Design Week Lagos takes seven Nigerian designers to Paris Design Week 2026

Design Week Lagos is presenting seven Nigerian designers in Paris from Sept. 10-19, 2026, as part of its global All Roads Lead to Lagos program ahead of the festival’s 10th anniversary exhibition in Lagos this October. The move is meant to turn international exposure into manufacturing, collector and market opportunities for African design.

Why it matters: - The Paris showing is part of a broader push to move African design from visibility to commercial opportunity. - Design Week Lagos is using international stages to connect emerging Nigerian talent with galleries, manufacturers, collectors, institutions and brands. - The program arrives ahead of Design Week Lagos’ 10th anniversary edition in Lagos this October.

What happened: - Design Week Lagos is presenting Athanasius Johnson, Adaora Enwonwu, Emma Emodi, Oluwakayinsade Ademuson, Joan Eric-Udorie, Myles Igwebuike and Richard Aina at Paris Design Week 2026 from Sept. 10-19. - The seven designers work across furniture, lighting, sculpture and collectible design. - Their work focuses on African craftsmanship, material innovation and cultural heritage through contemporary design. - Design Week Lagos will show the work inside Paris Design Week Factory. - Paris Design Week Factory brings together more than 150 emerging designers across four galleries. - The Factory presentation is co-curated by Jean-Baptiste Durand and Simon Geringer. - The showcase spans 116 rue de Turenne and Espace Commines. - Paris Design Week itself includes 500 participants across 320 venues in Paris’s four design districts.

The details: - Featured works include Bantu Stool by Joan Eric-Udorie, Ara by Emma Emodi, ISÉPÒ LOW TABLE by Richard Aina and ỌCHE by Myles Igwebuike. - Titi Ogufere, founder of Africa Design Network and Design Week Lagos, said the global tours are meant to create pathways beyond exhibition. - Ogufere said the goal is to place African designers in front of galleries, manufacturers, brands, collectors and institutions. - Ogufere said the Paris stop is already producing tangible outcomes, including the first designer-manufacturer collaborations with Ombré Italian Lighting Manufacturer. - Those collaborations include Athanasius Johnson’s Apo Lamp and Adaora Enwonwu’s Anyanwu Lamp. - The collaboration list also includes a special lighting feature by James Brendan Udom, the Okkyo lamp. - Design Week Lagos said All Roads Lead to Lagos is its global program for championing emerging African design. - The program also aims to build pathways between African creative talent and the international design community. - The April Milan stop featured Richard A. Aina, Olaoluwa AJ Durotoye, Nicole Adaora Enwonwu, Myles Igwebuike, Athanasius Johnson, Odema Acacia Saleh and Joan Eric Udorie. - The Milan presentation placed the designers in front of audiences at one of the world’s most watched design calendars. - The Paris presentation continues the program before it returns to Lagos in October for the 2026 edition of Design Week Lagos.

Between the lines: - The program is not being framed as a one-off exhibition series. - Design Week Lagos is positioning the international stops as a pipeline for talent discovery, visibility and market access. - The festival is also making a wider argument that African design should be treated as a source of ideas, materials and innovation, not as a niche category on the margins. - The repeated movement from Milan to Paris and then Lagos suggests a deliberate strategy to build sustained international recognition around Nigerian and African designers.

What's next: - Design Week Lagos returns to Lagos in October for its 2026 edition. - The Lagos event will center on the theme “Making A New Africa: From Material to Market”. - Designers, creatives, institutions, industry professionals and audiences are expected to gather in Lagos after the Paris run. - The broader All Roads Lead to Lagos program will continue linking African design with global markets and audiences.

The bottom line: - Design Week Lagos is using Paris Design Week 2026 to turn Nigerian design talent into international opportunity ahead of its milestone Lagos anniversary edition.