Collective House · 09
About the Collective.
Runway Collective began in 2020 as a single evening in a Victoria Island car park with five designers and borrowed lights. Seven seasons later it is four days, twelve designers and a market of makers (example history).
Our story
Seven seasons.
The first show had no seats. Two hundred people stood around a strip of carpet while five designers showed eight looks each. Everyone who came had a friend on the runway or behind it.
We are still run like that: by designers, for designers. A jury picks the lineup, nobody pays to show, and every season at least a third of the designers are new. The money comes from tickets, the market and a small group of supporters who believe Nigerian fashion should be seen at home first.
Season 07 moves to the Collective Grounds on the waterfront, with room for the Pavilion, the Courtyard and the Lagoon terrace. The map on our home page is the best way to find your way around.
Seasons
From a car park to the waterfront.
Season 01, 2020
Five designers, one evening, a borrowed generator.
Season 03, 2022
The Courtyard market opens with ten stalls.
Season 05, 2024
Three days and the first Talks tent.
Season 07, 2027
Four days, twelve designers, the Collective Grounds.
The team
Who runs it.
Yetunde Adeyemi
Founder and creative director
Chuka Nnamdi
Show producer
Halima Garba
Designer programme lead
Segun Afolabi
Partnerships and market
Names and roles are invented for this demo.
Nobody pays to show. If the work is good, it walks.Founder, Runway Collective (invented quote)
Support the Collective
Brands and individuals can support a designer's show or the studio programme. Ask us how.