Lagos Opens, Wales Bonner Drops, and the Robe Coat Rules

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.

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.

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 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.