In 2019, a news report warned that the world’s coastal cities were at risk of being submerged by 2050 due to rising sea levels. Furthermore, CNN reported that Lagos might be uninhabitable by the end of the century for similar reasons. 2024 is coming to an end and despite being 25 years away from that outcome, the city’s fate has already come to pass – but not for the reasons predicted.

It is the 25th of October 2024 and every driver on Marina Road is committing the cardinal driving sin, texting behind the wheel. They have not moved for an hour plus and their cars are partially submerged. It has been a wet day and now passengers are playing quasi hopscotch as they try to keep their feet from getting soaked.

Mine are on the dashboard, as I head to the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, for the annual Lagos Fashion Week. I am relaxed because if I am stranded, then most people are too. Like Kuvira from the animated series Avatar, the floods of Lagos are a great unifier. The upper echelon who reside in Lagos’ wealthy but frequently-flooded enclaves might even argue that they suffer more.

That day would mark the second time I had found myself in water that month. By the 30th of October, that number would have risen to five. Yet the wet day at Marina is the only one that was not on my schedule. The rest were occupational bonuses, four fashion shows that had ocean-themed collections.

UNDERSTANDING THE LAGOS FASHION WEEK CALENDAR:

Each year, the final days of October are reserved for Lagos Fashion Week. The official calendar reads October 23rd to 27th. However, fashion insiders know that several private shows are held throughout the city the week before. There is only so much one can do in a week, so private off-site shows are organised by a select few brands. These shows appear on the calendar but are not open to the Lagos Fashion Week audience and are invite-only.

THE BANKE KUKU SHOW:

The first of these shows was the highly anticipated Banke Kuku show. At the beginning of October, the founder of the eponymous label, Banke Kuku, held a press conference.

In a Zoom meeting with tens of media houses, the soft-spoken designer read, “Did you know that there used to be dolphins in Lagos? Dolphin Estate got its name because that was a hot spot for dolphins migrating to the Southern African coast. I want to bring that back. I want to tell stories of how our coast once looked before the plastics pollution.” The 18th of October is still a week away and with just a few sentences, the show has already demanded everyone’s attention.

Kuku promised that her Spring-Summer 25 show titled Oceans would be a conscious fashion experience. The brand gained fame through its distinctive prints. “Each print is created by me, and this year’s is no exception.”

Kuku cites the Federal Government Of Nigeria’s announcement to ban single-use plastics from January 2025 as her inspiration. “I saw several comments about how unnecessary it was for the government to focus on that when we have bigger issues. This led me down a rabbit hole and I began to research plastic pollution. That led me to discuss how damaged our marine ecosystem is. The coast used to be pretty, you could swim on the beaches, and at Dolphin Estate, the water was shallow enough for you to pet dolphins.”

Kuku’s words led me down my own rabbit hole. Growing up, I assumed the Atlantic Ocean was ugly because the oceans I saw on National Geographic looked nothing like it. Then I saw more of the Atlantic Ocean and thought Lagos got the short end of the stick. There are no turtles to return to the ocean like in Florida, but hearing that if I was born long ago, I could have petted dolphins and bubble fish sounds impossible.

Nevertheless, Kuku’s story checks out as Forbes details the efforts the Biodiversity Preservation Center in Akwa Ibom is making to save the Atlantic Humpback Dolphins.

Kuku wanted to remind the audience of these better days and her collection was an ode to that. According to Saharan Style, she teamed up with  Mikano Motors, MAC Cosmetics, Meeyas Jewels, Beauty Hut, Polo Avenue, and Moët and Chandon. The show was held at the Mikano Motors headquarters which Kuku transformed into an aquarium.

The jewellery and prints referenced marine life and watersports. Meeyas Jewels made dolphin and coral reef-themed pieces for the collection, with the standout piece being an 18-karat gold coral-themed choker.

The garments featured aquatic flora and fauna motifs, including crustaceans and goldfish. The shapes were made to be fluid because the ocean is synonymous with movement. This form helped create a quasi-5D experience for viewers, including a bubble machine that was turned on when the free-flowy dresses with bubble prints walked down the runway.

THE DESIREE IYAMA SHOW:

Another established designer who sought the waves for inspiration was womenswear founder, Desiree Iyama.

The eponymous label’s show at the 2023 Lagos Fashion Week was one of the year’s most talked about. Its Meraki dress became a fan favourite and was the subject of an online debacle earlier this year.

For its  2024 show, the brand took fans to the beach. The Lagos Fashion Week tents at Federal Palace do not give designers enough room for individual decorations, so on the 26th of October, Iyama had a video of the waters on a beach playing as models walked to the sounds of waves.

“Crab and Lobster/A Timeless Resilience,” she called the collection.  Iyama leans into her strengths, as she is known for her intriguing silhouettes. The collection also sees the return of the Meraki dress, this time in stripes and polka dots. The similarities start with the use of aquatic motifs but end with the animal choice; Iyama opts for Koi fish instead.

Iyama uses the ocean as a metaphor for the perils of life. “Each piece is crafted to empower, reminding you to seize life’s opportunities, and adapt uncertainty and thrive amidst life’s turbulent tides,” the press release read.

This is a befitting message for a show that was held a day after the streets of Lagos were flooded and fashion week guests faced a catch-22 obstacle; They either walked in the flood to get into the venue or sat in a 30-minute traffic at its gate.

THE EKI SILK SHOW:

As its name suggests, EKI Silk is home to some of the finest silk on the continent. Like Desiree Iyama, EKI Silk is a fashion week fixture and has redefined the way silk is viewed. “I want people to think about the prints too, they tell stories,” Hazel Eki Osunde, founder of EKI Silk, said.

The ever-charming Osunde states her focus is always on women. “Each piece in this collection was designed for the modern woman, graceful, calming, and flowy,” Osunde explains. “Inspired by the calming depths of the Ocean. I take you on a journey through the depths of the ocean; through the shades of blue and green; from the bright shallow waters to the tranquil abyss.”

Deep Dive by EKI Silk aims to astral project viewers into the ocean trench, dangerous, deep, yet beautiful. The collection palette stuck to shades and tints of blue, green, and black. The colours interacted with each other like the seaweeds in the ocean. Osunde took the Mariana Trench and made it into a print.

THE LFJ SHOW:

When it comes to consistency, Love from Julez, colloquially known as LFJ, is at the top of the game in Africa. The designer, Juliet Olanipekun, often creates cohesive collections that connect to their predecessors. Every collection feels like a sequel to the previous year.

In 2023, her debut Lagos Fashion Week collection was titled Under the Sea. She used jellyfish-like silhouettes to redefine the way our fashion industry relates to shapes. She returned with a similar outline, silhouettes and texture with this year’s Shores, where she told a story of migration and diversity.

“Shores was inspired by the rich beauty and diversity of our coastline, as well as the powerful stories of migration, resilience, and hope tied to these waters,” Olanipekun explains. “Each piece reflects the contrasts and harmony between strength and tranquillity that you find at the water’s edge, as well as the vibrant energy of Lagos, where we began our journey.”

ABOUT THE TREND:

Fashion has always been a mirror for society and in Nigeria, it has become even more conscious. So just as skirt lengths can telegraph a country’s economic status, or an increase in fantasy-based experiences can be read as an attempt to boost the morale of its audience, social commentary is never far from the minds of Nigerian fashion designers.

Banke Kuku tackles this by telling stories of our history and teaming up with organisations to get young people excited about nature. As she disclosed, “I am partnering with Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF), we will be creating a project to build 100 trees.”

Desiree Iyama, Hazel Eki Osunde and Juliet Olanipekun approach this metaphorically. Crab and Lobster uses the waves and tides to represent resilience, Deep Dive reminds us that there is more to us than what meets the surface, while Shores focuses on the ocean’s animals, how diverse they are, and how they migrate and adapt.

The repeated use of the ocean as a key theme in these collections serves as a powerful reminder to remain hopeful. The city is not the same neither are we but the ocean has outlasted us. Nigerian fashion has taken a conscious turn and our designers want to entertain and yet inspire us.

As the city grapples with some of its darkest times, the display of creativity at Lagos Fashion Week highlights the potential for resilience and hope. They want to say to you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel; so instead they have their collections say: there is an ocean south of Lagos.