Lagos Fashion Week: 4 designers embracing androgynous style

The 2022 edition of Lagos Fashion Week indeed ended on a high note. For days, fashion lovers and enthusiasts across the world gathered in show-off outfits that spoke to their personal style and brand. From the 26-31 October to the, fashionistas juggled invite-only parties, private showcases and presentations, after-parties, and open showcases/presentations. 

The opening shows took place at the Balmoral Hall of Federal Palace Hotel in the prestigious Victoria Island, Lagos, while the private showcase was held at the designer’s discrete locations. This year, almost like last year, a handful of designers including Dye Labs, Eki Kere, Bubu Ogisi of Iamisigo, Sisiano, Thompson Adeju of Lagos Space Programme, Banke Kuku, and Imad Eduso, all had support in hosting their private shows.

With fashion being one of the major ways to instigate deep conversations, it’s imperative to recognise brands whose foundations are built on such narratives. Nigerian fashion is in no doubt structured in favour of the binary genders, however, there are genderless brands that continue to create garments that embrace androgynous style; some of whom released their SS/23 collection at the 2022 edition of Lagos Fashion Week. Here, we meet four of them.

Bloke

Bloke is a Lagos-based artisanal label that uses traditional weaving techniques to create contemporary silhouettes with no bias toward gender identities. Founded by Faith Oluwajimi in 2015, and being the first runner-up of the 2019 Fashion Focus Fund organized by Lagos Fashion Week, under Style House Files, Bloke is well on its way to being an industry favourite. Their SS/23 collection, titled ‘A Polaroid Named Camouflage’ was inspired by the travels of Oluwajimi over the past months, and has silhouettes made from knitting, as well as inscribed prints of the brand’s name.

“The collection is inspired by my travels in the past six months, the cultures, the people, the identity politics of one geographical location, and all that,” he says. “I visited about six to seven countries, and the translated colour palette for the collection was from some of the flags of these countries I visited.

Oshobor Nigeria

Founded by Peter ‘Dawn’ Oshobor, the Oshobor Nigeria brand is an androgynous brand that dives into the kind of relationship shared by fathers and their sons. Dawn decided to build a brand in 2017 that honours such relationships, and how it sparks some kind of emotion, be it love, joy, hate, jealousy, comfort or warmth. As a 2022 Lagos Fashion Week Green Access Finalist, he presented a three-piece collection titled ‘Na Man You Be’, a pidgin version of ‘You’re A Man’, another way to appreciate people who play the role of father figures in the lives of their younger counterparts.

“Fathers are the models of masculinity for sons. Their relationship especially within traditional Africa, although solid, is usually lacking in expressions and emotions,” Dawn says. “My inspiration surrounds not just masculinity, but masculinity in the African context. Therefore, I focus on voguish apparels with an African twist, to emphasise the Afro-centricity of the art and its inspiration.

Lagos Space Programme

Thompson Adeju has never believed in building a brand that is solely viewed through the Western lens of African fashion. Since founding the Lagos Space Programme brand in 2018, Adeju’s focus has been to subvert the narratives of traditional craftsmanship. Being a non-binary designer, they infuse their sexuality, African heritage, cultures and traditions into their fashion label. Following through with this ethos has earned them a space as a semi-finalist for the highly coveted LVMH Awards. Being a ‘slow brand’ that actively refuses to follow the traditional path of churning out seasonal collections, Adeju refers to their collections as ‘Projects’.

For Project 7, they’ve been inspired by traditional Yoruba attire and the stories behind it. “The inspiration behind the Project 7 collection is to highlight the similarities between western tailoring codes and the romance of traditional indigenous aesthetics of dress,” they say, “[and] in addition to exploring queer semiotics, the collection is also a study on tailoring. Using archival studio photography from the early 20th century, we attempt to keep alive the sartorial techniques long practiced by Yoruba people.”

Olisa Kenya

The Olisa Kenya is a Nairobi-based brand androgynous and unisex label that uses fun and colourful hues to produce its collections. Founded by Akoth Otieno, the brand creates its silhouettes through crochets and knittings, drawing out cuts and details in very responsive places. Being a Green Access from the Lagos Fashion Week’s Style House File stables, they created a limited number of pieces for their SS/23 collection, titled ‘Mwanzo.’

“It looks at where our past, present, and future kind of collide in motion. Mwanzo is looking to lay the groundwork for the house we intend to build. For this we focused on innovation rather than novelty, but also updating the knowledge we’ve learnt over the last couple of years,” she tells Attitude. “The silhouettes are unapologetically intentional, and half of it is because we’ve grown in the last couple of years, where we now embrace our power.”

It is also worth noting the groundbreaking occurrence that happened on this year’s runway. For the first time, an out Nigerian trans woman, Fola Francis, walked the runway for two designers, Cute Saint and Fruché. This is the first time a feat like this has been recorded. Of course, due to the current clime against queer people, these the uncertainty that comes with a movement like this. “The runway experience was nerve-wracking. It was exhilarating, but I’m glad I was able to keep knocking till the door was broken,” she said, metaphorically.

In a piece for the BBC UK concerning Nigeria’s intended bill to outlaw ‘cross-dressing’, Fola Francis drew attention to how important openly queer people are in the fashion scene, and how it’s important to begin to be represented on the runways and in front rows, as against working backstage and taking backseats. Representation, recognition, and visibility matter, and there’s the hope that this further opens up the conversation of how significant the queer community is to the fashion industry. “Representation of all kinds of bodies exists, and it’s important to see us on the runway. The hope is that this opens the door for queer and non-binary people to walk the shows, going forward.”