Nigerian fashion designer Bubu Ogisis, the creative force behind contemporary pan-african fashion label IAMISIGO, has been recognised for her culturally driven artistic vision and announced as a semi-finalist for the 13th edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers.
The prize, created in 2013, now confers 3 awards to designers aged 18 to 40 who have produced at least 2 ready-to-wear collections.
The diverse 2026 long-list includes 20 designers from 17 countries selected from 2400 applicants, and Ogisi's inclusion is the second time a Nigerian has made it this far. In 2014, LVMH selected Adebayo Oke-Lawal’s Orange Culture as a semi-finalist for their Young Fashion Designers Prize and again in 2015. The semi-finalists will showcase their collections in Paris on 4th and 5th March 2026, at the semi-final showroom.
Ogisi has been producing collections since 2009 and was recently the recipient of the Zalando Visionary Award in 2025.
Photo - Zalando
Her Spring Summer 2026 collection, titled Dual Mandate, continues her practice of using African traditions, techniques, and materials - Nigerian raffia and jute, cotton from Uganda and Kenya, and sisal from Tanzania - to produce various textiles and incorporates the body as an additional dimension to unify form and function and tell stories of the past and future. Techniques on display include hand-weaving, chainmail, crochet and glass blowing.
We especially enjoy the use of a chequered print made from honey wax and dyed with henna, the layering of textures using chainmail and beaded bibs, and recycled glass accessories.
Photos - AKJP STUDIO, Cape Town
You can see the collection as shown on the runway at Copenhagen Fashion Week here.
