How 6 Designers Prepare for Their Runway Shows at Lagos Fashion Week

Words by The Folklore Team

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Anyone who has ever attended a fashion show is all too aware that the high-impact visuals and arresting looks that walk up and down the runway only last for a few minutes. But for the fashion designers, along with their teams, a 15-minute fashion show is the culmination of many months of hard work spent creating a brand-new collection.

On the surface, working in fashion seems like a glamorous job, creating and dressing in beautiful clothes, and hosting or attending fashion parties to launch this brand or fete this designer. But what goes unseen is the non-stop activity, sleepless nights and even paperwork that goes into presenting a full collection at fashion week.

For fashion brands, preparations often commence six months in advance and in the weeks leading up to the main event, studios and workshops become buzzing hubs of activity and high energy. To highlight the incredible work that goes into showing their spring/summer 2023 collections at Lagos Fashion Week in Nigeria, which kicks off today, we asked six designers to share how they get ready for one of the most anticipated events in the African fashion calendar.

Tia Adeola
Tia Adeola, creative director

Preparation for fashion week takes months, and the weeks before are very intense. From fittings to castings, how do you organise all the activities around you? Do you have any routines?

My team and I typically create a timeline that we strictly stick to leading up to any show. We go through it each day and make sure we’re meeting all deadlines, tasks and requirements leading up to the date and it keeps us very organized and calm.

What would you say is the hardest part of preparing for fashion week? And what is the best?

The hardest part is narrowing down my runway looks. My favourite part is all the new faces I get to see when casting, all the creatives and relationships I’m able to build in the process and most importantly watching the world receive my creations.

When it is all over, what is the first thing you’re going to do afterwards?

Not to be on my phone 24/7 and spend quality time with my family.

Preparation for fashion week takes months, and the weeks before are very intense. From fittings to castings, how do you organise all the activities around you? Do you have any routines?

In preparing for fashion week, we plan all activities properly, clearly stating our OKRs and KPIs for the week, including mapping out all our requirements and expected deliverables. We work round the clock with our team to ensure we achieve the set goals.

What would you say is the hardest part of preparing for fashion week? And what is the best?

The hardest part of preparing for fashion week is research and development, mapping out designs, production and deliverables within a set time. This means working round the clock for months, up to the days leading up to fashion week. The best part for me is seeing the research, design, development, planning and hard work coming to life in a glorious way.

What are you most looking forward to about the show?

I’m looking forward to a successful show, collection and season, with the designs well received by all stakeholders.

When it is all over, what is the first thing you’re going to do afterwards? Do you have a favourite way to unwind?

When it is over, I will take time to thank God for a successful show, rest, relax and catch up with family and friends. Currently, my favorite way to unwind would be in nature, with lots of peace and solace.

Cynthia Abila
Cynthia Abila, founder and creative director

Preparation for fashion week can be very intense. From fittings to castings, how do you stay organised?

The preparation for fashion week takes a whole lot and there are a lot of different aspects to getting ready, not just the clothes and the models. It starts with the thought process. For the Cynthia Abila brand, the first thing we do is get inspired from whatever source that inspires us and from that inspiration, we craft a story around the collection. This story is what leads to the rest of the processes such as textile design, illustration and sketches, fabric and textile production, pattern drafting and garment production. Textile design is a really intense process because most of our fabrics are exclusively designed in-house. Once that is done, we proceed to fabric production, then to garment making and so on. All these processes are planned and executed to be ready before fashion week. We follow a strict schedule to ensure the smooth running of all the processes.

What would you say is the hardest part of preparing for fashion week? And what is the best?

Well, every part is a hard part in preparing for fashion week, but personally I would say garment production is the hardest because a lot of things go into it. Garment production is very technical and requires a lot of careful management, attention and quality control. It goes from pattern drafting to production. The organization of tailors, monitoring and enforcement to ensure that the illustrated styles are properly represented during and after production – this takes an incredible amount of coordination.

What are you most looking forward to about the show?

Honestly, what I’m looking forward to is seeing my pieces on the runway and receiving orders from buyers.

When it’s over, what is the first thing you’re going to do afterwards? Do you have a favourite way to unwind?

Sleep! Then try to unwind from the weeks of preparation. My favorite way to unwind is going out with friends to sip our gin and tonics.

Preparation for fashion week takes months, and the weeks before are very intense. From fittings to castings, how do you organise all the activities around you? Do you have any routines?

You’re right, it’s an incredibly fast-paced and stressful time but a beautiful one, too. I think one of the most important things is understanding how myself and the teams around me work. From there, it’s makes it easier to understand what we can all expect from each other and plan accordingly.

Personally, it’s a never-ending process from season to season especially when it comes to the inspiration behind collections. I seem to have a bank of ideas in my mind with certain ones coming to the forefront as the seasons approach. So, with most collections I create, I’ve been thinking about them for many, many months before releasing them. And this extends to the entirety of the execution, from knowing people I want to have wear the pieces and shoot the campaign for the collection.

I think one of the greatest things about participating in fashion weeks, and Lagos Fashion Week specifically, is that they have their infrastructure set, taking a lot of the stress of the logistics off the designers. Allowing us to focus on our area of expertise while the LFW team execute a fantastic event.

What would you say is the hardest part of preparing for fashion week? And what is the best?

My favorite part about any show is the beautiful chaos that comes with being backstage. Having been in that environment from when I was a child with my mom at all her shows, it’s something that I really look forward to. It gives me the biggest adrenaline rush. The hardest part of preparing for fashion week is the endless hours making sure the samples are as intended and embracing mistakes that become moments of genius.

What are you most looking forward to about the show?

I’m truly looking forward to being in Lagos, interacting with the creative scene there and everyone who’s around for Lagos Fashion Week. I love traveling and meeting other designers and creatives.

When it is all over, what is the first thing you’re going to do afterwards? Do you have a favourite way to unwind?

The first thing I’ll do is celebrate! I wouldn’t say I have a favorite way to unwind but I’ll definitely take a day or two to catch up on lost sleep.

Cute-Saint
Femi Ajose, creative director

Preparation for fashion week takes months, and the weeks before are very intense. From fittings to castings, how do you organise all the activities around you? Do you have any routines?

Fashion season! Well, the first thing I do is to list out all the activities that are to be done within that period, from collection production to shoots, fittings and other in-house projects that we have, then I start to assign priority to then according to the date of delivery. It’s not an easy one for us, especially because Cute-Saint has a small team and we have to work round the clock to meet up with deadlines and other appointments as they come. And at some point, we invite some external hands to work on specific projects to enable smooth running and timely delivery.

What would you say is the hardest part of preparing for fashion week? And what is the best? What are you most looking forward to about the show?

I can’t really think of any hard parts in preparing for fashion week specifically. Maybe because I’ve been used to fashion weeks even before I launched Cute-Saint, as I’ve always been a fashion stylist and worked with several fashion brands. But if there’s any at all, it’ll be coming up with a concept for the show itself. Because most times, I like to experiment with the direction for the show. But the best part for me is when the models are going for the finale, flashing back through all the work that has been put into the show comes with a rush of joy and finally taking a bow and seeing the beautiful people that saw the show.

When it is all over, what is the first thing you’re going to do afterwards? Do you have a favourite way to unwind?

When it’s all over, I enjoy partying with my friends and colleagues; I enjoy the rest of the night as much as possible before taking a rest.

Preparation for fashion week takes months, and the weeks before are very intense. From fittings to castings, how do you organise all the activities around you? Do you have any routines?

I find that organization is key. I make checklists of checklists. And because I run such a small intimate team at KADIJU, we all try to be conscious about working in sync with each other, prioritizing tasks to maximize time.

What would you say is the hardest part of preparing for fashion week? And what is the best?

Time. It never feels like quite enough time. There is also the mental exhaustion from unplugging to stay in the headspace of creating pieces that are true to the brand. The best part for me is finishing – the nerves settling, an audience getting to experience the pieces. That, followed by the initial stages of fabric sourcing (we source all our fabric locally).

What are you most looking forward to about the show?

I would say I am looking forward the most to being backstage. We aren’t currently doing solo shows, so backstage can feel somewhat communal. The preparation and design stages can be quite isolating for me, because I am in my head so much. I don’t doubt other creative directors share these sentiments. So, in the rush and craze of things, I know I’m in a room filled with people that get it.

When it is all over, what is the first thing you’re going to do afterwards? Do you have a favourite way to unwind?

I am very intentional about taking naps. I will take a nap.