Daily trends

Lagos Fashion Week opened on October 28 and today is when the runway programme truly ignites. Under the theme CRAFTED: Heritage. Innovation. Circular Futures, the week puts African textile traditions, handwork and circular design at the centre, with the main shows running Thursday through Saturday at the LagosFW Tents at the Federal Palace Hotel on Victoria Island.

The early signals are already strong. LFJ, the label founded by Juliet Olanipekun, opened the conversation with its Jupiter-themed SS27 collection, all sculptural pleating, layered organza and volume designed to move. Atafo set the tone before the tents even opened with a private presentation of A Measure of Her, a sharp, confident womenswear statement built on precise tailoring.

Tonight's closing slot belongs to Cute Saint, Christie Brown, Cynthia Abila and Nkwo at 9 p.m. — the hour to watch if you want the week's direction in one sitting. Beyond the runway, expect live artisan weaving, beadwork and raw fabric production woven into the presentations, plus the Green Access cohort's sustainable mini-collections.

Today is day one of the main runway programme at the LagosFW Tents, Federal Palace Hotel, and the schedule reads like a state-of-the-nation address for African menswear. Ugo Monye, Emmy Kasbit and Bloke anchor the week alongside the womenswear headliners, with the 9 p.m. Saturday slot pairing Fruche, Ejiro Amos Tafiri and Ugo Monye.

The theme this season is CRAFTED: Heritage. Innovation. Circular Futures, and the street-style cues coming out of Victoria Island are unusually wearable. Think tailored suits and co-ord sets cut from Aso-Oke or indigo-dyed Adire, dramatic oversized outerwear over sleek fitted bases, and chunky gold jewellery or hand-carved leather bags as the finish.

For a wardrobe at home, the translation is simple: buy the tailoring first and let one crafted or textured piece do the talking. Relaxed proportions, straight legs and room to layer underneath are the through-line from Lagos to London to New York this week.

Six years into one of fashion's most consistent partnerships, Grace Wales Bonner has gone back into her own archive for Fall/Winter 2026 — and the result is the most tactile collection the collaboration has produced. Croc-stamped leather, pony hair, lizard print and full suede replace the usual sportswear shorthand, while jewel tones and refined tailoring keep everything firmly in Wales Bonner's world.

The footwear leads. The WB Gazelle Snake arrives in vivid green crocodile-stamped leather, the WB Karintha goes dark brown croc with brushed gold eyelets, the ADIZERO Adios is rebuilt entirely in suede with craft-inspired Three Stripes detailing, and the new WB BW Pony wraps a minimal army-trainer shape in pony hair with lizard-print overlays.

The apparel centres on a bark-coloured leather blouson with crochet side stripes, surrounded by double-knit tracksuits, pinstripe track sets and collared football tops. Shot by Harley Weir and inspired by 1980s London, the campaign is the moodboard for the whole drop — and it is available globally today, October 29, via adidas, the CONFIRMED app and select retailers.

October 29 and 30 might be the densest two days of the autumn sneaker calendar. Today brings the Supreme x Nike Air Force 1 Low in Snow Camo, white, grey and black camouflage over the familiar AF1, at 11 a.m. ET via Supreme, and the Converse SHAI 001 Lace Up in Flare, a bright Sun Glow orange take on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's signature shoe with traditional laces instead of the original zip.

Friday is the emotional one. The Nike Kobe 3 Low Protro Mamba Eterno lands at 10 a.m. ET, a Dia de Muertos colourway in Safety Orange with floral artwork hidden beneath the translucent cage, mismatched Hyper Grape and Emerald Green collars, and Eterno script on the outsole. The same morning, the Travis Scott x Nike Air Force 1 Low in Ice Blue, tonal ostrich-textured leather in Ice Blue and Celestine Blue, arrives at retail with pre-release pairs already asking multiples of its price.

The smart play is triage: the Supreme and SHAI pairs are today's decisions, the Kobe is Friday's alarm, and the Travis Scott pair is the one to enter every draw for and expect nothing from.

The coat of the season is not the bulkiest one — it is the one that feels like a blanket. Jennifer Lawrence's October outing in a beige Loro Piana bathrobe coat, worn with grey denim, suede boots and a headscarf, distilled the whole idea: long, soft, belted, and instantly expensive without trying.

The robe coat works because the belt does the tailoring. Worn open it is a cocoon; cinched, it gives you a waist and a silhouette. That duality is why it keeps appearing across price points, from designer wool wraps to high-street funnel-neck and shawl-collar coats with tie belts.

Style it the way the season is wearing it: over straight-leg trousers and knits, or over a simple dress with boots. Keep everything underneath quiet and let the coat carry the look — that is the entire point of a personality coat.

If one jacket explains autumn 2026, it is the waxed jacket, and this month it got two very good remixes. Barbour and A.P.C. revisited the Beaufort, the Spey and the longer Sugarlump Bedale in archival Premium Thornproof Wax Cotton, a denser weave in dark sage and dark navy, with denim-jacket pocket construction, wool collars instead of corduroy, tartan linings and D-ring hardware.

J.Crew and Barbour traded icons in the other direction: J.Crew cut the Beaufort in vivid Apple Green with a hunter green corduroy collar, while Barbour answered with J.Crew's Barn Jacket in Black Watch plaid waxed cotton. Both capsules treat wax as a living fabric, one that creases, fades at the elbow and gets better with wear.

Buying advice is unchanged and simple. The Beaufort runs longer and covers tailoring; the Bedale sits shorter with jeans and a sweater; the Ashby is the modern, slightly tailored take on the Bedale. Buy with room for a sweater underneath, and let the patina happen.

If one colour owns this autumn, it is the deep red family — cherry, burgundy, wine, black cherry. It has moved past accent status and into full outerwear, with burgundy coats showing up at Miu Miu, Chanel and Max Mara, and street style pairing cherry-red coats with denim, black knits and cream layers.

The easiest way in is a single statement coat. A burgundy wool coat over a black turtleneck and straight jeans reads polished without effort; a belted cherry coat over a knit dress and knee-high boots carries an evening. The shade is forgiving — it sits comfortably with black, cream, camel, navy and chocolate brown.

For the committed, colour drenching is the advanced move: head-to-toe burgundy in mixed textures, from coat to knit to bag, as recently worn to striking effect in Nottingham. Start with the coat, though — it is the piece that does the most work for the least thought.

Under every coat this week is the same answer: knitwear with actual texture. Cable knits, fisherman sweaters, Fair Isle and chunky quarter-zips are leading the autumn edits, in oatmeal, cream, navy, charcoal and camel, with one personality colour like burgundy or forest green allowed in.

The quarter-zip deserves its own rehabilitation note. The version winning in 2026 is chunkier, looser and more tactile than the thin merino office version, with a collar that stands up when half-zipped, worn under a wax jacket or an overcoat with straight jeans or cords.

The styling rule from every guide this week is the same: let one texture lead. Half-tuck a chunky crew into a higher-rise bottom, keep the rest of the outfit slim and plain, and let the knit be the outfit.