…Kicks off Saturday

By Yemisi Suleiman

With just few days to its highly anticipated edition, Fashions Finest Africa (FFA) has set the tone for Epic Show 2025, reaffirming its commitment to showcasing bold, new voices in African fashion and expanding global connections.
The two-day event, scheduled for July 5–6, 2025 happening at the Podium, Lekki, Lagos, will feature new and emerging fashion designers and creatives from across Africa, including participants from Germany and the UK, in addition to Nigeria’s rising stars. More than a runway show, this year’s edition reinforces Fashion Finest Africa’s vision to spotlight new and emerging stylists, creative directors, show producers, makeup artists, and fashion-tech disruptors—all of whom shape the broader fashion narrative.

Speaking at a Press Conference recently, Sola Oyebade popularly known as Mr Mahogany, Founder of Fashion Finest Africa and CEO of Mahogany International shared the platform’s origin story and growth journey:
“Fashions Finest began over 16 years ago in the UK during London Fashion Week as a platform to elevate emerging fashion creatives. Bringing it to Nigeria was about planting that same spirit here—unearthing brilliance and giving it room to rise. Epic Show 2025 is a continuation of that promise: to amplify talent, drive innovation, and keep pushing boundaries.”

Waire Emonefe, Fashion Finest Africa’s Lead Strategist, emphasized the platform’s commitment to industry access and global positioning:
“We’re not just showing clothes we’re creating industry pathways. There’s so much pride now in who we are as Africans – our fabrics, our stories, our richness. The world is finally turning its eyes towards Africa, this year’s edition is focusing on how African fashion can scale through funding, innovation and storytelling.”
She also noted that panel sessions at the event will explore timely themes such as funding for fashion entrepreneurs in Africa, Sustainability beyond fabrics exploring how fashion impacts climate and ecological systems and the urgent need for business literacy and collaboration in the fashion space This year’s panel lineup includes Mai Atafo, who will address common missteps by emerging fashion creatives, and Chidubem from Innovate UK, who will contribute insights on fashion and innovation.
The conversation around funding emerged as one of the most critical talking points of the press conference, cutting straight to the heart of what continues to limit the growth of Africa’s fashion ecosystem. While talent, creativity, and cultural capital are abundant, many emerging fashion entrepreneurs whether designers, stylists, makeup artists, or show producers—are building without structure, scaling without capital, and succeeding despite a system that often overlooks them. This year, Fashion Finest Africa Epic Show 2025 places that gap at the center of the conversation. One of the event’s leading panel sessions will confront the challenges creatives face when trying to access funding, attract investment, or even navigate basic business infrastructure. The goal isn’t to challenge the system but spotlight solutions, and begin building a more sustainable future for fashion on the continent.
Two designers from FFA’s previous editions also spoke at the press conference, offering attendees a preview of what to expect and how the platform has transformed their brand exposure and professional networks. The show will feature designers like Nubik Attire, Nenysty Atelier, Tsmallz Apparel, The Vantage Gent, The Fleks Apparel, House of Gold, Millennial Apparel by Ruby, Jayred Fashion World, Iroko, Lamide Official, Ria Kosher, Asotiaye, Laraville, The U & J Brand, Gozifego, Trendecais x Yunik, 31 Woman Elegante, De Sewar, Onye Duo Duo, Tai.lore Clothing, Roju Ascent, Sarai Imani Atelier, Gloria & Co and RR Dot Design on the Runway Showcase.
Fashion Finest Africa reiterated that press passes and influencer collaborations remain open for interested media professionals. More announcements, including the full designer lineup, have been released on their social media page.