Design tourism: Lagos leads, Africa follows

I spent most of October shuttling between showrooms, galleries, and event spaces across Paris, Montpellier and Lagos. My story with Paris is one of love and sweet memories, yet Lagos is starting to compete in my heart.
From Victoria Island to Lekki, Ikoyi to Surelele, the city vibes with a creative energy I've rarely witnessed anywhere else on the continent and even in the world. My experience this October wasn't just another season of festivals. It was design tourism in action, a phenomenon quietly reshaping the economic landscape of African cities, with Lagos leading the charge.

Design tourism is what happens when creativity becomes infrastructure. When cultural programming is deliberate enough, consistent enough, and ambitious enough to pull visitors across oceans. It's Milan Design Week, with Afrobeats. It's Paris Fashion Week, with jollof rice and a Lagos hustle that never sleeps.

The city opened its creative season this year with Forum Création Africa in October, a first for Lagos and a strategic bet by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs alongside the Ministry of Culture. Over 1,000 participants from Africa and Europe (young creators, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers) converged to discuss eight major creative sectors, from digital fashion to immersive visual effects. This wasn't aid. This was partnership. The kind that positions Lagos not as a recipient of capacity building, but as a co-architect of the future of global creative industries. Read our review of this first edition in Africa.

Then came Design Week Lagos, now in its seventh edition. Founded by Titi Ogufere, the week spans ten days and transforms the city into a living exhibition. Titi Ogufere once told CNN that she sees "design as a tool for economic and societal transformation," and her vision is to see "African products in stores around the world". This year, thousands attended from across Africa and beyond, with flagship showcases like the Made by Design exhibition and the IDEA Awards reinforcing Lagos as a hub where creativity meets commerce. More about our participation here.

Lagos Fashion Week marked its 15th anniversary in 2025 under founder Omoyemi Akerele, who left her legal career two decades ago to build what is now Africa's largest fashion trade show. With over 60 designers annually and partnerships like the 2025 AFC collaboration aimed at scaling value chains and ethical sourcing, the platform has become a launchpad for brands like Maki Oh and Orange Culture. The continent's apparel and textile exports are projected to reach $15 billion by 2030, and Lagos Fashion Week sits at the nerve center of that growth.

Art X Lagos, celebrating its 10th edition this year, has drawn over 700,000 visitors from 170 countries since its inception under Tokini Peterside-Schwebig. The fair's 10-Year Impact Report tells a story of accelerated careers, elevated international visibility, and a city that now commands serious attention from collectors, curators, and investors worldwide. It's not just about selling art. It's about repositioning Lagos as a cultural capital where the global art conversation happens, not just gets reported on.

And then there's Detty December. What started as a cultural moment has become an economic juggernaut. In December 2024 alone, Lagos generated over $71.6 million in revenue from tourism, hospitality, and entertainment. Hotels accounted for $44 million, short-let apartments brought in $13 million. The city recorded an estimated 1.2 million visitors during this period, with 90% being members of the Nigerian diaspora returning home. Events like the Greater Lagos Fiesta and Rhythm Unplugged, turned the entire city into a stage, and the world showed up.

Now, compare that to Paris. The French capital remains the global benchmark—Paris Fashion Week alone contributes hundreds of millions of euros annually, with average tax-free spending per shopper during the March 2025 edition reaching €2,690. Milan Design Week in 2025 generated an economic impact of €278 million, with over 300,000 visitors and 1,066 events across the city. These are centuries-old creative ecosystems with deep infrastructure and global prestige.

Lagos building a blueprint in West Africa

But here's what matters: Lagos is building its own model. It's not trying to be Paris or Milan. It's becoming the first version of itself—a city where Afrobeats, fashion, design, and visual art converge in a uniquely West African way that feels urgent, entrepreneurial, and unapologetically contemporary. The scale may still be smaller, but the momentum is undeniable. And for a city its size, with its challenges, the returns are extraordinary.

What can other African cities learn from Lagos? First, consistency matters. Design Week Lagos didn't become influential overnight. It took seven editions. Lagos Fashion Week took 15 years. Art X Lagos took a decade. This isn't about one-off festivals. It's about building cultural infrastructure that compounds year after year. Second, the private sector must lead. Titi Ogufere, Omoyemi Akerele, Tokini Peterside-Schwebig—these are all private entrepreneurs who saw gaps and filled them without waiting for government green lights. Third, design tourism works when the entire city participates. Lagos activates hotels, galleries, showrooms, restaurants, and neighborhoods. The experience extends far beyond the exhibition hall.

For neighboring countries—Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin—the opportunity isn't to copy Lagos. It's to carve out distinct cultural niches. Ghana has already proven this with its Year of Return campaign, which generated $3.3 billion in tourism revenue and drew 1.9 million visitors by leaning into diaspora reconnection and heritage tourism. Senegal is emerging as an adventure tourism destination with world-class surfing. Côte d'Ivoire is positioning itself as a regional hub for business tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions), ranking third on the continent for business tourism behind Nigeria and Morocco. Cotonou and Dakar each have their own creative energy and heritage assets. The question isn't whether they can compete with Lagos. It's whether they'll define their own version of design tourism that reflects their unique cultural identity and economic strengths.

As Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, has said, Lagos has become "not only a centre for artistic celebration and creativity, but a driver for economic vibrancy—data shows the creative sector is now a pillar for our city, and we are determined to keep investing in this future together". That's the mindset shift. Creativity isn't decoration. It's economic strategy.

My list to enjoy a short trip to Lagos

I wish I could stay in Lagos from October to December; I didn't manage to stay for all of October. The travel, the meetings, the deadlines pulled me away. But I was there for the two most crucial weeks: Forum Création Africa and Design Week Lagos. Those fourteen days were intense, filled with conversation, discovery, and the kind of energy you can only absorb by being physically present in the spaces where things are happening.

Between the official programming, there was the other Lagos. The one that feeds the creative soul. Jerk chicken and jollof at Nok, where interpretation of modern African cuisine felt like a conversation about the continent's future. A private tour of Reni Folawiyo's collection of fabrics and garments at Alara, architecture by David Adjaye, luxury that doesn't apologize for being unapologetically African, and the kind of curation that makes you understand what it means to believe in your vision for a decade.

Serie of personal photos taken between 2023 & 2025

For anyone arriving in Lagos wanting to fell that creative energy we've been talking about, here are my top ten spots. The season is still young, and these venues are worth your time:

Alara  & Nok by Alara : If you only visit one space, make it this one. Reni Folawiyo's concept store isn't just retail. It's a statement about what African luxury can be. The architecture alone is worth the trip to Victoria Island. At Nok African cuisine is reimagined. The menu tells stories about the continent through every dish. Book ahead; it fills up.

Temple Muse & Slow : Two floors of elegance and a selection including latest collaboration of IAMISIGO x This is Us or exclusive Dye Lab X L’artisane Shop. Slow right after TM and you will enjoy a speakeasy vibe with a bar that's the actual heart of the space. The design is refined, and the energy is exactly what you need after gallery-hopping.

Yoruba Heritage Museum : To understand Lagos, you need to understand Yoruba culture. This museum does that work with clarity and depth.

Felabration at Ecobank : The Fela Anikulapo Kuti retrospective opened in October and runs through December 2025. It's immersive, multi-generational, and a reminder that art as resistance is still relevant. Don't miss the legacy programmes, talks, live music, studio sessions.

Sixteen by Sixteen : A creative space that embodies the Lagos design ethos. Clean lines, thoughtful curation, and the kind of atmosphere where you can spend hours discovering new work and new perspectives.

Eki Kere Store and/or I Am Isigo Office Showroon : Walk into this space and you understand what it means to reimagine African design for a global audience. Eki Kere's pieces are architectural, intentional, and every object tells a story about craft, heritage, and contemporary vision. I Am ISIGO's office shares the same energy—collaborative, generative, a place where ideas actually happen and the exploration of African craftsmanship takes you to another galaxy

Oda Gallery : Contemporary African art and design established in 2020. Their curatorial approach is sharp, and their exhibitions consistently feature work that matters. And right next door you can also shop Obida.

Nike Art Gallery : Five floors of Nigerian art in Lekki. Over 8,000 pieces. Free entry. It's massive, it's overwhelming in the best way, and you'll need a full day to even scratch the surface.

Nahous : Exhibition spaces, showrooms, Shopping spaces and the energy of the entire creative season concentrated in one place. This is where you see the work, meet the makers, and understand what contemporary African design actually looks like at scale.

Gather House : A community-driven creative space that hosts workshops, talks, and collaborations. It's where the creative community actually gathers, connects, and builds together. Less polished than the galleries, more real in the best way with a delicate curation to take away after a coffee break

Tiwani Contemporary : Contemporary African art with a curatorial vision that's consistently bold and forward-thinking. Their roster of artists is carefully selected, and their exhibitions always feel like they're pushing the conversation forward rather than just following trends.

So yes, design tourism in Africa is still young. And Lagos is showing us the blueprint: build consistently, empower private creatives, activate the entire city, and position culture as infrastructure, not afterthought. When that happens, every visitor becomes an ambassador, every conversation becomes a potential partnership, and every activation reinforces a city's identity as a creative capital worth visiting, not just for tourism, but for business, for collaboration, for the future.
This year season is still young. Visit Lagos and experience it.

© Cover image Alara