London, United Kingdom (Running Africa) — African and African-diaspora designers brought distinct expressions of culture, identity and craftsmanship to London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2027, with Mowalola Ogunlesi, Kanyinsola Onalaja, Tolu Coker, Foday Dumbuya and Priya Ahluwalia among the names shaping the season.

Running from September 17 to 21, London Fashion Week SS27 featured collections and presentations across the British capital, highlighting designers whose work draws on African heritage and multicultural experiences.

Mowalola Presents SS27 Collection in Westminster

Nigerian-born designer Mowalola Ogunlesi presented her Spring/Summer 2027 collection on September 18, continuing the provocative approach that has defined her namesake label.

The show took place inside a grand Westminster building, a shift from some of the unconventional settings associated with her previous presentations.

Kanyinsola Onalaja Makes London Fashion Week Debut

For Nigerian designer Kanyinsola Onalaja, SS27 marked her official London Fashion Week debut under extraordinary circumstances.

Just two months earlier, a fire destroyed more than a decade of her work, including collections, fabrics, samples and archives.

Her phoenix-inspired “Re: Birth” collection emerged from that experience, combining themes of renewal with the elaborate embroidery and embellishment that characterize her label.

Tolu Coker Explores Identity and Social Mobility

British-Nigerian designer Tolu Coker used her SS27 presentation to examine social mobility, identity and movement between different worlds.

Coker’s wider creative practice draws heavily on diasporic Black identity, combining fashion with storytelling and other disciplines to explore personal and collective experiences.

LABRUM London Blends West African and British Influences

Sierra Leonean-British designer Foday Dumbuya, founder of LABRUM London, continued to bring West African cultural influences into conversation with British tailoring.

Dumbuya’s work reflects an upbringing spanning Sierra Leone, Cyprus and London, with migration, heritage and cultural exchange central to the label’s identity.

Ahluwalia Connects Nigerian and Indian Heritage

Designer Priya Ahluwalia also represents the multicultural character of London fashion, combining her Nigerian and Indian heritage with influences from the city.

Through her label Ahluwalia, the designer explores connections between African and Asian diasporic cultures and contemporary British fashion.

Together, the designers reinforced the growing visibility of African and diaspora perspectives at London Fashion Week, bringing heritage, migration and identity into one of the global fashion industry’s major showcases.