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
Power
Influence, institutions and the decisions that decide who rises in African fashion — examined with context, not noise.
The Memo
Power
Explainer
How fashion prizes actually pick their winners
Juries, sponsors, and the votes that never get counted.
By Kemi Eze
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The latest in Power
PowerAug 14
The gatekeepers of Dakar have a succession problem
The committee that built the city’s fashion week is aging out — with no plan for what comes next.
By Yusuf Diallo
The MemoAug 12
A new textile tariff is quietly reshaping who shows what
The import rule nobody read is deciding this season’s fabric stories.
By Tola Adeyemi
PowerAug 10
Who owns adire? Abeokuta’s dyers want an answer
As the cloth goes global, the artisans who made it famous are demanding protection — and a cut.
By Amara Okafor
ExplainerAug 8
How a fashion week gets its official status, explained
The paperwork, the politics, and the phone calls behind the word “official.”
By Front Row Staff
PowerAug 6
The ministry memo that has designers on edge
A draft export policy could change who gets to sell abroad — and who signs it off.
By Chidera Nwosu
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The MemoAug 3
Two rival councils claim to speak for Nigerian fashion
Designers are being asked to pick a side. Most would rather not.
By Kemi Eze
PowerJul 31
The prize money problem: who funds Africa’s fashion awards
Follow the sponsorships and a quieter question appears: what do the funders get back?
By Zanele Dube
Runway ReportJul 29
The invitation list that set Accra talking
Who was seated, who was snubbed, and what it says about the new pecking order.
By Nadia Mensah
PowerJul 26
The unelected committee deciding Marrakech’s show calendar
Nobody voted for them. Everybody schedules around them.
By Sefi Bello
ExplainerJul 23
What a geographical indication could do for kente country
The legal tool that protects champagne could soon protect cloth.
By Yusuf Diallo
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Front Row 50Jul 19
Inside the Front Row 50 debrief: how the list gets made
Our editors on the arguments, the near-misses, and the one name that took three meetings.
By Front Row Staff
PowerJul 15
The sponsor exodus nobody at the summit wanted to discuss
Three headline backers walked in one quarter. The stage kept smiling.
By Tola Adeyemi