The ‘Oceanโ€™s 8’ Premiere In Nigeria Paid Homage To African Fashion
By Crystal Tate ·

This past weekend, the Nigerian premiere of Oceanโ€™s 8 was held at the Filmhouse IMAX Cinema in Lagos, Nigeria. For the event, organizers hosted a Met Gala-inspired event that encouraged attendees to dress up in looks that emulated past Met Gala themes. Considering the plot of Oceanโ€™s 8 is a jewelry heist that actually occurs at the fashionable Met Gala, the dress code was definitely fitting.

The premiere, which was organized in partnership with Warner Brothers and Nigerian film studio Film One, was also described by organizers as “a celebration of women who excel in their fields.โ€

Nollywood truly showed out in style on the red carpet in stunning custom made gowns and headpieces that were all created exclusively by African designers. See below for some of the most stunning looks we saw on the red carpet:

Fashion entrepreneur Nowe Alexis Isibor stunned in a custom white brocade gown by Jane Michael Collection and a wings-inspired feathered headpiece by Bespoke Accessories by Urez.

โ€ข โ€ข ๐Ÿ•Š๐Ÿ•Š๐Ÿ•ŠMET GALA AGGLUTINATION ๐Ÿ•Š๐Ÿ•Š๐Ÿ•Š There has been a lot of confusion over the Oceanโ€™s 8 Met Gala themed premiere for film house lekki. I will attempt to clarify this confusion. For 20 Oh-So Glorious Met Gala Years,HollyWood A-Listers have embraced each radical,creative,thought provoking MET theme,giving us Fashion Moments to live for! MET GALA has solidified its position as THE BALL you aspire to get invited to,a deserving add to a fashion enthusiasts bucket list,as it merges and assembles the BEST of the BEST for the annual fundraising gala benefiting Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute.@metmuseum โ€ข โ€ข โ€ข(P.s apart from wondering if your moral compass is a tad bit wonky as you openly and unashamedly advocate for the very good-bad gyals,gasping every other second as fashion faves keep making surprise appearances,wondering if you will ever become a diamond ๐Ÿ’Ž connoisseur and being taken aback by DARN GOOD ACTING,Oceanโ€™s 8 movie gives us a VERY rare insight into the painstaking detailed planning it takes to organize a ball of its magnitude,what we get to see,are the red carpet looks,which is just a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things,so it might be a good idea to buy your tickets,...maybe a FashGirls Night Out?) โ€ข โ€ข โ€ข Now this Oceanโ€™s 8 Premiere invite,allowed us to pick ANY of the prior MET gala themes and translate it,with a PAN-African twist. From Classics like 1978โ€“1979 Diaghilev: Costumes and Designs of the Ballets Russet,1982โ€“1983: La Belle ร‰poque, 1989โ€“1990 The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire,1789โ€“1815 to more contemporary themes like โ€œJacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years in 2001โ€, โ€œCharles James: Beyond Fashion,2014โ€ ,โ€œChina: Through the Looking Glass,2015โ€ 2016: โ€œManus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technologyโ€ 2017: โ€œRei Kawakubo/Comme des Garรงons: Art of the In-Betweenโ€ and most recently 2018 heavenly bodies-fashion and the catholic imagination theme....one thing was clear,we lacked not inspiration.........TBC

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Award-winning TV host and model Idia Aisien, who is of Nigerian and Cameroonian descent, wore a gorgeous metallic gown by Toju Foyeh anda gold headpiece that was designed by OMOGE Collections.

Nigerian singer Waje looked like a golden goddess in this gown by Laura Shitta.

Nigerian actress Osas Ighodaro Ajibade, who also won the Miss Black USA Pageant in 2010, wore a black gown and peacock feathered cape from Africana.

Nigerian actress and filmmaker Omoni Oboli hit the red carpet in a stunning purple off-the-shoulder gown that was designed by Elegante by Tiannah.

Nigerian actress and model Jemima Osunde wore this vibrant yellow gown by Zhenaโ€™s Closet and a gold headpiece by Yetunde Tonade.

Nigerian radio personality and TV host Toke Makinwa wore a black beaded gown by Orapeleng Modutle with a black headpiece by Bespoke Accessories by Urez.

Zimbabwean TV host and executive producer Vimbai Mutinhiri wore a beautiful and colorful strapless ball gown by South African designer Gert-Johan Coetzee.

Actress and filmmaker Lilian Afegbai showed out in this orange peplum ball gown by Nonnistics Fashion

Afua Osei, entrepreneur and co-founder of She Leads Africa, wore this white gown with a gorgeous crown headpiece she created herself.

 
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