Lagos Fashion Week: Kanyinsola Onalaja highlights bold African craftsmanship

Dresses embroidered with multicolored beads and sequins, with motifs that pay homage to the traditional scarification practices that occur in some areas of Nigeria, and sizes ranging from “extra-small to 4XL”: with a flourish, the show by Nigerian designer Kanyinsola Onalaja inaugurated Lagos Fashion Week, which will last until Sunday in the cultural capital of Nigeria.

The 33-year-old Anglo-Nigerian designer, who studied in Rome and has a company based in London, is one of the rising fashion stars in Africa’s most populous country. American celebrities such as Kandi Burruss, Chlöe Bailey and Jennifer Hudson have been seen on red carpets wearing Onalaja’s designs, and her brand even participated in New York Fashion Week earlier this year.

“For me, the Onalaja woman is someone strong and resilient, who appreciates craftsmanship, is daring and, I would say, unique,” the designer told AFP, explaining that she wanted her Spring/Summer 2026 collection to be “a celebration.”

Half Yoruba, half Edo, he is inspired by his native culture, “100% present in his creations,” whose heritage he seeks to “reimagine.” The designer says she takes “the things we grew up with, the traditions” to “give them a new dimension and modernize them.”

She reinvents adiré, the traditional indigo-dyed fabric of the Yoruba people, using materials that she wants to feel “three-dimensional.”

On the catwalk, the models paraded in a blaze of color and rhinestones, their pearl-fringed outfits swaying to the rhythm of their hips and their shine amplified by the spotlights.

Inclusivity

Through her creations, Kanyinsola Onalaja also champions a cause close to her heart: inclusion. She admits that she “has always struggled with her weight and couldn’t find clothes that flattered her.”

“We offer sizes from extra small to 4XL, and our clothes have a bit of stretch, so you can always find a dress that fits you, whatever your body shape,” she says proudly. He also advocates for “greater representation between ages.”

On Wednesday night in Lagos, Onalaja’s glamorous, party-ready silhouettes wowed the carefully selected guests, including Nigerian actress Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama, luxury doyenne Reni Folawiyo and American singer Ciara, whose presence caught particular attention.

Now in its 15th edition, Lagos Fashion Week has established itself as the largest fashion event on the continent.

African designers are at the top and their creations now grace the most prestigious red carpets in the world.

Soul icon Diana Ross wore a sumptuous white dress by Nigerian designer Ugo Mozie at the ultra-exclusive Met Gala in New York in May, where Afrobeats superstars Tems, Burna Boy and Ayra Starr were also present, all three dressed by British-Ghanaian designer Ozwald Boateng.

Although he sees this international recognition as an “endorsement” of the industry, Kanyinsola Onalaja, 10 years after launching his brand, affirms his own identity without trying to “fit into the mold” of Western fashion.

“I fully embrace my identity and my heritage, with all its chaos, beauty, color and vitality, and I am no longer ashamed of it,” she says with a smile.

—By Leslie Fauvel