What Happened in African Fashion This Week.
- Hamza Olalekan Dosunmu
- 8 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.
Brand
GUGUBYGUGU Builds Identity Through Knit and Restraint
There is a stillness at the centre of GUGUBYGUGU. Before the awards, before Paris, before the vocabulary of luxury streetwear became attached to the label, there was a young designer in Gqeberha who understood fabric as a living medium. For Gugu Peteni, fibre has never been surface. It is inheritance, geography, and possibility.
She speaks about material before silhouette: mohair, merino wool, the tactility of knit, the way weight shifts posture, the way texture recalibrates mood. This material fluency is what distinguishes GUGUBYGUGU. The garments feel intentional because they are. Knitwear is engineered, not incidental. Oversized proportions are deliberate, not trend-led. There is discipline in the restraint. Even softness carries structure. That is the brand’s quiet authority.
GUGUBYGUGU does not perform heritage, nor does it dilute it for global palatability. Instead, it constructs a language of selfhood through fibre, silhouette, and precision — a study in how material can speak without raising its voice.
Brand
Hertunba Showcased at New York Fashion Week
Hertunba will present its collections at the NYFW Collections Showroom from February 11–15, marking its latest international showcase.
Under the theme From Lagos to New York, the brand is set to spotlight its heritage-driven design approach, artisanal craftsmanship, and contemporary silhouettes as part of the New York Fashion Week calendar.
Event
Nigerian Designers Spotlighted at the Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala
Nigerian designers were visible on the red carpet at the 2026 Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala in New York, as attendees interpreted the evening’s dress code through distinct expressions of Nigerian luxury fashion.
Eniola Popoola wore Hertunba, while Olandria Carthen appeared in House of Marvee’s Plait Dress. Serayah selected a look by Onalaja, and Chlöe Bailey arrived in a custom design by Weiz Dhurm Franklyn. Marvella also chose Hertunba for the evening.
The appearances placed Nigerian brands within a high-profile event dedicated to expanding retail access and long-term infrastructure for Black-owned businesses. Different women and design perspectives converged in one setting, underscoring the growing international visibility of Nigerian fashion within global cultural spaces.
Brand
Olooh Concept Engages Ivorian Cultural Leaders on Craft and Industry
Olooh Concept participated in a field visit and industry dialogue alongside Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Culture, Françoise Remarck, continuing discussions around the preservation and development of local craftsmanship. The exchange extended beyond formal meetings to on-site engagement with bronze workers and batik artisans who collaborate closely with the brand.
The visit brought together key institutional figures, including Kenji Okamura, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Jean-Louis Moulot, Minister Delegate in charge of Technical Education, as well as Isabelle Andoh, Sadiath Alimath, and Philippe-Alexandre Aka-Adjo.
The gathering underscored a shared commitment to strengthening living craft traditions and shaping the future of Ivorian artisanship through dialogue between cultural leadership, technical education, and creative enterprise.
Fashion Show
Tokyo James, IAMISIGO, MaxiVive and MAFI MAFI Set for Afro Fashion Week Milano
Afro Fashion Week Milano (AFWM) returns with its flagship annual showcase, bringing its global Afro Fashion Week format to Milan through a programme spanning haute and street couture, digital showcases, workshops, and exhibitions.
The February–March edition will feature Tokyo James on the runway, reinforcing the designer’s continued presence within European fashion circuits. IAMISIGO and MaxiVive will participate with digital shows, while MAFI MAFI joins the schedule with a presentation format, reflecting AFWM’s hybrid approach to physical and virtual visibility.
Positioned within one of the world’s most visible fashion capitals, AFWM continues to platform leading and emerging African and Afro-inspired designers, highlighting the diversity of contemporary Afro design while encouraging investment in African and diaspora-led creative enterprises.
Award
Jacques Agbobly Awarded 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise
Jacques Agbobly has received the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Design, recognising a research-driven practice centered on Afropolitan identity and diasporic memory.
The non-binary Togolese-American designer founded Agbobly, a Brooklyn-based studio originally launched as Black Boy Knits in 2020 and reintroduced under the family name in 2023. The renaming marked an intentional shift toward lineage, identity, and intergenerational acknowledgment within the brand’s narrative.
Agbobly’s work operates through sustainable, made to-order production models grounded in West African craftsmanship, positioning minority narratives within American fashion discourse. The designer frequently cites maternal influence as foundational to the practice, referencing the labor and resilience of the women who shaped their early understanding of creativity and survival.
The Vilcek Prize recognises immigrant contributions to the arts and sciences in the United States, situating Agbobly within a broader conversation about migration, authorship, and cultural continuity in contemporary design.
Fashion Week
Africa Fashion Week London Announces 16th Edition
Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) will return this summer for its 16th edition, continuing its role as one of the largest and longest-running showcases of African and African-inspired fashion and design.
Over the past 15 years, AFWL has hosted more than 3,000 emerging and established designers and exhibitors, welcoming over 75,000 visitors including buyers, retailers, industry professionals, and international media. Designers from 26 African countries and 67 countries globally—including diaspora creatives from Brazil, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Americas—have participated in the platform.
What began as a visibility-focused showcase has evolved into a structured industry platform addressing sustainability, production, pricing, ownership, and long-term global positioning. Founder Queen Ronke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi has consistently emphasized the shift from exposure to economic viability, framing AFWL as a bridge between creativity and commercial sustainability.
Beyond its annual catwalk and exhibition programme, AFWL has produced major third-party events including collaborations with the Southbank Centre’s Africa Utopia and Meltdown Festival, the Mayor of London’s Africa on the Square, and The Africa Centre’s Summer Festival. The platform now contributes to the livelihoods of more than 5,000 individuals annually across design, production, media, and creative services.
Event
Sona 2026 Red Carpet: South African Designers Take Centre Stage
The 2026 State of the Nation Address (Sona) red carpet showcased bold, summer ready fashion from South African designers and local talent. Bright hues, playful textures, and statement pieces set the tone for a stylish, energetic prelude to the evening.
Nobukhosi Mukwevho, founder of Khosi Nkosi, led the fashion highlights in a multi-coloured boob tube gown anchored in bright yellow, paired with a matching cropped jacket. Cape Town designer Stephen Van Eeden brought tailored sophistication in a custom pencil stripe suit with a pop of silk colour, crafted by Tailor Me SA and accented with a Bellagio Jewellery brooch.
Other notable looks included Modibe Modiba’s sequined all-black ensemble and Saranya Devan’s traditional peach panjabi, reflecting a blend of contemporary flair and cultural heritage. The red carpet underscored South African designers’ ability to merge craftsmanship, colour, and personality for a standout summer aesthetic.
Event
Brillantissim’ Upcycling Highlights Ivorian Circular Fashion
The Brillantissim’ Upcycling exhibition, part of the Agnon project, demonstrates how upcycling can turn secondhand clothing into unique, creative pieces. Workshops led by Vincente Sclade with fashion students from Groupecarinen and EIFP Micheleyakice focused on experimentation, material transformation, and sustainable design.
The exhibition spotlights a new generation of Ivorian creators reimagining thrift as a resource for innovation, creativity, and collective learning. Presented by Ethical Fashion, Studio4.Abidjan, and Vincente Sclade, the project underscores that sustainable fashion begins with what already exists.
Brand
Vic Mensa Stars in Daily Paper SS’26 ‘Off Road’
Vic Mensa leads Daily Paper’s SS’26 campaign, Off Road, embodying creativity, individuality, and the drive to carve new paths. The campaign celebrates redefining culture, style, and identity through innovation, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Photography by Jossh Flores.
Brand
Lisa Folawiyo Marks 20 Years with SS’26 Collection
Available via Industrie Africa, Lisa Folawiyo’s SS’26 collection celebrates two decades of the Nigerian label’s design evolution. The new season reinterprets the house’s signature intricate, hand-embellished techniques for the modern LF woman, balancing heritage with progression.
Crafted by expert local artisans with some pieces requiring up to 240 hours to complete — the collection features raffia floating fringe effects, leather adorned with hand-painted Ankara motifs, and subtle reworkings of archival favourites.
Described by the brand as “a love letter to the past and a promise for the future,” SS’26 underscores 20 years of innovation, craftsmanship, and contemporary African luxury.
Collaboration
Lagos Fashion Week and Style House Files Announce Woven Threads VII: “CRAFTED”
Lagos Fashion Week, in partnership with Style House Files, will stage the seventh edition of Woven Threads from April 9–12, 2026.
Titled CRAFTED, the three-day programme continues Woven Threads’ focus on circularity, sustainability, and responsible production across Africa’s fashion and textile value chains. Since its inception, the platform has convened designers, manufacturers, and policy stakeholders to examine material innovation, craft preservation, and systems-led approaches to scaling fashion on the continent.
Building on its 2025 cross-continental dialogues in London and Lagos, the 2026 edition positions craft as a functional framework for contemporary production—foregrounding material intelligence, community-based manufacturing, and adaptive reuse as viable pathways for long-term industry development.
Event
IAMISIGO and Yoshita 1967 Highlight Artisan-Led Practice as 2026 LVMH Prize Semi-Finalists
As conversations around the 2026 LVMH Prize continue, IAMISIGO and Yoshita 1967 stand out for their research-driven, craft-centered approaches to contemporary fashion.
Based between Lagos, Nairobi, and Accra, IAMISIGO operates as a wearable art practice, using textiles to explore memory, movement, and identity. The brand collaborates with artisans across Africa, transforming heritage techniques and unconventional, often recycled materials into sculptural garments and installations. Each piece foregrounds hand production, merging ancestral knowledge with experimental processes.
Yoshita 1967 positions itself as an artisan-led luxury house grounded in transmission and collective growth. Shaped by a Kenyan Indian lineage and developed between Nairobi and Paris, the brand works through long-term partnerships with women-led craft communities. Its slow production model emphasizes circularity rooted in people prioritising skills development, economic stability, and cultural continuity.
Together, both brands reflect a broader shift toward material intelligence, heritage preservation, and community centered luxury within the global fashion landscape.
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