Ananse Center for Design Opens in Lagos: A New Integrated Hub for African Creatives

Ananse Center for Design Opens in Lagos: A New Integrated Hub for African Creatives reception

For years, Nigeria’s creative industry has dazzled the world with talent and imagination, yet struggled to translate that brilliance into sustainable business growth. From fashion to furniture, countless designers and innovators have been constrained by inadequate infrastructure, limited access to global markets, and deep dependence on imported materials. The result: a sector overflowing with ideas […]

Anthony Azekwoh is The Nigerian Artist Building His Own Cinematic Universe

Anthony Azekwoh is The Nigerian Artist Building His Own Cinematic Universe The bridesmaid

When Anthony Azekwoh began drawing, he could hardly imagine how far that impulse would carry him. His trajectory—from writer to digital painter to sculptor and curator—speaks to a restless creativity and a conviction that has positioned him as one of the continent’s most successful digital artists. Born in Lagos, Anthony describes his childhood as formative. […]

NYFW SS26 Trends to Watch and How They Could Translate in Lagos and Dakar

NYFW SS26 Trends to Watch and How They Could Translate in Lagos and Dakar IMG 2479

New York set the tone this month—craft got louder, tailoring relaxed, and street codes sharpened. With Lagos Fashion Week locked for Oct 29–Nov 2, 2025 and Dakar Fashion Week slated for Dec 3–7, 2025, here’s what emerged from NYFW and how it might translate on the continent in the coming weeks. Craft with muscle (Diotima) […]

African Art and Creativity: What Inspires Artists Across the Continent

African Art and Creativity: What Inspires Artists Across the Continent Carlos Idun Tawiah

In a small Lagos studio, a painter dips her brush in red paint. Her canvas bursts with market colors: yellow mangoes, blue headscarves, green leaves. She grew up in a noisy neighborhood where money was scarce, but the buzz of traders and kids playing gave her ideas. In a London apartment, a musician strums his […]

Big Four vs Africa: Fashion Week’s Contrasting Realities

Big Four vs Africa: Fashion Week’s Contrasting Realities BAR 300 1

Fashion weeks have always been about more than the clothes. Yes, they’re displays of style, but they’re also where global trends are born, where billions of dollars change hands, and where designers make statements that ripple far beyond the runway. A single collection can spark conversations about politics, identity, or sustainability. In Lagos or Paris, […]

Inside the Rise of Africa’s Skateboarding Culture

Inside the Rise of Africa’s Skateboarding Culture Ethiopian Ladies Skate Team

In Kampala, in a neighborhood called Kitintale, a half-pipe rises from the red earth. It is not polished concrete poured by a city planner or a glossy installation by a global sports brand. It is a handmade monument, built nearly twenty years ago by Jackson Mubiru, who believed Uganda’s children needed a place to roll, […]

Snatched Waists and Style Play: The Corsetification of Nigerian Fashion

Bonang Matheba poses in a dramatic teal and green corseted gown by Veekee James, styled by Dahmola, against a neutral backdrop.

Corsetification in Nigerian fashion is cinching itself into the heart of style, emerging from Lagos red carpets, owambes, and endless scrolls of Instagram and TikTok. It’s a waist, pulled tight, hyper-defined, framed by elaborate bustiers and couture-heavy tailoring that now defines one of the most visible aesthetics of Nigerian femininity. This isn’t just a trend, […]

Everyday Couture: Why Africa’s True Fashion Houses Sit on the Streets

Everyday Couture: Why Africa's True Fashion Houses Sit on the Streets Fundi wa nguo mwanamke

Growing up in Africa, you feel the streets’ pulse long before you ever hear of Paris runways. On crowded roads where roasted plantain and petrol fumes mingle, a tailor’s shop hums with life. It’s a tiny space, bursting with wax prints, bogolan, kente, and lace — colors popping like a festival. A sewing machine buzzes […]

Luxury on Screen: How Fashion is Transforming Nollywood Narratives

Luxury on Screen: How Fashion is Transforming Nollywood Narratives aa59b951 c25a 44fc 9d6d e29f2722de44

When Nigeria’s film industry surged onto the scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was built on urgency and ingenuity rather than glamour. The budgets were modest, the production schedules tight, and the priorities leaned heavily toward storytelling and distribution rather than elaborate aesthetics. In those days, the idea of hiring a dedicated […]

Little Lagos in London: Adisa Olashile Captures Nigeria’s Spirit in Peckham

Little Lagos in London: Adisa Olashile Captures Nigeria’s Spirit in Peckham 2478FAAE 41B5 416D BCFE FB1D86ACFE1D

On a Saturday afternoon in Peckham, South London, Rye Lane feels like Lagos stretched across the Atlantic. Yoruba greetings ripple through the air, suya smoke drifts past the scent of jollof rice, and Ankara fabrics streak the crowd in bursts of color. This is “Little Lagos” in London, where the Nigerian community has made its […]