Nigerian fashion designers are making it big time, drawing in huge checks from sales and fashion design shows from all over the world. This is why the industry is one of the most active in 2021. Check out the most richest fashion designers in Nigeria in 2021;
1. Folake Folarin Coker
Folake Folarin-Coker is a Nigerian fashion designer and the creative director of Tiffany Amber. She was born in 1974. Tiffany Amber, her fashion label, debuted in Lagos in 1998. In Lagos and Abuja, the company operates four standalone stores and boutiques. In Africa, Europe, and the United States, she has given many fashion presentations.
She created history in 2008 when she became the first African-based fashion designer to show twice at New York Fashion Week. In 2009, she was named “Designer of the Year” for the first time at African Fashion Week in Johannesburg, and in 2011, she was named “Fashion Brand of the Year” at ARISE Magazine Fashion Week.
2. Duro Olowu
Duro Olowu is a British fashion designer who was born in Nigeria. He is well recognized for his unique pattern and material combinations, which are inspired by his worldwide travels. Olowu was named New Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2005. Only one designer has done so before their debut runway show.
He debuted on the runway during London Fashion Week in 2007. At the African Fashion Awards in 2009, he was named Best International Designer.
3. Lisa Folawiyo
Lisa Folawiyo is known for her vibrant designs that combine traditional West African textiles with modern tailoring and beaded decorations. Folawiyo has been in the forefront of the wave of Nigerian designers achieving international acclaim for their work since she founded her label in 2005.
She has an uncanny ability to elevate traditional African prints beyond the status quo and make them relevant to a global audience. Her collections are supplied in the UK, the US, South Africa, and Nigeria, and she has showrooms in both Nigeria and New York.
4. Deola Sagoe
Deola Sagoe is a Nigerian haute couture fashion designer who hails from Ondo State. Sagoe has garnered international acclaim for her vibrant and vivid patterns, which she began designing in 1989. She was recently chosen by the United Nations World Food Program to represent Nigeria in a new international campaign.
Sagoe has previously featured at New York Fashion Week and regularly shows her couture line during Cape Town Fashion Week. In 2018, Sagoe debuted her Komole line. She has won the MNET/ Anglo Gold African Designs 2000 and the “Africa Designs” award.
5. Soares Anthony
Soares Anthony was the fashion designer for Stella Obasanjo, Nigeria’s previous first lady. In addition, his fashion label caters to middle-income individuals. He specializes in bespoke tailoring for African outfits, unisex tailoring, and ready-to-wear English clothes.
His brand produces some of the best quality clothing utilizing the latest and finest fabrics available, Soares Anthony’s outfits are made for fashionistas and sophisticated men and women. Soares Anthony’s creations are always stylish, comfy, and tailored to the individual.
6. Frank Oshodi
Frank Osodi is proud of his vivacious personality. He began his modeling career as a model for brands like Dakova, Supreme Stitches, and Nikki Africanna, among others. Frank has been involved in the fashion industry since 1989. His label, House of Bunor, has dressed some of Nigeria’s most prominent figures.
When Silverbird chose him to be the make-up artist and designer who guided Agbani Darego to her reign as Miss World 2001, his name became well-known. Since then, Frank Osodi has been linked with effortless beauty and easy elegance.
7. Lola Faturoti
Lola Faturoti is a British Nigerian fashion designer who has won several awards. She was the first fashion designer chosen to represent the United States at the Osaka Fashion Show in Japan in 1996. Her art is one-of-a-kind and vibrant, as she mixes many traditions and civilizations with contemporary.
She has a wide range of knowledge and expertise in the fashion industry. Lola Faturoti was born to Nigerian parents in London. She spent her early years with her grandma. Her grandmother, a well-known fashion designer in Ondo State, Nigeria, instilled in her a passion for fashion.
8. Mai Atafo
Atafo launched the apparel line “Mai Atafo Inspired”, which attracted the attention of celebrities like Omowunmi Akinnifesi, Banky W, IK Osakioduwa, and others. He worked as the Fashion Editor for Genevieve Magazine for a short time.
Mai Atafo Inspired debuted her wedding collection, “Weddings by Mai,” in 2011 which will go on to be one of their most popular collections. Atafo also works as the Strategy Director for the advertising agency Firehouse Group. He is the chairman of the Central Working Committee for the Future Awards.
9. Zizi Cardow
Zizi Cardow is a pioneer in current African fashion; she launched her own haute couture line in 2000, kicking off a worldwide revolution for African textiles. Zizi earned the coveted Designer of the Year title at the NFS during her first year in the Nigerian fashion industry.
In 2001, her outfits appeared on the runways of South Africa, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom, launching her creations across the continent and worldwide. She produced a high-end fashion show entitled “Jungle Renaissance” in 2002, which garnered wonderful reviews from both local and international reviewers.
10. Ade Bakare
Ade Bakare was born in the United Kingdom in Bromsgrove. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Lagos in Nigeria in 1988. Then he went to England to pursue a degree in fashion design at Salford University College in Manchester, where he received a diploma in 1990.
He temporarily worked for the English Aristocracy’s couture businesses. Before launching his label in 1991 with a loan from the Prince of Wales Youth Business Trust.
Bottom Line
The 10 fashion designers listed above are the richest fashion designers in Nigeria. Each person has a different story.