By Sewe Ishola

At least a week before the official start of the just concluded Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week, Bisi, who attended the fashion event had been planning the outfits  she would wear for the four-day event, as well as the makeup look she would be striving for.

Bisi even did a test run of her preferred make up look and decided, she needed false eye lashes to make the whole look pop, so eyelashes became part of her make up look for the entire event.

Starting with a peplum pair of pants paired with a statement tee and her jean jacket over her shoulders in imitation of the drapery trend, Bisi rocked the first day of the fashion show.

And in similar fashion, Bisi slayed the fashion week; pulling up some old pieces already in her wardrobe, sometimes adding something new and every day looking gorgeous.

As any fashionista worth her/his worth already knows, the fashion week is the best opportunity you have in the whole year to make bold styling choices with no raised eyebrows. Okay, there might be some raised eyebrows but no one is going to call you out on it. Even that you can’t be promised…as long as the paparazzis are around and capturing the different styles available, some fashion blogger might just find your ensemble funny or sweet.

While the street side fashionistas came heavily armed, the runway was not behind in the fashion stakes.

The runway was filled with lots of edgy collections of women’s clothes  from designers like Maki Oh, Bridget Awosika, Lisa Folawiyo, Style Temple, Gert Johan Coetzee, just to mention a few  and sometimes, these designs can only ever be shown on the runway, not worn.

Where complicated pleats, (read, DYZN’s collection)  and sleeves reigned on the runway, the street style was a lot more subtle on the detailing but went very bold on the styling pieces. Most of attendees made styling choices that will ensure they grab the attention of the paparazzi who swamped the venue of the fashion show.

Without a doubt, there were some clothes on the runway that were even uncomfortable to look it, not to talk about wearing, but the street style was filled with lots of wearable designs.

Even though, there were a few ladies adjusting side boobs, hemlines and some gentlemen draping what looked like fisherman net halterneck style, bared hairy chests, short shorts, most fashion show goers looked comfortable in what they were wearing.

And then, there was media personality, Denrele Edun, whose style for all the four days were just edgy but then, that is what he does better. By the way, Denrele was wearing a pair of boots two sizes smaller for him. Talk about how fashion is pain and Denrele should be able to write you a thesis.

With the introduction of the plus size collection from Aboutthatcurvylife collective, plus size models had their day in the spotlight on the runway. Asides from that collective there were a few plus size models like Osas Ighodaro Ajibade, who walked for DNA by Iconic Invanity. She sassily walked down the runway, thick thighs and all.

Interesting, the street style didn’t have so much plus size ladies or perhaps, it was the night light that made everyone looked skinny.

If we were to talk about feminine looks, there were lots of those both on the runway and off the runway.  In fact, the domination of dresses on the runway is considered somewhat worryingly, as one wonders about the lack of imagination on the part of the designers. Is it all about dresses?

Just as there were lots of embellishments and detailing on the female silhouette on the runway, there were beautiful ones on the streets as well.

At the end of it all, one can say, there was continuous flow from the runway to the street style and just days after the fashion show ended, some of the pieces have found their way to the wardrobes of fashion influencers like Toke Makinwa, who slayed in a DYZN’s piece and even more recently, Uche Pedro, who rocked a piece from the DNA by Iconic Invanity collection.

Cheers to the ever evolving fashion world.

Photo credits:

1. Photo Credits: Kola Oshalusi (Insigna)

2. Toba Samuels Photography

3. Instagram @dna_byiconicinvanity