Lagos Fashion Week, the influential event founded by Omoyemi Akerele, has been named a finalist for the prestigious 2025 Earthshot Prize, a global environmental award recognizing transformative climate solutions. The recognition, announced earlier this week, highlights the event’s ongoing commitment to fostering a more sustainable and responsible fashion industry, as well as its efforts to showcase Africa’s growing impact on global fashion through sustainable practices.
The Earthshot Prize: Recognizing Environmental Impact
The Earthshot Prize was established in 2020 by Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, to identify and reward individuals, organizations, and initiatives that are advancing impactful climate solutions. Each year, five winners are chosen across various categories, including “Protect and Restore Nature,” “Clean Our Air,” “Build a Waste-Free World,” “Fix Our Climate,” and “Revive Our Oceans.” The Lagos Fashion Week nomination comes under the “Build a Waste-Free World” category, which celebrates efforts to eliminate waste and create a circular economy.
This year, Lagos Fashion Week was selected from nearly 2,500 nominees worldwide, marking the event as a leader in the global push towards more sustainable and ethical fashion practices. The 15 finalists chosen will have their initiatives recognized for their innovative approaches to reducing the environmental impact of industries such as fashion, agriculture, and energy.
Woven Threads: A Sustainability-Focused Initiative
Lagos Fashion Week has long been a pioneer in championing sustainability, especially through its Woven Threads initiative. Launched in 2020, Woven Threads has been at the heart of Lagos Fashion Week’s sustainability programming. The event focuses on integrating responsible production methods, supporting ethical design practices, and promoting local craftsmanship. By spotlighting designers who embrace eco-conscious practices, Woven Threads seeks to educate consumers and encourage industry-wide changes.
One of the core elements of Woven Threads is its focus on circularity in fashion. Circular fashion seeks to keep products in use for as long as possible, reducing waste and minimizing the need for new resources. Designers showcased during the initiative are encouraged to explore ways of recycling textiles, utilizing eco-friendly materials, and incorporating repair and reuse in their designs. This initiative has provided a platform for African designers to experiment with sustainable solutions, aligning them with global movements for a more responsible fashion industry.
“The Earthshot Prize is not just about me or Lagos Fashion Week, but about the community of designers, artisans, and young people who continue to prove that African fashion has something powerful and lasting to offer the world,” said Omoyemi Akerele, the founder of Lagos Fashion Week. “For us, sustainability is not a trend—it is survival.” Her statement reflects the urgency of adopting sustainable practices in regions like Africa, where fashion often represents both economic opportunity and environmental responsibility.
A Platform for African Fashion
Since its inception in 2011, Lagos Fashion Week has become a cornerstone of the Nigerian and African fashion industry. What began as a platform to showcase the talents of Nigerian designers has grown into an influential event that brings attention to the entire African fashion ecosystem. Through Lagos Fashion Week, African designers are given the global recognition they deserve, and their work is presented on an international stage. In this way, Lagos Fashion Week serves not only as a celebration of African creativity but as a means of connecting local artisans, emerging designers, and the broader global fashion market.
The recognition of Lagos Fashion Week by the Earthshot Prize underscores the growing importance of African fashion in the global conversation about sustainability. The continent’s fashion industry is rich with potential for innovative approaches to circularity, waste reduction, and sustainable production, thanks to the wealth of local materials and traditional craftsmanship. By fostering collaborations with artisans, providing market access to emerging designers, and integrating sustainability as a core principle, Lagos Fashion Week is helping to shape the future of fashion on the African continent.
Akerele’s vision for Lagos Fashion Week has always been clear: to create a platform where creativity and sustainability go hand in hand. Over the years, the event has introduced initiatives aimed at providing local designers with the tools and resources they need to develop their brands while maintaining environmental responsibility. For Akerele, sustainability is not a fleeting trend but a necessary shift to ensure the survival of the industry in the face of climate change and limited resources.
A Pan-African Strategy for the Future
Lagos Fashion Week’s success in integrating sustainability into its fabric has made it a model for other fashion weeks and events across the continent. Akerele recently shared her plans to expand the event’s reach and adopt a pan-African strategy for the future. As the flagship fashion event of Nigeria, Lagos Fashion Week has garnered a reputation as a leader in both the business and environmental aspects of fashion. Moving forward, Akerele envisions taking the platform to other African countries, facilitating a cross-continental exchange of ideas, designs, and best practices.
By establishing collaborations with designers and artisans from across Africa, Lagos Fashion Week is positioning itself as a key player in the global fashion industry. Its growing influence speaks to the increasing importance of the African market and the potential of the continent’s creatives to lead the charge on sustainability. With fashion weeks already gaining traction in cities like Accra, Nairobi, and Johannesburg, Lagos Fashion Week’s pan-African expansion will further highlight Africa’s role in the future of global fashion.
The Road to Rio de Janeiro
As one of the 15 finalists for the 2025 Earthshot Prize, Lagos Fashion Week is now in the running for a chance to win the coveted award. The five winners will be announced at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 5, 2025. The Earthshot Prize, in its short history, has become one of the most significant global recognitions for climate innovators, and this year’s finalists represent the cutting edge of climate solutions across multiple industries.
Winning the Earthshot Prize would further cement Lagos Fashion Week’s position as a global leader in sustainable fashion. It would also provide greater visibility to the African fashion industry, spotlighting its commitment to positive environmental change and inspiring other designers and fashion events to adopt similar practices. The recognition could pave the way for increased funding, resources, and international partnerships that would help scale up sustainable fashion initiatives across the continent.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Sustainability
Lagos Fashion Week’s selection as a finalist for the 2025 Earthshot Prize is a testament to the growing importance of sustainability in the global fashion industry and the leadership role that the event is playing in advancing these practices. Through initiatives like Woven Threads, Lagos Fashion Week has not only showcased the creativity of African designers but also demonstrated how fashion can be a powerful force for positive environmental change. As the fashion industry continues to grapple with its impact on the planet, Lagos Fashion Week stands as an example of how commitment to sustainability can drive both innovation and success.
With sustainability embedded at the core of its mission, Lagos Fashion Week is helping to shape a future for fashion that is more ethical, responsible, and environmentally conscious. As the world looks toward solutions for climate change, African fashion, led by Lagos Fashion Week, is proving that it has the creativity, resilience, and drive to make a lasting impact on the global stage.
