he was awarded “Allure, Most Stylish Man of the Year” He also won the 2015 Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week, Menswear Designer of the Year. He was recently awarded the Abryanz Style and Fashion Awards Lifestyle/Style Fashion Icon Achievement of the year in 2017. Atafo is indeed the “man of the house” a great fashion designer of his time.
Zizi Cardow
Background
This is one star African fashion designer with a lot of uniqueness. Zizi cardow is was born in Abia state, Isiukwuato Local Government, a strong igbo woman. According to her fashion wasn’t basically her thing but as fate would have it.
After she left her first job working in a fashion brand in Apapa in Lagos, which she got at the age of 17, she started venturing full into African fashion design. In an interview with her, she said she started her fashion brand Zizi Cardow Collection with as little as 155,000 naira which she was paid by Halliburton in 2000.
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Zizi has been a very independent and persistent fashion designer. According to her she started with just one sewing machine and one person with her, she stated that her fashion career has been more of a God given talent. Shortly after she started her fashion brand she quickly got lots of recognition. In 2001 she was awarded prestigious designer of the year at the Nigerian fashion show. In 2007 she was awarded the pillar of national development, due her frequent community services in the country. Nigeria enterprise award for excellence was given to her in 2008.
According to Zizi, fashion design has been a part of her life she can’t regret, she also made it known in an interview that if she had the opportunity to restart her life she’d still choose to be an African fashion designer. In 2010 she was made an ambassador of peace for the UN, in 2011 she was given a very high level recognition as the “Ada Ejiaga Mba 1 of Isiukwuato” Zizi has been one of the way paver’s for young African fashion designers.
Frank Oshodi
Background
While African fashion remains one of the most outstanding fashion in the world, men like Frank Oshodi have contributed in laying the path to so much awareness of the African fashion to the world. Frank was born in 1959 in Nigeria. According to Frank he never grew up with the vision of becoming a fashion designer, but his love for creativity and innovation brought him to land of fashion designer.
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Frank never really started his career as a fashion designer, he started working as a model for some top fashion houses such as Nikki Africana and Dakova, during this time he was building himself up in the realms of the Fashion industry. Frank later worked with Maclean’s on their popular TV commercial, which got the company lots of sales. Before the launch of “House of Bunor and Fashion Designing” and his big career break, Frank had ventured into choreography for a while.
In 2001, after he became the designer and make-up artist of Agbani Darego, on an employment that was given to him by Silverbird, Agbani Darego won the miss world based on Frank’s design and make-up, this was his breakout moment, since then Frank has continued to make great waves in the African fashion industry. According to him in an interview he said one of the things that inspired him into fashion and make-up, was to know what was the secret of why everyone on magazines were always beautiful. You can’t talk about the globalization of African fashion without mentioning Frank Oshodi.
Lola Faturoti
Background
Another founding and pave setters for African fashion Lola Faturoti, she’s one fashion designers that makes a mix of African fashion and western fashion. Lola Faturoti is a London born Nigerian, who’s fashion career started at a very early stage while growing up with her grandmother in Ondo state, Nigeria, where she is from.
Her Grandmother, in my terms was a fashion designer who made traditional dresses in her community. She schooled had her basic education in Ondo state while with her grandmother, at the age of 17 she was back in London to further her studies at the London College Of Fashion
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After graduating from the fashion school in London in 1991, she became a full-time fashion designer. In 1996 she was the first African fashion designer chosen to represent the United states in the Osaka fashion show in Japan. She had also worked with Charivari, a chain of clothing-store boutique in New York City, on the Upper West Side. In 2000 she she organized a street fashion show, displaying the samples of her collection, this show was across the Ralph Lauren’s show, which attracted most of the fashion designers from the Ralph Lauren’s show.
In 2008 Lola hit so much fame when she made a customized dress for Barack Obama during his campaign to become the 44th president of the United States Of America, the dress had a special design and printing it also came with an inscription that says “Oluwa gba President Barack Obama” which means, “God Bless President Barack Obama.” She also had opened the Lola Faturoti Fall/Winter 2009 Collection. Her official brand is Lolalovescargo.
Soares Anthony
Background
Another young entrepreneur who built an empire for himself in the fashion, with so many young Nigerians sorting after him. According to Anthony in an interview with TrepAfrica he says he fashion career never really began with him picking up cloths to put together, he says he loved to draw and sketch which was a kind of talent he had, but he had professional parents that wanted him to study something more professional like a science course. But while in higher institution he realized his career and followed same path.
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Anthony says he started modeling in his higher institution, where he got to work with brands, according to him he’s more of a stylish designer, which is where it all started. His brand “Soares Anthony” is a male stylish brand that focuses on African fashion design for men. His fashion pattern also fusions African design and pattern with Japanese style and pattern. Anthony also disclosed in an interview with TrepAfrica that works more with his collection rather than what a client comes looking for.
He is really one African fashion designer who has built a name for himself in the African fashion industry. His Fashion brand focuses specifically on traditional attire, agbada, bridal collections, English wear, casuals, suit, kaftan and all kinds of outfit suitable for all occasions and climates. His attires have been won lots of celebrities across Africa, he also has is collections outside Africa in UK, France, United States.
Yomi Makun
Background
Another young African Fashion designer that has made a name for himself, popularly known “Yomi Casuals” personally i follow him on Instagram. Yomi was is another Ondo born Fashion designer ‘seems great Fashion designers comes from Ondo state, he was born on 25th January 1985. He has a M.A in Fashion design and clothing technology. This is one Fashion designer i can say came into the fashion industry with the right zeal and equipment’s.
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Yomi came into the fashion industry fully prepared, before the launch of his fashion brand in 2007 he had already been making waves in the fashion industry, he personally is the clothing and wardrobe manager for his brother AY the popular comedian in Nigeria. Yomi is also mostly known for making great outfit for lots of celebrities such as, Kcee, Timaya, J.J Austin Okocha, Aki and Paw Paw and many others. In 2004 Yomi won the Nigeria Model Achievers Award. His fashion design centers more classic African fashion for men bringing unique designs for the African men. He’s really a rising star in the African Fashion industry.
