LFW held it's press cocktail late last week in preparation for the kick-off of this year's fashion week. Africa gears up for Heineken Lagos Fashion Week as Fashion Focus Africa semi finalists are announced and the show gets underway.

Lagos, Nigeria: Lagos Fashion Week will return for its 8th edition this year from October 24th - 27th 2018. Serving as a hub to connect fashion stakeholders, LFW tents Oniru will open from 10am - 10pm.

Heineken Lagos Fashion Week is the leading event on the African Fashion calendar, attracting thousands of fashion experts, enthusiasts and media across the continent and beyond. This seasons event will feature over 50 designers showcasing their Spring/Summer 2019 collections as well as the Fashion Business Series, #LagosFWRetail in partnership with #SheTrades, Visual Makers Fellowship with Canon, Green Access Showcase with Fayrouz x Garment Care and Heineken Live Your Music After Party.

The Heineken Lagos Fashion Week press cocktail took place on the 11th of October 2018 to announce plans for this year’s event.  The cocktail began with a short message by Obabiyi Fagade, Senior Brand Manager Heineken, reiterating Heineken’s commitment to inspiring African consumers to break boundaries through the LFW platform. He also expressed his excitement for LFW guests to experience the Heineken hospitality suite as well as Live Your Music.

Fashion Focus Alumni, and Fashion Focus x FETS Wallet Fund recipient, Emmy Kasbit was also present, sharing his experience of the incubator programme, he said, “Fashion Focus has been a great journey so far. The fund has helped propel my brand forward in such a short period of time through business mentorship and global opportunities, this has only been possible with the support of the Fashion Focus platform which continuously facilitates positioning my brand globally”.

Excited at the opportunity to continue to impact young African creatives and businesses, the 2018/19 Fashion Focus Africa Semi Finalists who will be going through to the interview stages have been selected:

• Mohammed Jafaru Larry | Larry Jay |  Ghana

• Linda Mukangoga | Haute Baso | Rwanda

• Katungulu Mwendwa | Kenya

• Tayo, Tola and Tope Alakija | TAlakija | Lagos

• Amali Curtis | Ili | Lagos

• Moses Turahirwa | Moshions | Rwanda

• Ilse-Naolila Teixeira |  Naolila | Angola

• Nelly Emerald Aboagye | Duaba Serwa | Ghana

• Jasleen Matharu |  Kenya

• Eidusi Patrick Eromosele | Rick Dusi |  Lagos

Interviews will be conducted during Lagos Fashion Week.

The Fashion Business Series will take a new turn this year, occuring on the first day to usher in #HLFW18. The aim of FBS is to create a platform for fashion stakeholders to drive conversation about the development of the fashion industry. This year’s theme, “The Importance of Platforms” will feature a panel of  experts discussing how various media platforms can be utilised for the benefit of the industry. We look forward to hosting  our very first “FBS Gathering”, a dinner solely for fashion stakeholders.

Also a key feature in the 2018 lineup is the Visual Makers Fellowship. 10 filmmakers and 20 photographers will attend  workshops over a 7-day period facilitated by Canon, and be offered the opportunity to shoot for #HLFW2018. In addition, the Green Access showcase with Fayrouz and Garment Care, a platform set-up to promote sustainable fashion. Workshops for Green Access begun earlier on Thursday the 11th of October, and will see 5 finalists present upcycled pieces at Lagos Fashion Week.

Omoyemi Akerele - Founder #LFWNG, rounded up the press cocktail thanking the commitment of sponsors and reiterating the objective of the #HLFW18 platform and the growing need to engage the Pan-African fashion industry to promote skills acquisition and commerce that can catalyze economic growth.

LFW lineup:

• Fashion Business Series: 24th October, 2018. This year’s theme is titled ‘The Importance of Platforms’ and discussions will delve into how the fashion industry can leverage platforms. A dynamic selection of industry experts will lead these discussions.

• Runway Shows and #LagosFWRetail: 25th - 27th October, 2018. 10am - 10pm daily.

Tickets for the runway shows can be purchased online at Afritickets.

Heineken Lagos Fashion Week is brought to you by Style House Files and Heineken in partnership with FETS Wallet,  Fayrouz, NEPC, Maybelline, Oando, and Garment Care.

Media Partners: BellaNaija, Business Day, Genevieve Magazine, George Britton, Guardian Life, Konbini, Pulse NG, Style Vitae, Ventures Africa and Zumi.  

Official Logistics Partner: Taxify.
For more information on LFW, kindly visit www.lagosfashionweek.ng or follow our Instagram page @lagosfashionweekofficial