What Happened in African Fashion This Week.
- Hamza Olalekan Dosunmu
- 7 hours ago
- 7 min read
Africa’s fashion industry continues to grow across design, retail, and creative infrastructure, with recent developments highlighting both local innovation and global visibility.
From runway showcases and international pop-ups to capacity-building initiatives, collaborations, and circular economy projects, these updates reflect an industry navigating sustainability, heritage, and growth.
Together, they illustrate a fashion landscape defined by connectivity linking craft, commerce, storytelling, and institutional support across Africa and beyond.
Clearly Invincible brings you the latest weekly African fashion recap.
Report
The Ethical Fashion Initiative is Coaching the Next Generation of Designers in West Africa
The Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) has concluded a three-week mentoring programme for emerging fashion designers in Burkina Faso and Benin, focused on strengthening production capacity, brand positioning, and commercial readiness within West Africa’s textile ecosystem.
Led by EFI Programme Officer Océane Joncoux, the initiative forms part of the ACP Business Friendly Programme, supported by the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). The mentoring aimed to build functional links between designers and local textile artisan groups, including spinners, weavers, and dyers.
Sessions centred on collection development, product assortment, material selection within regional supply chains, finishing techniques, and market positioning. The programme combined group workshops with tailored one-on-one mentoring, supporting designers—many transitioning from bespoke tailoring to ready-to-wear—in adapting their practices to local demand.
EFI noted that transparency, documentation, and traceability were introduced as foundational steps toward future compliance with digital product passport frameworks and potential access to European Union markets, while emphasising national market consolidation as the immediate priority.
Fashion Week
African Designers Feature at Berlin Fashion Week AW26
Orange Culture by Adebayo Oke-Lawal and Bobby Kolade’s Buzigahill returned to Berlin Fashion Week for AW26, while Kenneth Ize made his debut on the platform. All three were selected among 19 designers for the Berlin Contemporary AW26 competition.
Ize, a 2019 LVMH Prize finalist, is known for integrating Aṣọ-Òkè into contemporary tailoring. Orange Culture continues to develop its gender-fluid menswear, while Buzigahill focuses on upcycled collections sourced from Kampala’s secondhand markets.
Launched in 2021, Berlin Contemporary is funded by Berlin’s Senate Department for Economic Affairs and the European Regional Development Fund, providing financial and production support to international designers.
Its application-based model offers an alternative pathway into
European fashion weeks compared to invitation-led systems in Paris and Milan.
Brand
The Ladymaker Announces The Romantic Edit
The Ladymaker has unveiled The Romantic Edit, a themed programme Exploring House Codes through romantic detailing and design.
An immersive studio experience, in collaboration with Joiefleurng, will run from February 9–14, 2026, at The Ladymaker Studio, daily from 9am to 6pm.
Collaboration
Pichulik and Dye Lab Collaborate on New Collection
Pichulik and Dye Lab collaborates to launch a new collection that blends African heritage, craftsmanship, and contemporary design.
The collaboration merges Dye Lab’s vibrant, colour-driven aesthetic with Pichulik’s bold, sculptural silhouettes, creating a cross-continental dialogue in design.
Brand
Eleven Sixteen Crafts Jon Batiste’s Grammy Look with 100,000 Hand-Placed Stones
Ugo Mozie’s fashion label Eleven Sixteen designed Jon Batiste’s custom look for the 2026 Grammy Awards, where the musician won Best Americana Album for Big Ol’ Money.
Created in collaboration with master museum couturier Gogo Hsu, the piece features more than 100,000 hand-placed crystals and African gemstones, drawing inspiration from ancient mosaic traditions. The look positioned Eleven Sixteen’s craftsmanship at the intersection of African material heritage and contemporary red-carpet design.
Brand
Street Souk Announces Online Store Relaunch
Street Souk is set to relaunch its online store with a refreshed lineup, introducing new brands alongside updated selections from existing labels. The relaunch features a fully updated assortment, with fresh pieces dropping on Monday, February 9.
The relaunch also includes the return of Street Souk’s e-store, expanding access to its curated selection across physical and digital channels.
Collaboration
Thebe Magugu Translates Their Design Language Into the Mount Nelson Suite
Thebe Magugu has unveiled the Thebe Magugu Suite at Mount Nelson, extending the fashion designer’s Afro-Encyclopaedic design language into a permanent interior space. Developed in collaboration with StudioLandt, the suite reflects a dialogue between South African cultural memory, Mount Nelson’s English heritage, and the distinct identity of the Thebe Magugu brand.
The space draws directly from Magugu’s fashion practice, translating expressive silhouettes, pleated forms, and symbolic detailing into sculptural interiors. Grounded tones, hand-drawn surfaces, and layered textures reference Southern African landscapes and local craftsmanship, positioning the suite as an immersive extension of the designer’s collections rather than a decorative exercise.
Located within Mount Nelson’s historic setting, the suite underscores the hotel’s ongoing engagement with South African creative voices, situating fashion as a framework for spatial storytelling, cultural continuity, and contemporary identity.
Brand
ÉKI KÉRÉ Marks the Closing of Usóró Ndò With In-Store Installation and Conversation
ÉKI KÉRÉ marked the closing chapter of Usóró Ndò: In the Name of Love with a full-day in-store installation and an intimate conversation held at the ÉKI KÉRÉ store in February.
The installation ran throughout the day, featuring handwoven textiles and natural materials that explored themes of union, care, and continuity. Drawing on ancestral references, the presentation framed love beyond romance, positioning it as presence, responsibility, and cultural preservation.
Later in the afternoon, a sit-down conversation brought guests together for shared dialogue and reflection on love in its quieter forms—across family, friendship, community, and culture. The discussion emphasised understanding as a foundation for sustainability and long-term continuity.
Select pieces from the brand’s Valentine’s Capsule were available for viewing and purchase during the event, reinforcing ÉKI KÉRÉ’s focus on longevity, cultural stewardship, and considered fashion practice.
Event
AFWN x MBN Designer Trunk Show Runs in Lagos
The AFWN x MBN Designer Trunk Show is underway in Lagos, presenting selected collections from Africa Fashion Week Nigeria (AFWN) 2025 within a premium retail environment for a four-week period.
Delivered in partnership with MBN, the trunk show is hosted at the MBN Experience Centre on Ribadu Road, Ikoyi. The initiative places runway collections directly into a commercial setting, allowing designers to extend visibility beyond the fashion week calendar while enabling immediate consumer access to newly presented work.
Running from February 5 to March 3, 2026, the showcase functions as a retail-led continuation of AFWN 2025, positioning the trunk show as a bridge between fashion presentation and market engagement within Lagos’ fashion ecosystem.
Location: MBN Experience Centre, 37 Ribadu Road, Ikoyi
Event
NATAAL Marks a Decade With Exhibition in Marrakech
NATAAL marked its tenth anniversary with A Decade of Finery, a fashion-focused exhibition and public programme held at JAJJAH in Marrakech from February 5 to 7.
The presentation brought together new and archival works from more than 30 artists and designers, positioning fashion as a tool for cultural storytelling, world-building, and identity formation. Exhibiting creatives included Adama Jalloh, Daniel Obasi, Feranmi Eso, Lakin Ogunbanwo, Mous Lamrabat, Kristin-Lee Moolman, and Nadine Ajjah, among others.
Alongside the exhibition, the programme featured talks and screenings, including a conversation with Art Comes First and Marché Noir moderated by NATAAL Editorial Director Helen Jennings. The discussion examined collective practice, sustainability, African craftsmanship, and fashion’s role as an artistic and cultural system.
A Decade of Finery functioned as both a retrospective of NATAAL’s editorial vision and a platform for ongoing dialogue around contemporary African fashion and visual culture.
Event
Ruby Okoro Leads Mobile Fashion Photography Workshop
Visual artist Ruby Okoro will lead Seeing, Shooting & Shaping a Story, an immersive photography workshop powered by VSCO, focused on fashion and visual storytelling using a phone.
The session is designed for emerging creators and photographers, offering hands-on shooting exercises, practical editing guidance, and discussions on sequencing, visual narrative, and building intentional bodies of work. Participants will explore how to create cohesive fashion-focused stories using accessible tools.
Location: S.E.A Experience, Lagos
Date: February 7, 2026
Brand
Pith Announces Amsterdam Pop-Up as Second Stop on EU Tour
Following its earlier announcement of a Paris pop-up, Pith continues its international tour with its first-ever Amsterdam Pop-Up. The event will run on March 20–21 at Showroom AMS, Pretoriusstraat 64D.
The two-day programme will showcase new product releases, interactive workshops, and community-focused experiences, giving visitors the opportunity to shop Pith’s latest collections and engage directly with the brand’s creative practice.
Economy
Islet Culture's Swap Economy Celebrates Circular Fashion Impact
Since launching in 2021 in Abuja, Nigeria. The Swap Economy’s Swap & Shop events have created a platform for secondhand fashion and circular consumption. After relocating to Lagos and relaunching in December 2023, the initiative adopted a bi-annual edition model, holding three editions in both Abuja and Lagos to date.
In June 2025, the Swap Bank opened in Lagos, providing year-round access to preloved fashion, while formal tracking of the community’s circular impact began in June 2024.
The Swap Economy reports that every swap has circulated preloved items to new homes, strengthened community engagement, and reinforced sustainable practices in the fashion economy. The platform continues to promote accessible, circular consumption for emerging and established fashion audiences, with the next edition forthcoming.
Fashion Week
Swahili Fashion Week 2026 Calls for Designers
Swahili Fashion Week (SFW) opens registration for its 19th edition, taking place in Dar es Salaam from December 4–6, 2026. The event positions the city as a hub for creative dialogue, connecting vision, craft, and fashion on the runway.
Designers with a strong point of view are invited to submit original collections for consideration, gaining the opportunity to showcase their work, increase industry visibility, and engage with a platform known for championing African design and craftsmanship.
Brand
Torlowei Launches Sisterhood Collection in Collaboration with UK Artists
Torlowei unveiled the Sisterhood Collection, a limited-edition capsule featuring prints created with UK artists Lesley and Sophie Goudman-Peachey. Inspired by their bespoke artwork Dreaming in Midsummer Light, the prints appear on silk silhouettes with Leavers lace embroidery, blending fine art with Torlowei’s signature design.
The campaign was shot by Agata Pospieszynska at the artists’ Sussex studio, highlighting the collection’s themes of heritage, femininity, and storytelling.
Brand
Dye Lab Announces Global Colour Tour
Dye Lab has announced The Colour Tour, a multi-city global programme spanning Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Nairobi, Toronto, Washington DC, Johannesburg, Houston, Accra, Miami, London, Dar es Salaam, Abidjan, Atlanta, Lagos, Dakar, Chicago, and Abuja.
The tour positions colour as a central design language, extending Dye Lab’s practice across fashion, craft, and cultural exchange through activations in key creative cities across Africa, Europe, and North America.
Brand
Kenneth Ize Returns to Fashion at Berlin Fashion Week
Kenneth Ize marked his return to fashion with a runway presentation at Berlin Fashion Week, staging his first collection after several years away from the industry. The 14-look presentation underscored a measured comeback, reaffirming the core identity of the Kenneth Ize brand.
The collection centred on the theme Joy, expressed through vivid Aṣọ-Òkè textiles, exaggerated beauty looks, and statement accessories, including custom top hats by New York–based milliner Esenshel. Rooted in handwoven Nigerian fabric, the presentation reinforced Ize’s long-standing commitment to textile-led design and local production.
Once positioned among the most closely watched African designers globally, Ize’s re-emergence highlighted the structural pressures faced by designers producing on the continent at limited scale. The Berlin showing signalled a recalibrated return, prioritising clarity of vision over volume.
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