Model and fashion designer Fola Francis scrolls through her phone, smiling hard. When I ask her what’s happening, she grins wider. “The messages keep coming in,” Francis says, referring to her Instagram and people congratulating her on debuting at Lagos Fashion Week the day before. “It is so exciting!”

Lagos Fashion Week, which Vogue describes as Africa’s leading fashion week, ran for four days at the end of October and showcased designers from across Africa. Francis was the first trans person ever to walk the runway, modelling for two labels: Cute-Saint and Fruché. Trans rights are non-existent in Nigeria and trans people face numerous challenges from both the government and citizens alike. Against this backdrop, Francis’s appearance on the runway is a huge deal.

Making history isn’t easy; her debut was nerve-wracking. She says that, backstage, before walking the runway, she danced and told herself, “You’re the Fola Francis. A bad bitch. This is your dream, and you’re making it come true.” She had worked so hard to get here and wasn’t going to mess it up.

“I was anxious when I walked out for the first show and saw so many people,” she says. “I was like, ‘Shit! Shit!’ But then, everyone started screaming with excitement, and I wanted to laugh,” Francis says. “I told myself, ‘You know what? You have to take this seriously. You have to let them know that you’re here and you mean business.’”

And Francis did mean business. Luckily, I was there to witness it (luckily, because I was late. Thankfully, the Cute-Saint show started two hours behind schedule).

Cute-Saint is a genderless contemporary African fashion brand. Its 2022 collection featured African textures and fabrics with imprinted words like Omo Eko (Lagos child). Only a few people in the crowd at Federal Palace Hotel knew Francis would be walking.

When Francis hit the runway, Disclosure and Fatoumata Diawara’s “Douha (Mali Mali)” played loudly. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, her lips coated in thick, red lipstick and she wore a flowy red robe and clear high heels. Yellow shades hid her eyes. The crowd erupted in cheers—you could tell they were excited to see Francis on the runway. She maintained her composure, keeping a straight face and looking straight ahead as she walked. She only modelled the one look for Cute-Saint. More applause followed at the end of the show; afterward, many in attendance congratulated Francis for making her debut, some calling it monumental.

By Mel Woods

“To be very honest, we didn’t think about including a trans woman in our show until Fola approached me,” Femi, Cute-Saint’s creative director, tells me over the phone. “We’re a brand that believes in diversity, and we found it interesting as it aligns with our values. We believe that fashion has a major role in enhancing people’s perspective on things, and if everyone is afraid to do something, everything will remain the same forever.”

I ask Femi if he’s worried about any negative fallout from Francis’s participation. “We were well aware of the likely consequences of the action before we did it,” he says. “But as long as our values are intact, I think we’re fine. Those who believe in our values will key into it. It’s impossible to satisfy the whole market.”

I missed a bit of the Fruché show a few hours after Cute-Saint’s, so I joined Francis to watch videos from the event. The designs are revealing and ready-to-wear; Fruché is known for making clothes for the modern-day woman. Again, the crowd cheers for Francis as she enters, this time all dressed in white, her face serious and her hair coiffed to perfection. Beyoncé’s “Alien Superstar” is playing loudly. “This is my favourite,” Francis says, referring to her walk. “It’s just perfect with the song, as a Beyoncé fan.”

I can hear people singing to the song and watching Francis closely. Again, many in the crowd didn’t know she was walking.

“We’re a progressive brand, and I have a good relationship with most of the people that buy from us, so I don’t have any fears,” says Frank Aghuno, founder of Fruché. “But if anything happens, good riddance to them because they were never for us in the first place.”

Aghuno adds: “Going with Fola was an easy decision. She is a young, liberated woman, so I was excited to have her when she reached out and had no problem with it.”

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