‘Tradition is swag’ in Lagos
African dress now fashionable in Nigerian capital
Lagos – Leggy dancers in tight shorts, bottles of Moet champagne and flashy cars feature in Nigerian pop icon Wizkid’s bling-bling music videos.
But the singer himself has now swapped the Versace Tshirts and low-slung jeans that show his underwear for traditional African dress – a new youth trend in fashion hub Lagos. Last year, Vogue magazine voted Wizkid “Nigeria’s bestdressed pop singer”, a particularly coveted and prestigious title in a country where appearance is all important and competition is fierce.
Clothing that used to be considered only for the old or for people out in the provinces is setting the trend in fashion, from the Yoruba agbada (a large, triple-layered robe worn in the southwest), to the Igbo “Niger Delta” embroidered collar-less shirt from the south, and the northern Hausa babariga (a long tunic worn with an embroidered asymmetrical hat).
In recent years, this traditional clothing – or “trad” as it’s dubbed – can be seen in offices as well as nightclubs and at weddings and business meetings.
“It’s the in-thing now,” Wizkid told Vogue magazine.
“When I’m back home, all I wear is African fabrics. I get material from different parts of Nigeria – north, west, south – and I mix it up,” said the 26year-old superstar.
Lack of space in Lagos, a sprawling megacity of 20 million inhabitants, has meant there are few shopping centres and ready-to-wear clothing stores are hard to find.
Economic recession and the free fall of the naira currency has put paid to wealthy Nigerians’ shopping sprees in Dubai, Paris and Milan.
Instead, they’ve had to make do with what’s on offer locally, sending the popularity of roadside tailors soaring.
In 2012, Omobolaji Ademosu, known as BJ, left his job in a bank to set up his own line of men’s clothing, Pro7ven.
In two tiny workshops in Ojodu, on the outskirts of Lagos, his dozen employees cut, sew and iron a series of orders to the sound of a diesel generator.
BJ calls his style “African contemporary”. His work includes magnificent made-tomeasure agbadas with embroidered collars, which can sell for uptoR5 950each.
“Trad is swag,” smiled BJ. “Any day, I can switch from Yoruba to Igbo to Fulani, I’m rocking it! It’s the Lagos spirit, there is no barrier, we are one.”
When attending professional meetings in business and politics, dressing in the ethnic outfit of your host is a sign of respect that can really pay off – or at least win big contracts.
Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari’s election campaign in 2015, for example, featured him in a variety of traditional outfits from across the country. With more than 500 ethnic groups, Nigeria is able to draw from a huge catalogue of fabrics, styles and jewellery.
The beauty of each ethnic look is a source of pride, which has begun to extend beyond Nigeria’s borders.