Front Row 50
The Front Row 50: who actually holds power in African fashion
Our annual ranking of the editors, executives and gatekeepers deciding who rises — and who waits.
By Front Row Staff
The Front Row Africa — the people, power, business and culture of African fashion
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Lagos Fashion Week confirmed a two-city format for 2027, splitting its runway calendar between Lagos and Accra.
Nairobi label Zuri Atelier closed a $4 million round to scale its leather workshop. Here’s what the money buys.
The Front Row 50 is open for nominations — our annual ranking of who actually holds power in African fashion.
Dakar’s master tailors are booked through December. Inside the waitlist economy of bespoke suiting.
Ghana lifted its tariff on imported cotton yarn, a quiet win for Accra’s garment factories.
The Edit
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How to wear agbada without drowning in it
By Sefi Bello
The five Lagos concept stores worth the traffic
By Kemi Eze
Gele, decoded: a stylist’s guide to the modern headwrap
By Nadia Mensah
What to buy at the textile market (and what to skip)
By Tola Adeyemi
The season’s best beadwork comes from small studios
By Chidera Nwosu
Market Watch
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Cotton prices are falling. African mills aren’t celebrating.
By Yusuf Diallo
Leather is Africa’s most underpriced luxury export
By Zanele Dube
Who’s actually funding African fashion? We ran the numbers.
By Amara Okafor
Inside the factory betting on made-in-Ghana denim
By Kemi Eze
The Front Row Summit: five takeaways on African luxury
By Front Row Staff
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The Front Row Podcast
The Front Row Podcast is our flagship interview show — long conversations with the designers, editors and executives shaping African fashion.
Thread Count
Thread Count follows the money in African fashion — markets, manufacturing, retail and the deals behind the collections.
Pattern Language
Pattern Language explores craft and culture — the weavers, dyers and beadworkers keeping heritage techniques alive.
The Fitting
The Fitting is our style-advice show. Send in a wardrobe question, get a stylist’s honest answer.
People
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The Interview
The designer who dresses Lagos without showing in Paris
Femi Aluko built a cult following from a two-room atelier in Surulere. He says the runway can wait.
By Amara Okafor
Power
MorePower
Who decides what African fashion is worth?
Councils, prize juries and a handful of buyers still set the terms. A new generation wants a seat at the table.
By Tola Adeyemi
Front Row 50
The Front Row 50: how we chose this year’s list
The methodology behind our power ranking — and the arguments we had along the way.
By Front Row Staff
Power
Fashion councils have the money. Where is it going?
Grant budgets doubled in two years. Designers say the checks haven’t.
By Yusuf Diallo
Explainer
Why fashion weeks rise and fall, explained
Sponsors, schedules and city politics decide more than the clothes do.
By Chidera Nwosu
Culture
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Culture
The new African glamour is being shot in Lagos studios
A generation of image-makers is defining how the continent sees itself — one editorial at a time.
By Nadia Mensah
Craft & Heritage
Adire is having its moment. Can Abeokuta keep up?
Culture
Gen Z is dressing for the archive, not the feed
Craft & Heritage
The loom keepers: weaving apprenticeships return to Kumasi
Culture
Why every music video suddenly credits a fashion archivist
The Memo
The politics of who gets photographed at fashion week
Business
MoreMarket Watch
Who’s actually funding African fashion? We ran the numbers.
Venture money, family capital and grant funds — we tracked three years of deals to see who writes the checks.
By Amara Okafor
Business
Why every buyer in Paris is calling Accra
Ghanaian ateliers are landing wholesale accounts that once went to Milan. The margins tell the story.
By Kemi Eze
Business
The garment factory quietly dressing three continents
One Tema production floor now ships private-label orders to retailers in London, Dubai and São Paulo.
By Yusuf Diallo
Market Watch
Leather is Africa’s most underpriced luxury export
Tanneries from Kano to Addis are moving up the value chain — slowly, and against the odds.
By Zanele Dube
More News
Front Row 50Aug 14
The Front Row 50: who actually holds power in African fashion
Our annual ranking of the editors, executives and gatekeepers deciding who rises — and who waits.
By Front Row Staff
Runway ReportAug 14
Accra’s spring shows bet big on handwoven silk
Buyers came for wax print and left placing orders for silk-kente blends.
By Sefi Bello
BusinessAug 13
Nairobi’s Zuri Atelier raises $4 million to scale leather
The round will triple the workshop’s output and fund a first flagship in Westlands.
By Zanele Dube
The InterviewAug 13
The designer who dresses Lagos without showing in Paris
Femi Aluko built a cult following from a two-room atelier in Surulere. He says the runway can wait.
By Amara Okafor
Thread CountAug 13
The economics of fashion week, explained
Who pays for the tents, the models and the champagne — and who actually profits.
By Yusuf Diallo
Craft & HeritageAug 12
Adire is having its moment. Can Abeokuta keep up?
Demand for hand-dyed indigo has tripled in two years. The dye pits haven’t grown at all.
By Chidera Nwosu
Street StyleAug 12
What the crowd outside fashion week is really wearing
The best looks in Lagos never made it past the venue doors. Our photographers were outside.
By Nadia Mensah
PowerAug 11
Fashion councils have the money. Where is it going?
Grant budgets doubled in two years. Designers say the checks haven’t.
By Yusuf Diallo
CultureAug 11
Gen Z is dressing for the archive, not the feed
Young stylists are trading fast trends for pieces built to be photographed in thirty years.
By Sefi Bello
Runway ReportAug 10
Watch: backstage before the Lagos finale
Ninety seconds of controlled chaos — fittings, final pins and a designer’s last look.
By Front Row Staff
BusinessJul 31
The quiet empire of Lagos tailoring
Bespoke suiting is a nine-figure business hiding in plain sight.
By Kemi Eze
ExplainerJul 30
Why fashion weeks rise and fall, explained
Sponsors, schedules and city politics decide more than the clothes do.
By Chidera Nwosu