Vogue's pick of Africa fashion designers worth watching

Lagos Fashion and Design Week, which started yesterday, is running almost concurrently with SA Fashion Week at Eko Atlantic.

Hailed as a celebration of a Pan-African fashion industry, the line-up will feature 50 fashion shows, alongside showrooms, parties and discussion panels with business leaders and designers.

Vogue magazine highlighted five African designers/fashion labels we should all have on our radar this season:

1. IMANE AYISSI

Ayissi is a Cameroonian designer, the son of a beauty queen and a champion boxer. He is known for his volume, movement, pleats and draping.

2. AMAKA OSAKWE

Osakwe, the designer behind the label Maki Oh, makes all of her clothes from start to finish in Nigeria and is celebrated for her bold prints and liberal application of raffia and silk fringing.

3. LOZA MALEOMBHO

Maleombho was born in Brazil and educated in America. She established her brand in New York in 2009 before relocating the company to Ivory Coast.

Her style includes tribal prints with unexpected slits, futuristic cuts and hypnotic geometry.

4. LISA FOLAWIYO

Folawiyo is known for her fusion of modern western silhouettes and colourful African prints including ankara.

Local artisans craft each creation by hand in a process that averages 240 hours from start to finish.

Lupita Nyong'o, Lucy Liu and Solange Knowles are among her clients.

5. NKWO ONWUKA

Onwuka, the designer behind the label Nkwo, uses traditional beading and weaving to create her designs, which are worn from New York to Berlin.