Yemisi Izuora
The Lagos Leather Fair, a platform created to unlock, and showcase the untapped potential of the African leather industry, will be celebrating 5 years of its transformative existence.
The Fair has continued to change the narrative within the leather industry as it continues to drive economic growth and create visibility and access to opportunities for Medium and Small Enterprises, MSMEs across Nigeria and the wider continent.
This year’s edition, themed “LLF5”, will take place at the Balmoral Convention Center, Victoria Island, Lagos from 11th to 12th of June.
The event will bring together local and international designers to showcase their products and services.
The fair will also feature a series of masterclasses and conversations with a broad range of speakers across multiple industries; interactive creative workspaces; and a series of catwalk shows.
The masterclasses will include speakers such as Adeyinka Abimbola, Ehi Binitie, Ache Idachaba-Obaro, Papa Omotayo, Muyiwa Femi Pearse, Adenike Adeyemi amongst others.
Speaking about the fair, Femi Olayebi, Founder of Lagos Leather Fair, expressed why the fifth edition is a milestone, saying; “We’re excited to be back for our fifth edition. The Lagos Leather Fair has created and continues to create massive visibility for both starting and established designers.
It has also provided empowerment opportunities for leathercraft trainers and manufacturers. Our vision is to ensure that the leather sector contributes significantly to the Nigerian economy and the broader African narrative, by driving change in the sector and addressing key industry challenges affecting the supply chain.”
Over the last five years, The Lagos Leather Fair has impacted key stakeholders in the industry including—leather designers, raw materials producers, manufacturers, suppliers of machinery and equipment, trainers, retailers, and industry experts. We have executed over 30 masterclasses and 10 creative workshops and 18 runway presentations. In 2020, Lagos Leather Fair initiated West Africa’s first-ever digital leather exhibition, to leverage growing cross-border connections and broaden the platform for its designers.
The Fair will also be launching a partnership with Kafawa – a training program designed to bridge the skills gap in the industry and reduce youth unemployment in Nigeria. Graduates from Kafawa’s pilot set will form this year’s Emerging Designers group at LLF5: an opportunity for the best of Kafawa’s newly-trained youth to formally make their entrance into the industry.
Also as part of this year’s fair will be launching The Leather Portal. To bridge the information gap in the industry,
The Leather Portal was created to serve as a resource hub and an e-directory that would provide relevant and open-access information specific to leather and leather goods, and connect leather designers, tanners, hardware suppliers, input suppliers and brands across Africa and internationally.
The Lagos Leather Fair has raised the quality and manufacturing standards of made in Nigeria products by showcasing exceptional leather goods and services.