LAGOS, Nigeria - The number of international fashion weeks has been growing in recent years in cities outside the Big Four: New York, London, Milan, and Paris. Variations in Tbilisi, Berlin, and Seoul reinforce the fact that great fashion design can come from every corner of the globe. Lagos, the cosmopolitan sister to Nigeria's capital Abuja, was host to a slightly different take on the traditional fashion week. A fashion weekend, in fact, sponsored by GTBank.

A total of 84 brands participated in presentations, runway shows, and a shopping bazaar brimming with jewelry, clothing, footwear and home goods over the two-day fashion showcase held on November 12 and 13. Masterclass sessions led by industry experts from the diaspora focused on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Profitability, and Perfecting Design among other critical topics for the enterprising creative. The masterclass series set the weekend apart from the typical fashion fare. Providing free access to international names such as Caroline Rush, organizer behind London Fashion Week and the British Fashion Awards and Tracy Reese, celebrated designer known for dressing FLOTUS Michelle Obama as well as domestic talent in Bethlehem Tilahum Alemu of fast-growing footwear brand soleRebels and Oke Maduewesi, founder of Zaron Cosmetics is a vital building block in the fashion industry's development on the Continent.