Fashion is a lifestyle that is relative to every individual. It is more than a trend but a way of expressing your identity. Fashion as a broad concept encapsulates our everyday life and projects who we are. As Africans, our fashion is always evolving and reinventing itself to project different perspectives in terms of colours, shapes and pattern.
While this on its own is bringing the continent to the limelight and setting the pace for a global trend around contemporary African designs, we still find that the fashion industry within the continent still struggles to sustain itself. The structure in the African fashion community doesn’t have the weight and pattern to support it into becoming commercially viable.
In an attempt to address this, fashion events and runway shows in African cities began to spring up. There was a need to create a distribution and sales network to support the many talented designers. This is what the Heineken Lagos Fashion Week (HLFW) strives to do. This fashion platform is set out to drive the Nigerian and ultimately, the African fashion industry, by bringing together buyers, consumers and the media to view the current collections of designers for all across the African continent.
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Running now on its 4th year, the Heineken Lagos Fashion Week has found a way to reach out to different classes through fashion, lifestyle and music. This sets the pace for the very much needed conversations. The four-day fashion show has a lot more to offer than just having designers and models showcasing pieces on the runway. The event provides a number of programs that would serve as tools to re-position fashion as a commercially viable sector without losing its artistry and creativity.
The unique opportunities the fashion week presents for emerging talents to improve their skills through business development workshops, creative workshops, and mentorships set it apart from other fashion shows.
The Fashion Business Series of the Heineken Lagos Fashion Week took a new turn this year, with a focus on creating an opportunity for fashion stakeholders to drive conversations about the development of the fashion industry. There was a panel of experts that discussed how various media platforms can be utilized for the benefit of the industry.
To ensure a premium experience during the Lagos Fashion Week, Heineken’s signature high energy and exclusive Live Your Music party would serve as a climax to the fashion week. Music fans during the Fashion Week will have the opportunity to request songs they want played from various music genres on the Heineken Live Your Music Party. These personalized playlists will be played live at the event, which is being headlined by three top DJs in the music industry.
The Heineken Lagos Fashion Week is fast becoming the melting pot for creative talents and business in Africa with the 2018 experience featuring an interesting mix of people, music, fashion and culture. This unique mix is what seems to be most alluring about the Heineken Lagos Fashion Week.
The event has succeeded in recognizing how to engage the eclectic mix of audience that make up the fashion sphere. Participants, designers and visitors alike can expect a diversified and interactive platform to maximize their exposure within and beyond their industry circle and open gateways for more business opportunities.
