Heineken Lagos Fashion Week 2024 Champions Collaboration, Co-Creation, and Community Building for Lasting Change

Heineken Lagos Fashion Week 2024 Champions Collaboration, Co-Creation, and Community Building for Lasting Change This year’s edition of Heineken Lagos Fashion Week concluded with a renewed focus on collaboration, co-creation & community, which we consider as the key pillars to the strategic development of the African fashion industry. Over five days, the event showcased a shared vision for the future of African fashion, highlighting the entire fashion’s value chain’s role in driving innovation and sustainability across the continent.  This season, themed “Commune”, leaned into the power of collaboration and partnerships in the fashion ecosystem in fostering  innovation, sustainability, and cultural relevance while enhancing brand value and global market reach.

By bringing together an extraordinary network of global and local partners, visionary designers, and passionate creatives to set the stage for Africa’s fashion future, this season, collaboration, co-creation, and community birthed a movement, and an amplified commitment to advance African fashion. Through meaningful partnerships and shared vision, Heineken Lagos Fashion Week is the platform where ideas become initiatives, where talent meets opportunity, and where African craftsmanship finds its authentic voice on a global stage.

Kicking off with an unforgettable welcome party hosted by Moët & Chandon, Heineken Lagos Fashion Week engaged in a series of strategic partnerships that reinforced our core verticals of access to markets, capacity building, skills development, talent discovery, advocacy, and showcasing talent. Each collaboration underscored our dedication to fostering a more inclusive, sustainable, and impactful African fashion ecosystem.

The Heineken 45 CL collection in partnership with Emmy Kasbit, Orange Culture, Eki Kere, ESO by Liman and YWandelag reinforced the brand’s commitment to showcasing Nigerian talent, innovation and design. In the same vein, Viva Jets collaboration with Ivorian designer, Loza Loza Maleombho to unveil its new crew uniforms at Heineken Lagos Fashion Week, echoes our continued commitment to enhancing and spotlighting  collaboration across diverse industries.

This season, our partnership with The Bicester Collection explored the power of partnerships in bringing African talent to international retail spaces, while Q Rising (formerly Qasimi Rising) staged a one-day mentorship workshop, aimed to cultivate the boundless creativity of African fashion, while enabling emerging designers to develop skills that emphasise both social and cultural awareness in design.

Through our collaboration with Prosper Africa, we’re creating viable pathways for African brands in the U.S. market, demonstrating our commitment to bridging African and international markets. With the upcoming launch of the Moda Operandi Trunk Show, we’re excited to provide new platforms for African designers to reach fashion lovers across the globe, strengthening their voices in a way that resonates far beyond the runway. Meanwhile, our alliance with the Netherlands in Nigeria and the collaboration with TOMS and Green Access finalists champions the need for more defined circular, sustainable and responsible production models ensuring African fashion continues to lead with purpose. These partnerships reflect the essence of Heineken Lagos Fashion Week — a platform committed to making fashion a powerful tool for economic transformation and cultural pride.

With Style House Files at the helm, these collaborations don’t just connect African designers to international audiences; they lay the groundwork for long-term development through capacity building and advocacy. Together, we create spaces for African designers to thrive, inspire, innovate in creating and developing brands that remain considerate and conscious.  This season’s runway shows reflected the prevalence of designers with sustainability at the core of their production process. Awa Meité, a Malian fashion designer, showcased her S/S25  ready-to-wear collection,  which come in an array of striking silhouettes and hand-woven fabrics that pay homage to the country’s rich history of craftsmanship and design, thoughtful made with waste efficiency and community empowerment at the centre. WOTE KI Design‘s, rooted in Ghana, created a collection that lit up the runway with intricate beadwork, raffia and sustainable pieces created from recycled and reusable textile waste. The collection featured gender-neutral pieces that fuse “African culture, the mother of modernity with its classic clean lines and love of colour, with an urban energy”  infused with heritage. Boyedoe, an afro-luxurious emerging brand out of Ghana showcased this season. Deeply rooted in ideas of deconstruction, reconstruction, and  with a focus on sustainability, Boyedoe upcycles discarded or unsold denim stock, transforming it into wearable art. Approximately 80 percent of the brand's materials are recycled, while the remaining 20 percent are sourced from local ethical and sustainable manufacturers. As a made-to-order producer, Boyedoe minimises waste by creating small-batch collections.

As we close out on Heineken Lagos Fashion Week 2024, we celebrate the communities, creatives, and collaborators that make this event more than a showcase — it’s a movement and a shared commitment to building a future where African fashion leads with innovation, resilience, and authenticity. This season marks a turning point and reinforces that through collaboration and co-creation, we can successfully build an industry that sustains, transforms, empowers, educates and honours traditional African craftsmanship.

Lagos Fashion Week 2024 is proudly sponsored by Heineken and supported by Bioderma, Lush Hair, TOMS, Viva Jets, Prosper Africa, and Afrexim. Media Partners: BellaNaija Style, Guardian Life, Bokissonthrone Media, Essence, Business Day, Culture Custodian, Style Vitae, Black Canvas, and Femme Africa.