Fashion designing goes way beyond tailoring. It takes a whole lot of creativity to be a fashion designer. You must have the ability to imagine, think up ideas and bring those ideas into life using your aesthetic skills. Fashion designers design aesthetically pleasing outfits in various patterns, sizes and styles.
Nigeria is not left out when it comes to fashion trends. Nigerian women love trendy outfits while their men love outfits that give them that classy, sophisticated look. Sure, fashion designers earn a decent amount of money. It all depends on the level of creativity and the strength of PR or publicity.
Fashion designing is attaining more popularity recently. Some Nigerian fashion designers have made names for themselves in the fashion industry. This article explores the top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria.
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List of the top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria
The top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria are:
- Deola Sagoe
- Lisa Folawiyo
- Folake Akindele Coker
- Duro Olowu
- Frank Oshodi
- Mai Atafo
- Zizi Cardow
- Lola Faturoti
- Soares Anthony
- Ade Bakare
Now, let’s look into the life and career of these enlisted top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria.
Deola Sagoe
Deola Sagoe takes up the number one spot in our list of top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria. Deola went into the fashion industry in 1989. This top fashion designer has a master’s degree in Finance and Management.
Deola is known for creating powerful, vibrant designs that make statements. She designs dresses, jeans, polo tops, menswear etc. People love her designs!
Deola’s creativity in the fashion world has earned her multiple awards. One of such awards is the Anglo-Gold African Fashion Design Award which she received in 2000. Her exceptional clothing design skills have been applauded by national and international figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith.
Deola Sagoe is the founder and owner of the exquisite fashion house, “House of Deola Sagoe”.
Lisa Folawiyo
Lisa Folawiyo is the king of Ankara outfits. Lisa is a talented fashion designer and is undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s top 10 best fashion designers.
Lisa Folawiyo focuses on styling different Ankara outfits, including accessories like jewellery and purses. She has numerous design outlets in South Africa and even a showroom in New York City. Some of her celebrity fans include Tacha, Beyonce and Eve.
Folawiyo has received many awards, such as the African Fashion award, among others. She owns a fashion line called Jewel by Lisa.
Folake Akindele Coker
Folake Akindele Coker is a top-rated Nigerian fashion designer. She was born in Lagos State, Nigeria. Folake is one of the top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria. With over 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, Folake’s designs are simply top-notch.
Folake Akindele is a lawyer and holds a master’s degree in petroleum, a sign that she has the brains for books. This celebrated fashionista has created so many awesome designs which have been showcased to the world.
Some of the awards Folake has won include Arise Magazine Fashion Brand of the Year and 2009 African Fashion Week Designers of the Year. It is believed that she is the first African fashion designer to showcase her talent in the New York Fashion Week for two years in a row.
Folake Akindele Coker is the founder and owner of the fashion brand Tiffany Amber.
Duro Olowu
Duro Olowu makes it to our list of the top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria because of his high creativity, fantastic designs and awards.
This award-winning fashion designer was born and brought up in Lagos state. At the age of 16, Olowu left Nigeria to study. He studied law at the University of Kent. He is currently based in London.
Olowu focuses on styling women’s wear using rich textures, patterns and vibrant colours. He launched his first design in 2004 and had them sold all over the world.
Olowu’s rich fashion sense has attracted fans from different parts of the world, including Michael Obama, Solange Kolawole, Apfel, etc. He has won many awards, such as the African Fashion Award as the Best International Designer and 2005 British and American Vogue Dress of the Year.
Frank Oshodi
Frank Oshodi went into fashion designing in 1989. He is a phenomenal fashion designer and undoubtedly one of the top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria. He has successfully carved a niche for himself in the fashion world.
Oshodi started with modelling after applied to work at Nikki Africana and Dakora. With over 25 years of experience in the fashion industry, Oshodi has worked with different clients and models, including the former Miss World, Agbani Darego.
Frank Oshodi is the founder and owner of the fashion line, House of Bunor.
Mai Atafo
Mai Atafo is a renowned Nigerian designer. He focuses on making custom-made male outfits and is rated one of the top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria.
Atafo is an IT specialist who later obtained a Master’s Degree in Information and Systems Technology from the United Kingdom. He first worked in corporate organisations until 2010, when he resigned and went into full-time fashion designing.
It is not hard to discover talents like Atafo as he is good at what he does. He has dressed famous Nigerian personalities/celebrities like Mercy Johnson, Gbenro Ajibade, 2Baba, Stephanie Okereke, I.K. Osakioduwa and even the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, 2005, Omowunmi Akinnifesi.
Atafo has received numerous awards, such as the Mode Men Magazine’s Fashion Designer of the Year, LFW Menswear Designer of the Year and Allure’s Most Stylish Man of the Year.
Mai Atafo is the owner and founder of the fashion brand Mai Atafo.
Zizi Cardow
Zizi Cardow’s sense of fashion appeals to both local and international audiences. She has won the heart of many, even through her mentorship to other designers. She is one of the top 10 best Nigerian designers.
Zizi Cardow came to the limelight in 2006 after she organised a fashion show titled Jungle Renaissance. Since then, more eyes became on her as she awed people with different styles of Ankara prints. Cardow is an award-winning designer who has some of her works featured in local and international media, including SABC, CNN, FTV and Channel OI.
Zizi Cardow is the founder and owner of the Zizi Fashion label.
Lola Faturoti
Lola Faturoti is from Ondo State, Nigeria. She schooled in London before relocating to New York in the 1990s. Faturoti’s love for fashion started from her childhood. Her grandmother was a designer that designed traditional Nigerian outfits. From then, Faturoti got introduced into the fashion world, and from there, she drew inspiration. Today, Lola Faturoti is rated among the top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria.
Faturoti has extensive experience in fashion designing. She worked her way up to fame and came to the limelight when she designed a dress to celebrate former President Barack Obama’s election as the President of the United States of America. On the dress, she inscribed “Oluwa gba President Barack Obama”, which means “God Bless President Barack Obama”.
Faturoti has a profound passion for African fashion. She joined the fashion industry in 2000 when she participated in Ralph Lauren’s fashion show at New York Fashion Week. The President of Charivari Boutique, where she worked, noticed her unique fashion taste and quest for excellence and helped her launch her first fashion collection.
Soares Anthony
Soares Anthony is one of the youngest rising stars in Nigeria’s fashion industry. He is one of the top 10 best Nigerian fashion designers. He is talented in designing unique colourful, eye-catching designs.
Anthony’s love for fashion started when he was a young boy. He was always sketching and drawing. Most of his inspirations come from local Nigerian fabrics and Japanese tailoring designs. Famous politicians and celebrities have worn some of his pieces.
Anthony has been giving back to his society by organising different mentoring programs for young and upcoming Nigerian designers. He aims to have the young designers he mentors excel and compete in the global fashion scene. Some of his works are sold in the US, UK and France.
Soares Anthony is the founder and owner of the men’s clothing line Soares Anthony.
Ade Bakare
Ade Bakare has been in the fashion scene for a while now. He is an established fashion designer who has made impeccable African designs. Bakare is rated one of the top 10 best fashion designers in Nigeria.
Bakare was born in the United Kingdom. He also went to school there. He later gained employment in the top fashion houses of Victor Edelstein and Christian Stambolian, after which he established his own fashion brand.
Bakare focuses on making stylish wedding gowns, evening gowns, fragrances and hats. The names of his perfumes are Breeze and Ade Breeze. He has high-end clients from both London and Nigeria. Bakare’s works have gained recognition in Vienna, New York, Paris, Morocco, Mozambique and Cape Town.
Bakare has won several fashion awards, such as the Paris Academy and Conde Nast Publication awards. He was once recognised by the Nigerian Ministry of Youth and Culture for his continuous support of the youths and upcoming fashion designers.
Ade Bakare founded his own fashion line called Ade Bakare Couture in 1991.
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