Several female fashion designers in Nigeria have stood out for their outstanding collections presented at fashion shows worldwide as well as the stylish outfits made for high-end clientele. With how competitive the Nigerian fashion industry is at the moment, it may be quite difficult to select the best among them. In this article, however, we’ve been able to pick out the top 10 female fashion designers in Nigeria.
Read on.
The top 10 female fashion designers in Nigeria would be discussed below:
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Deola Sagoe
Deola Sagoe is an Ondo state native that is regarded as one of the top female designers in Nigeria. She has been a fashion designer since 1989, first working at her mum’s tailoring outfit, Odua Creations before she established her solo career. Deola Sagoe mostly uses African-woven materials to make fashionable outfits.
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Toyin Lawani
Toyin Lawani is an astute self-taught fashion stylist and designer that is known for her trendsetting designs. She is the CEO and creative director of Tiannah’s Place Empire, one of the leading fashion houses in Lagos. She also has a fashion academy known as Tiannah’s Styling Fashion Academy.
Toyin Lawani got her big break in 2013 when she showcased her collections on the runway of the 2013 African Fashion Week London, dazzling the spectators. Over the last decade, she has had collections showcased on several fashion runways in Nigeria and beyond.
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Oluwatoyin Iwukemjika
The name Oluwatoyin Iwukemjika may not ring a bell in the Nigerian fashion industry, but when you mention Kathy Anthony, it surely does. Oluwatoyin Iwukemjika is a top female fashion designer in Nigeria, notable for her high-end female fashion brand, Kathy Anthony.
Although the physical storefront of this top fashion designer is in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, her brand is widely known across the country. She doesn’t just make the most stylish outfits for women but also deals in male clothing too.
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Folake Folarin-Coker
Folake Folarin-Foker, born in 1974, is one of the most reputable female fashion designers in Nigeria. After completing her tertiary education in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, she returned to Nigeria to follow her dream of being a fashion designer.
In 1998, Folake Folarin-Coker established her fashion brand, Tiffany Amber. Twenty-five years on, Tiffany Amber has grown to become a highly famous female clothing brand in Nigeria, and beyond. Her brand’s collections have been revealed in many fashion shows across Nigeria.
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Lisa Folawiyo
Lisa Folawiyo is the CEO and creative director of Jewel by Lisa, a fashion label that she launched in 2005. Her fashion collections creatively combine traditional West African fabrics with modern tailoring techniques, many of which have been displayed in showrooms in New York and Nigeria.
Furthermore, she has showcased her collections in numerous fashion shows across the globe, of which notable mentions include the 2010 New York Fashion Week and 2010 Paris Fashion Week. Lisa Folawiyo has a diffusion line, Line J Label, which caters to the fashion needs of celebrity clientele such as Beyonce, Tasha Smith, and Eve.
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Lanre Da-Silva Ajayi
Lanre Da-Silva Ajayi has been in the fashion industry since 2005, after launching her eponymous label which includes couture, ready-to-wear, jewelry, and hairpieces. Da-Silva’s collections often incorporate metallic fabrics, lace, and African patterns.
She’s presented her collections in several fashion shows across the globe. In 2008, her fashion collection was presented at the Thisday Africa Rising Festival in London, then in 2009, she presented her collections at the Arise Africa Fashion Festival in South Africa and the New York Couture Week. Some other fashion shows she’s presented her collections include the 2014 Vogue Talents fashion show held in Milan and the 2011 New York Fashion Week.
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Lola Faturoti
Lola Faturoti is a top female fashion designer that has been in the Nigerian fashion industry for over three decades, however, it was in 2000 she got her big break in the New York Fashion Week.
Following her considerable success at the New York Fashion Week in 2000, she sought to hone her craft better and expand her international presence. To this end, she took a break from her fashion label, moved to Italy, and worked as a designer for prominent clothing labels for three years.
She returned to Nigeria and then relaunched her clothing brand in 2005, witnessing tremendous growth that has kept her highly relevant in the Nigerian fashion industry to this day.
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Zizi Cardow
Zizi Cardow is the CEO of Zizi Industrial Clothing Limited, a popular indigenous fashion brand in Nigeria. She is regarded as one of the most influential female designers in Nigeria. Zizi Cardow has been highly recognized in the Nigerian fashion industry since the early 2000s. In 2001, she won the “Prestigious Designer of the Year” award at the Nigerian Fashion Show.
Over the years, some of Zizi’s collections have been featured in local and International media, such as CNN, FTV, and SABC. In 2013, she presented her collections at the African Fashion Week event held in London.
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Ituen Basi
Ituen Basi’s foray into fashion design can be traced back to her undergraduate days at the University of Ife. It was then she began designing costumes for stage plays and beauty pageants.
After graduating from the University of Ife where she studied Theatre Arts, Ituen further her tertiary education overseas, studying Fashion at an American University in London, and later Tailoring and Clothing Technology at the London College of Fashion.
Armed with well-honed fashion design skills, she returned to Nigeria, kicking off her fashion brand in 2009. One of Ituen Basi’s strengths that she’s widely known for is her exemplary skill in print and fabric treatment. Today, her collections include Ankara designs, as well as Ankara beads and bags.
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Abiodun Folashade Tokunbo
Abiodun Tokunbo is the Chief Executive Officer of the renowned Nigerian fashion brand known as Anjy Luminee Couture (a.k.a House of Luminee). She’s notable for styling and designing outfits for many Nigerian celebrities such as Iyabo Ojo, Mercy Aigbe, and Bimbola Adenuga, to name a few.