Lagos may not be Nigeria’s capital city on paper, but it has always been our de facto capital, thanks to the abundance of businesses in the state. With its reputation, it is no surprise that it hosts some of the most popular fashion schools in Nigeria and even West Africa as a whole.
So, if you’re already in Lagos, you don’t need to look further than the best fashion schools in Lagos to get the best quality of fashion education possible in Nigeria, and as expected, there’s such a huge number of fashion schools in Lagos that knowing which one to attend becomes a chore.
This article aims to help you simplify that ‘chore.’ In this post, I’ll list ten affordable fashion schools in Lagos that impart quality fashion education to students. That way, you can simply select which one ticks the most boxes for you to kick-start your promising fashion career.
Table of Contents
Best Fashion Schools in Lagos
Here are the best fashion schools in Lagos in no particular order.
1. Nobel Afrik Fashion School
If you’ve gone through our best fashion schools in Nigeria list, you may recall Nobel Afrik Fashion School, an institute that promises to impart ‘bespoke fashion training’ to students to help them understand the concepts of dressmaking and clothing construction.
The school markets itself by boasting about its alumni, many of whom are doing well in and Nigeria and abroad. Not many schools can boast of producing recipients of the Nigeria Best Designer award twice, as well as the National President of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria, Kola Kudus (2020).
Nobel Afrik describes its training program as fast and direct, so you can expect to hit the ground running on day one. The school is located at Oguntona Crescent, Gbagada Phase 1, Lagos, and you can also contact them by calling 08023119874.
2. Klassic Fashion Design Academy
Klassic Fashion Design Academy’s (KFDAcademy) fundamental mission is to provide qualitative training to aspiring and experienced fashion designers to help them develop their entrepreneurial skills and make them employable anywhere in the world.
The school runs several courses covering different skills, including fashion photography, pattern drafting, clothing construction, fashion illustration, and fashion modeling. These courses are included in course bundles that you can enroll in for either a basic or advanced certificate in fashion design.
The school’s tuition fees range from N150,000 for the full-time basic fashion design certificate course to N350,000 for the Saturdays-only advanced certificate in fashion design. They have two locations: one in Agege and the other in Ikeja, and the tuition fees vary slightly across both locations, although not by much.
These prices mentioned are subject to change depending on when you are reading this piece.
3. Zapron Fashion School
Zapron Fashion School is one of the newer generation fashion schools in Lagos churning out the next set of fashion professionals for the industry. In addition to running a fully-fledged fashion school, Zapron offers one-on-one fashion consultancy and training, fashion illustration services, and fashion design.
The school has a basic program for beginners in fashion design, an intermediate program for people with some experience looking to level up, and a professional program for fashion designers looking to incorporate computer-aided designs into their workflow. The professional program also sets students up for fashion entrepreneurship by teaching them business plan writing, among others.
Zapron Fashion School has two locations in Lagos: one beside NNPC at Majek, and the other at Bamidele Eletu Street, Osapa London, in Lekki. You can also contact them via email at info@zapronfashions.com or by calling 08037764827.
4. Rhoda Michaels Fashion Institute
Rhoda Michaels Fashion Institute is one of the biggest fashion schools in Lagos that built its brand entirely on fashion education. With a culture of stringent admission requirements and a unique hands-on syllabus, it’s no surprise that this school is pulling students in their numbers.
The academy operates an open house policy, making it possible for anyone, even without an appointment, to show up at the academy and check out its rigorous learning processes; anyone operating a school in any field understands how difficult that is to implement.
Unlike most other fashion brands that ride on the backs of their celebrity founders, Rhoda Michaels Fashion School uses a unique strategy of showcasing its students’ achievements. With a website filled with pictures of students in different African and global fashion shows, why wouldn’t you want to attend this excellent fashion school?
5. OSC Fashion Academy
OSC (One Stop Celebration) Fashion Academy is one of the very best in Lagos, not because of its popularity or course variety, but because of the attention to detail that went into establishing the institution. It’s one of the few fashion schools in Lagos with hostel space for learners from outside the state, which is a big deal.
OSC Fashion Academy also provides 24/7 internet connection to students, complete with a functional 40kVa generator set to ensure power outage doesn’t disrupt learning. There’s also free parking space for students, a tiny detail most other fashion schools in Lagos tend to ignore.
OSC Fashion Academy runs a variety of courses, all with varying terms and prices. After taking any of the academy’s programs, you may get a placement in their in-house garment-making factory, offering you valuable experience in fashion design other schools don’t provide.
6. Zaris Fashion and Style Academy
Zaris Fashion Academy runs a compartmentalized syllabus structure that makes it possible for students of all levels to learn fashion design with peers of a similar skill level. This school was established in 2011, and over the years, it has managed to train thousands in fashion design, fashion modeling, fashion photography, and other fashion disciplines, establishing itself as one of the best fashion schools in Lagos.
The academy has five broad courses: two in the beginner category and three in the advanced category. In the beginner courses, Zaris Academy introduces you to basic tailoring and hand sewing, electronic machine usage, and the basics of fashion entrepreneurship.
You don’t have to start from the introductory courses; if you have any experience in tailoring, you can jump directly into the advanced courses where you learn creative designing for fashion and the use of computer-aided design software (CAD) in fashion design.
Despite providing students with one of the most robust fashion educations obtainable in Nigeria, Zaris Fashion Academy manages to keep prices low, making it one of the best but most affordable fashion schools in Lagos.
7. LegsApparel
If you’ve done any prior research before stumbling upon this guide, you should already know what Legsapparel Fashion School is. Unlike most other fashion schools in Lagos, Legsapparel focuses more on the design aspect of fashion design, so it’s more of a design school than a fashion school.
However, the academy’s focus on design doesn’t mean you won’t have to touch a sewing machine throughout your stay at the school. Legsapparel’s basic program teaches you measurement, the basics of the use of manual and industrial sewing machines, and different sewing techniques.
It’s only when you level up to the intermediate and advanced programs that you start taking courses in computer-aided design (CAD), color theory, and fashion illustrations.
Legsapparel partners with some reputable organizations, including the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Seedstars, and YouWin. They have locations in Abuja, Port-Harcourt, and, of course, Lagos, with the Lagos branch being the de facto headquarters.
8. Valisimo Fashion School
Despite not having a heavy online presence, Valisimo Fashion School runs one of the most affordable fashion schools in Lagos, while managing to remain competitive with the bigger brands. The school launched back in 2010 and has managed to train thousands of students in basic and advanced fashion design programs.
Like most other entries on this list, Valisimo has different courses to cater to people of different budgetary and time constraints. There’s a three-month course, a six-month course, and a twelve-month course, all with different costs.
Students from Valisimo Fashion School have frequent showcases at popular Nigerian fashion shows, opening them up to the realities of working in the wider fashion world. You can reach out to the school’s management through their phone numbers: 08096577157 and 07083414341.
9. GMYT Fashion Academy
Like Rhoda Michaels Fashion Institute, GMYT’s marketing material is also heavy on testimonials from alumni, which I generally see as a good thing. The school also describes itself as the leading fashion academy in the whole of West Africa, a statement I’ll describe as a bit of an over-exaggeration.
GMYT Fashion Academy has a so-called virtual tour of their facilities in the form of a YouTube video, and if the video accurately depicts reality, the school’s facilities are quite good. They also operate an open-door policy, so you can always walk in to check their facilities, even if you’re not a student.
The academy has a variety of programs, divided into regular programs and short courses. Intermediate or experienced fashion designers looking to level up can take any of the short courses that take anywhere from six weeks to three months to complete. In short, GMYT Fashion Academy is one of the best fashion schools in Lagos, although many of its courses don’t fall into the affordable category.
10. ABSL Fashion Institute
ABSL Fashion Institute is one of the newer-generation fashion schools in Lagos to offer quality training that allows students to excel in the fashion design field. Located at Idowu Ajao Street in Ajao Estate, Maryland, this institute is one to consider if you stay around that axis.
ABSL uses a curriculum targeted at different sets of people: from time-constrained beginners looking for a crash course they can complete within five weeks to NYSC members looking to pick up fashion design during their service year.
The institute’s leadership consists of a team of three: Mrs. Aderonke Jayeola, the Head of Textile Science, Mr. Raphael M., in charge of fashion illustrations, and the CEO and pattern-making don, Mrs. Adedoyin Sonubi. You can reach out to the school for inquiries by calling them at 08180005111. It may be young and relatively inexperienced, but it’s quickly setting itself up to become one of the best fashion schools in Lagos.
Conclusion
There are enough fashion schools in Lagos to go around, but you don’t want to find yourself in a low-quality ‘anyhow’ institution. For the best fashion education that sets you up for an exciting future in the industry, our recommendations on the best fashion schools in Lagos are unavoidable.
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