Lagos Fashion Week Wins Global Earthshot Prize for Pioneering Sustainable African Fashion

Lagos Fashion Week has achieved a major milestone after being named one of the winners of the 2025 Earthshot Prize, a recognition that celebrates its decade-long commitment to sustainability, ethics, and community-driven creativity in African fashion.

Founded by Omoyemi Akerele in 2011, Lagos Fashion Week began as a local runway platform but has evolved into a movement reshaping how fashion is designed, produced, and consumed across the continent. Over the years, it has brought together designers, artisans, and environmental advocates who believe that fashion can be both innovative and sustainable.

The platform’s impact has gone far beyond its annual shows, inspiring a new generation of creators who value craftsmanship, ethical sourcing, and social responsibility. Akerele’s vision has redefined what African luxury can mean, rooted in culture, yet forward-thinking in its approach to sustainability.

In the Face of Fast Fashion

The global fashion industry faces one of the biggest environmental crises of our time. Consumers are buying more clothes and discarding them faster than ever, leading to massive waste and pollution. Lagos Fashion Week has been quietly but steadily challenging this trend.

Each designer featured on its runway is encouraged to commit to sustainable production, from using eco-friendly materials to ensuring fair labour practices and transparent supply chains. The initiative doesn’t just preach change; it embeds sustainability as part of the design process itself.

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Through its Woven Threads program, Lagos Fashion Week also helps designers build “circular” systems, encouraging reuse, recycling, and responsible production. This project empowers creators to transform textile waste into new garments, proving that beauty and environmental consciousness can coexist on the runway.

A Global Win for African Creativity

The Earthshot Prize, launched by Prince William in 2020, honours organisations developing solutions to repair and protect the planet. Lagos Fashion Week’s victory in the “Build a Waste-Free World” category places it among global pioneers leading the shift toward climate-positive industries.

Omoyemi Akerele described the award as a collective victory for Africa’s creative community. “This recognition isn’t just about Lagos Fashion Week,” she said, “it’s about the designers, artisans, and young people proving that African fashion can offer the world something powerful, responsible, and lasting.”

With this achievement, Lagos Fashion Week cements its place not just as a fashion event but as a sustainability powerhouse, showing that style, purpose, and innovation can thrive together, and that Africa’s creative future can also be a greener one.