PARADISE REGAINED: BOYEDOE’S DEFIANT RETURN AT LAGOS FASHION WEEK

At Lagos Fashion Week, Ghanaian label BOYEDOE made a triumphant return to the runway with its Spring/Summer 2026 collection, Paradise Regained, a reflective yet rebellious ode to renewal. Following an impressive year that saw the brand debut at Paris Fashion Week and earn a semi-finalist spot for the LVMH Prize, this presentation marked a full-circle moment. It was both a continuation and a confrontation: a dialogue between what is lost, what is discarded, and what can be reimagined.

“Paradise Regained” takes its name and spirit from the idea of reversal, of reclaiming beauty from decay and meaning from excess. For creative director Michael Boye-Doe, this was not just an aesthetic decision but a declaration. With Ghana’s Kantamanto market, one of the largest secondhand clothing hubs in Africa, serving as both resource and metaphor, the collection questions the global systems that have turned the continent into a dumping ground for fast fashion’s leftovers. Boye-Doe responds by transforming the waste into wearable philosophy: “More is more, especially when it comes to upcycling,” he said. “I wanted to create something that speaks to the soul.”

The collection opened with actress and media personality Lydia Lawrence-Nze, clad in a two-tone trench coat, a fusion of mustard yellow and rich brown, cinched at the waist with layered leather belts. The look, rugged and regal, set the tone for what followed: garments that carried the raw honesty of distress while maintaining a sense of constructed grace.

Models walked in patchwork coordinates, frayed denim trench coats, and deconstructed tailoring, revealing the craftsmanship that has become BOYEDOE’s signature. One standout menswear look featured a color-blocked patchwork set in muted tones of teal, beige, and chestnut, an intricate map of fabric history and handwork. Another, a belted denim coat pieced from vertical strips of recycled jeans, spoke directly to the brand’s ethos of regeneration through texture.

Each piece felt talismanic, designed not merely to be worn, but to arm the wearer. “Paradise Regained” positions itself for eco-conscious changemakers and uncompromising individuals who are constantly rising, redefining, and reinventing themselves. Beyond its materials, the collection champions an attitude: one of courage, circularity, and cultural reclamation.

Through this work, Boye-Doe asserts that fashion’s future lies in reversal and not in returning to the past, but in reimagining its remnants. Paradise Regained becomes both a metaphor and a mission, one that turns loss into legacy, and waste into wonder.