Lagos Closes, New York Dresses Up: Menswear Turns Crafted and Dark

Lagos Fashion Week closes today, 1 November, with offsite presentations after main runway shows from 29 to 31 October at the LagosFW Tents, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island. The season theme is CRAFTED: Heritage. Innovation. Circular Futures, and the menswear that landed hardest was not decorative. It was cloth with a history, cut into shapes a man can actually wear on a city street.

Orange Culture's The In-Between, shown 28 October, is the clearest example. A black double-breasted jacket with an asymmetric, layered front was paired with voluminous trousers, using construction rather than colour to make the point. Sheer layering, uneven proportions, hand-stitched embellishment and looped-yarn surfaces ran through the collection, which is a useful reminder that expressive menswear does not need a loud print to be expressive.

On day one, Emmy Kasbit with ALARA presented Akwete Reimagined, reworking Akwete textile through a contemporary lens, while Sisiano's Some Birds Fly South offered sheer pieces, fringe and relaxed menswear silhouettes in hand-printed fabrics. Together they argue for the same wardrobe move: buy the texture, keep the silhouette calm, and let the making show.

The 2026 CFDA Fashion Awards take place tomorrow, Monday 2 November, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, hosted by Keke Palmer. The American Menswear Designer of the Year nominees are Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne for Public School New York, Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne, Todd Snyder and Willy Chavarria, with Matt Damon presenting the menswear award.

That shortlist reads like a map of where American menswear is right now. It is not a return to stiff boardroom suiting. Fall 2026 reporting describes tailoring with softer shoulders, pleated and roomier trousers, jackets that nip at the waist, and a slimmer tie worn with a relaxed suit, a crisp shirt or even a knit. The attitude is old Hollywood nonchalance rather than corporate rigidity.

For a reader getting dressed on Monday, the usable version is simple: one strong tailored piece, worn loosely, with everything else quiet. A checked or tonal suit, a suede or tweed sport coat, or a long coat over wide trousers will read as awards-week polish without looking like a costume for the ceremony itself.

Outside the recent autumn shows, Flannels' street report from 27 October names the move plainly: back to black, but with proportion, structure and leather doing the work. Longline outerwear that falls to just below the knee or lower was worn over relaxed looks as well as three-piece suits, which is why this trend survives the move from fashion week to a real November commute.

Esquire Middle East's autumn/winter 2026-2027 edit makes the same case from the runway side: leather returns with a polished attitude, in matte and chalky finishes as well as high shine, often paired with looser trousers, while belted trenches, hooded macs and statement coats take on weather and drama at once. The point is not to look armoured. It is to let one long, dark layer carry the whole outfit.

Lagos day two adds a streetwear translation worth noting: Street Souk presented bomber jackets, metallic finishes, experimental headwear, detachable hoodies and leather interpretations of the traditional agbada. That is the same long, dark idea, cut through a different cultural reference, and it is why blackout does not read as uniform this season.

Flannels' autumn street report is blunt on trousers: whoever said skinny jeans were back was mistaken outside the shows, and the verdict for cargos, denim and tailoring alike is maximum volume. That is not a new silhouette anymore. It is the default, and the interesting choice now is what sits on top of it.

The answer this season is knitwear with presence. Esquire Middle East notes old-school cable knits, Fair Isle, quarter-zips and plush cardigans returning with retro stripes and oversized rollnecks, while COS's current men's knitwear list is headed by chunky cashmere funnel-neck jumpers, cable-knit jumpers and boiled merino crew-necks. A chunky knit over a wide trouser gives the outfit weight without needing a coat indoors.

Lagos day two's Maliko collection points the same way from a quieter direction: relaxed, minimalist, loose-fitting silhouettes in understated tones, built for everyday wear rather than occasion wear. Pair that calm with the volume and the look stays grown up instead of sloppy.

Halloween was yesterday, and the useful carryover is not a costume. It is the mood that was already in the air: high collars, long dark layers, velvet and satin textures, and a scarf worn like a statement rather than an afterthought. Flannels names scarves as the accessory of the season, voluminous and chunky or sleek and streamlined, able to take a cold-weather look from plain to finished in seconds.

The wearable translation is to keep one romantic element and ground the rest. A long black coat over wool trousers, a dark scarf with a clean knit, or a suede jacket with a simple shirt will read as intentional on 1 November. A full cape, fangs, ruffled cravat and patent shoes together will read as last night.

Monocle's November 2026 winter menswear picks, published 28 October, give the same advice in quieter form: a Moon wool-cashmere scarf in navy, grey or orange, a Cableami wool watch cap, and Spanish merino crewnecks and cardigans. Small, well-made, dark or rust-toned pieces are what make the post-Halloween look last past the weekend.