THE COLOUR CODES OF LAGOS FASHION WEEK

Colour is more than a finishing decision in fashion. It can become a designer's signature, establish the mood of a collection, distinguish one silhouette from another and determine how a garment is remembered.

Across three days of Lagos Fashion Week, the runway presented different approaches to colour. Blue and multicolour led the Day 1 distribution; black and multicolour/print featured prominently on Day 2; while white, black and blue formed the leading group on Day 3.

But the numbers tell only part of the story. A closer look at the collections reveals something more valuable: the distinction between designers who use colour as a statement, those who build visual interest through prints and combinations, and those who rely on tonal restraint, texture and contrast.

This is where the colour conversation becomes a question of design identity.

DAY 1: COLOUR AS A DESIGN LANGUAGE

Blue led Day 1, appearing in 17 of the 76 historical look records (22.4%). Multicolour and print followed with 13 looks (17.1%), while black accounted for eight (10.5%). Purple and green each represented six looks (7.9%).The collections of Sisiano and Orange Culture offer a closer look at how these colours were interpreted beyond their numerical frequency.

Sisiano: Tonal dressing, texture and colour relationships

Sisiano's runway photographs reveal a more considered relationship with colour than saturation alone might suggest. An all-white ensemble uses lace, transparency and layered construction to create depth within a restricted palette. Elsewhere, a structured red sleeveless top is paired with voluminous burgundy trousers, allowing two closely related but distinct shades to create contrast. A further burgundy look uses lace and tonal layering to build visual complexity without introducing another dominant colour.

Across these looks, the designer demonstrates how colour can work alongside material and construction. The impact does not depend exclusively on introducing more shades; it can also come from the relationship between similar colours, the texture of a surface and the movement of a silhouette.

Orange Culture: From tonal restraint to chromatic expression

Orange Culture presents a different range of possibilities. One supplied look pairs a fluid blue sleeveless top with pale pink trousers, using a relatively controlled colour combination and draped construction to establish its visual character. Another look takes a more expressive direction. Black, cream, red, orange, green and brown are brought together through extensive fringe detailing. Here, colour and construction become inseparable: the arrangement of shades creates a graphic composition, while the fringe introduces movement and texture.

The contrast between these looks is revealing. Orange Culture's visual language cannot be reduced to bright colours or print alone. It also encompasses controlled combinations, fluid silhouettes and the use of surface detail to create visual interest.

The Day 1 reading

The distribution identifies blue as the leading colour category and multicolour/print as a significant presence. The designer examples add an important qualification: colour expression is not limited to the number or intensity of shades in a garment. Sisiano demonstrates how tonal relationships, lace and texture can create complexity, while Orange Culture moves between controlled combinations and more exuberant treatments of colour and construction.

Day 1 therefore offers more than a story about saturated colour. It reveals different ways designers use colour, material and silhouette to establish a recognisable visual language.

DAY 2: BLACK LEADS, BUT MULTICOLOUR REMAINS CLOSE

Day 2's colour distribution provides a different picture. Black led at 20%, followed by multicolour and print at 14%, and blue at 12%. White represented 9%, ivory 7%, while brown and green each accounted for 6%. This is a more nuanced palette than a simple description of a dark or earthy runway would suggest.

Black was the largest individual category, but multicolour and print occupied the second position. Their prominence indicates that the day's visual profile included both controlled individual shades and more complex colour compositions. Red accounted for 5%, while beige and burgundy each represented 4%. Pink and purple each recorded 3%, with yellow and gold at 2%. Grey, silver and orange each accounted for 1%.

The important distinction is between colour dominance and colour variety. Black may have led the distribution, but it did not eliminate the presence of prints, brighter shades or contrasting combinations.

Day 2 therefore presents a particularly interesting relationship between two visual approaches: the strength of a single dominant colour and the expressive possibilities of combining several colours.

The Day 2 reading

Black was the most frequently represented individual category, but multicolour and print made a significant contribution to the overall palette.This challenges the idea that the day can be understood simply through its darker shades. Its colour distribution was broader and more varied.

DAY 3: THE BALANCE BETWEEN RESTRAINT AND EXPRESSION

Day 3 recorded a working inventory of 370 designer-level looks. White led with 58 looks (15.68%), followed by black with 56 (15.14%) and blue with 51 (13.78%).

Together, these colours accounted for 165 looks, or 44.6% of the working dataset.

Pink followed with 43 looks (11.62%), brown with 32 (8.65%), and red with 29 (7.84%). Multicolour designs accounted for 25 looks (6.76%), while yellow represented 22 (5.95%).

The runway images reveal how different designers interpreted this balance.

JZO: Tonal restraint and controlled contrast

The JZO collection photographs present a palette built around burgundy, dusty pink, navy, charcoal, grey and cream.Rather than relying on constant changes in colour, many of the looks work within related tonal families. Deep reds and burgundies appear alongside softer pinks, while navy, black and grey provide a darker counterpoint.

This approach places greater emphasis on tonal relationships. The visual identity is established through the movement between closely related shades, contrasts and the way different colours are distributed across garments.

It is an example of how a collection can create variety without depending on a large number of bright colours.

imo: Colour as visual energy

The imo runway images show a notably different approach. Saturated yellow, green, blue, pink, red and purple appear alongside stripes, prints and contrasting combinations.

Some looks use a dominant colour, while others bring multiple shades together within the same outfit. Stripes and patterned surfaces introduce another layer of visual activity.

Compared with JZO's more controlled tonal approach, imo's collection demonstrates a more expressive use of colour and pattern.

The comparison is useful because it shows that the same runway can accommodate substantially different design languages. Colour can be used to create restraint, or it can become a principal source of visual energy.

Pettre Taylor: The strength of monochromatic dressing

Pettre Taylor's runway images present another distinct approach. Black and white dominate much of the collection, with grey and patterned surfaces adding variation. Occasional accents, including yellow and red, interrupt the largely restrained palette.

The interesting point is that a limited colour range does not necessarily produce a visually simple collection.Texture, pattern, layering and silhouette help create distinction between looks. The visual interest comes not only from the colour itself, but also from how the garments are constructed and presented.

This is an important counterpoint to collections that rely on high colour contrast: visual complexity can also be achieved through material and construction.

The Day 3 reading

The Day 3 collections demonstrate that the leading colours were not being interpreted in one uniform way.

JZO's tonal approach, imo's expressive combinations and Pettre Taylor's predominantly monochromatic direction show different ways of building a collection's visual identity.

The distribution tells us which colours were most visible; the runway images show that designers could arrive at very different outcomes using colour, texture, print and silhouette.

WHAT CONNECTS THE THREE DAYS?

Across the three days, black and blue remained recurring elements of the colour conversation. Their continued visibility suggests that they were important components of the runway's overall visual landscape.

However, the changing position of other categories is equally revealing.

Day 1 placed blue and multicolour/print at the forefront. Day 2 was led by black, with multicolour/print and blue following. Day 3 brought white, black and blue together as its leading group.

The recurring presence of multicolour and print is particularly worth noting. It appeared among the leading categories on both Day 1 and Day 2 and remained represented on Day 3.

This suggests that colour expression across the runway was not limited to individual shades. Prints and combinations were also a recurring part of the visual landscape.

The designer examples add another dimension. Sisiano demonstrates how tonal relationships and surface texture can create complexity, while Orange Culture moves between restrained combinations and more exuberant colour and construction. JZO, imo and Pettre Taylor further illustrate how different colour philosophies can exist within the same event.

The result is not one unified aesthetic, but a runway accommodating multiple approaches to design.

THE INDUSTRY QUESTION: WHAT DOES COLOUR SAY ABOUT DESIGNER POSITIONING?

For designers, colour is more than a matter of preference. It can become a recognisable part of brand identity.A designer who repeatedly develops collections around tonal dressing may establish a different visual signature from one whose work is associated with saturated colours, prints and contrasting combinations.

These approaches also create different opportunities for fashion communication. A strongly monochromatic collection may be remembered for its silhouette, texture and construction, while a print-led collection may be recognised through its colour combinations and surface identity.

The designer examples in this analysis show that these distinctions are not always absolute. Sisiano's use of white and burgundy demonstrates that a designer associated with strong colour can also work within a restricted palette. Orange Culture's blue-and-pink look, alongside its multicoloured fringed design, similarly demonstrates how different approaches can coexist within a designer's visual language.

For fashion retailers and buyers, the distinction matters too. Colour distribution can help identify the visual range represented on a runway, but it cannot independently predict commercial demand. Retail decisions require additional evidence, including consumer preferences, price positioning, product availability and seasonality.

For fashion media and stylists, however, the findings offer a useful editorial resource. They identify recurring colour families and provide a starting point for exploring how designers interpret them.

The broader opportunity for African fashion is to document these creative differences with greater precision. Rather than treating African fashion as one aesthetic category, runway analysis should recognise the distinct visual languages being developed by individual designers.

THE VERDICT: THE RUNWAY IS NOT SPEAKING IN ONE COLOUR

Across three days, Lagos Fashion Week presented different colour priorities and different approaches to design.Blue and multicolour led Day 1. Black, multicolour/print and blue shaped Day 2. White, black and blue formed the leading group on Day 3.

But the strongest insight comes from looking beyond the rankings.

Sisiano demonstrates how tonal relationships, lace and texture can create visual complexity. Orange Culture moves between controlled colour combinations and exuberant treatments of colour and fringe. JZO shows the value of tonal restraint. imo demonstrates the energy of high-chroma colour and pattern, while Pettre Taylor illustrates how a limited palette can still produce visual complexity through texture and construction.

These examples show why colour frequency alone cannot explain a runway. The same colour can serve different purposes depending on the designer, the garment and the collection's wider visual language. The real colour story of Lagos Fashion Week is not simply which shades dominated. It is how different designers used colour, material and construction to distinguish their work, develop identity and create visual meaning.