The origin of Nigerian streetwear fashion
Nigerian fashion will always make statements. From traditional attire to streetwear, what is streetwear? Over the last decade, Nigerian brands have consistently produced impressive pieces, contributing to the country’s reputation as an African style capital. Streetwear, more than any other type of clothing produced in the country, is unquestionably at the heart of Nigeria’s fashion explosion.
Brands such as Severe Nature, WWYD, Ashluxe, Pith Africa, Legacy, Daltimore, Forever Earth, Casimir Hero, ZTTW, High Fashion, and others exemplify this communal ethos, and their efforts to foster communities that encourage individuality and freedom of expression are quietly shaping the narrative of streetwear fashion in the country.
In other words, the evolution of streetwear fashion in Nigeria can be traced back to the inception of Severe Nature. Christopher Afolabi, Tobi Adeleye, and the late Michael Atobalele founded the brand in 2012 with the goal of pushing the boundaries of street luxury fashion.
They have remained committed to the core values of creativity, authenticity, and self-expression. Severe Nature takes personality, form, and nature to an extreme while blurring the boundaries of streetwear by constantly using mixed fabrics and experimental clothing to stand out from other similar brands.
Streetwear fashion in Nigeria surged beyond the shores of the continent in a giant leap thanks to the groundbreaking work of Ashluxe.
Founded by Creative Director Yinka Ash, the homegrown brand exudes luxury, elegance, and style, having successfully built an engaged community and achieved milestones such as a showcase at Paris Fashion Week in 2023.
“I am hyper-focused on the quality of clothes,” Yinka Ash admits. “Before the creation of Ashluxe it was difficult to get good quality ready-to-wear menswear in Nigeria. I decided to solve that problem, by creating a fashion brand whose primary focus is an offering of good quality menswear with a streetwear aesthetic.”
What type of people wear streetwear generally?
First, Whether it’s the youth expressing their individuality on the streets, celebrities making bold fashion statements on red carpets, diversifying into fashion brands after successful careers in other fields especially music (fashion brands owned by Nigerian musicians) or the normal fashion-forward folks here in Nigeria.
They are looking for a comfortable yet edgy style, and streetwear has become a sartorial language spoken by a vast and diverse community of fashion enthusiasts in Nigeria and around the world, with the average Nigerian, particularly the youth, wanting to know what is trendy, as it has been over the years. Like anywhere else in the world, Nigerian music has an impact on streetwear fashion.
In continuation, there is no denying the relationship between music and fashion, but the price? with musicians frequently acting as trend-setters and style icons. Artistes like Asake with his military era trend right now and Rema are currently leading these conversations)
(See some of these fashion discussions) more here on X
As in the past with Phyno (Alobam shirt that was everywhere) and artistes putting on the (my money grows like grass)
They have the power to influence fashion trends especially streetwear and can determine their prices if they are in high demand as they have done so with “carrot jeans” in the 2010s, Olamide Baddoo using the Timberland in his “bobo” it was sought after at that point, and now it is back as a norm.
Additionally, Artists such as Adekunle Gold demonstrated that music can also influence fashion in a way that he transitioned from a highlife musician to the global popstar he is today; he is a prime example of a successful branding transition over time.
Truth be told, with Nigerian’s musician’s influence in the fashion scene, we have gone from edgy and daring looks over the years as the afrobeat music scene is being projected more to the world to understated and subtle looks, even we have Afrobeats artistes in world fashion conversations, visiting fashion events over the world. Nigerian musicians that have walked fashion shows
Have streetwears have been affordable over the years?
“That ugly boy wey no fit afford carrot jean for yaba don finally get full store”-Zlatan Ibile
Zlatan the owner of “Zanku To The World” had this to say about not being able to afford the trendy jean as at when it was trendy but now owns a big store of clothes that the “street people can’t afford” because the common Uni student or the guy on the street can’t afford a single streetwear shirt because the price is on a high side and it is a luxury due to the bad economic condition, high production cost and of quality materials etc even Rahman Jago’s High Fashion.
Chapter 1 sets the stage, Chapter 2 dives into Zlatan’s ZTTW and Rahman Jago’s High Fashion and the price. Exploring why Nigerian youths are launching more street brands, their affordability, and the conspiracy around international brands and local fakes(original fakes and fake fakes).
Expect style, culture, and Trendybuzz surprises
