Hello, this is Reena Stanton Sharma and you're listening to the witness history podcast

from the BBC World Service. I'm going to tell you all about Lagos Fashion Week and we're

heading to the city in 2011 where models, stylists and fashionistas are gathered for the

event's debut. It would put Nigerian style on the global map.

Walking in in that moment I just felt wow you know this is possible. There's nothing as extra

ordinary as seen an idea go from notebook to light. Amoyemi Akureli is a founder of Lagos Fashion Week.

I spoke to her in Selfridges London the luxury department store or a fashion pop-up by African

designers was held earlier this year in collaboration with her event. Amoyemi told me about the

moment she walked into Echo Hotel in the heart of Lagos' Victoria Island on the 26th of October

2011 witnessing her dream come to life. There's lighting, there's music, there are people talking

walking past you. There's a frenzy of activity makeup is getting done. Her style is at the same

time our first backstage it was a frenzy of activity to put it mildly but I was happy that it was

happening. I mean we barely had a backstage in a minute of all the calm within the storm you could

also see beauty right? You can see people you can see people who are committed to their craft you

can see people giving their best people who would butt into the vision. To the sounds of drums

models walk the cut walk of Lagos Fashion Week. African designers are showcasing their best work

as international ones descend on the city looking for talent and inspiration at a time when Afrobeat

and African fashion seem to be taking the world by storm. That BBC report was from 2018.

Oma Yemmi's flair for fashion flourished from an early age but she studied law before pursuing

her passion. If you've spent so much of your life focusing on a particular career and then you

wake up one day and realize you're not enjoying it so it was really glaring that there was something

amiss right? Imagine going to law school and having degrees and starting work as a fashion

...