Afrik Fashion Week 2026: Abidjan Lights Up the Catwalks — “Materials and Creativity”, November 11–15!

It is official, and she says it herself: “Côte d'Ivoire will host Afrik Fashion Week from November 11 to 15, 2026 — an unmissable event that has been running for many years now, as we are at its 18th edition.” Isabelle Anoh, promoter and driving force of the gathering, has unveiled the programme of an edition themed “Materials and Creativity” — and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire's economic capital, is getting ready to make continental haute couture sparkle for five days.

“Materials and Creativity”: the 2026 bet

The theme is no mere slogan. “This choice comes naturally, because our countries abound in an immense variety of textiles,” Isabelle Anoh explains. “It was essential for us to shine a light on them through the talent of our designers, to showcase their know-how starting from our raw materials and our traditional weavings, while energising the whole fashion industry.” Woven loincloth, bazin, bogolan, kente: African materials will be the stars of the catwalks, married to the demands of global trends.

Her conviction is clear: “Today, the continent is asserting itself more and more as a major fashion destination, deconstructing the received idea that elegance and haute couture belonged exclusively to the European model.” And she adds: “I truly believe Africa is now taking the place it deserves on the international fashion scene.”

Isabelle Anoh, the woman who built the gathering

A journalist and communications specialist, Isabelle Anoh founded the event in 2005: first a fashion TV show, then the “Tendance Party”, which became the “Afrik Fashion Show” and, from the 16th edition, “Afrik Fashion Week”. Seventeen editions have already sent the big names and the rising hopes of African couture down the runway — and established Abidjan as a crossroads where fashion is thought about as much as it is shown.

“When we started, people did not yet speak of a real Fashion Week in Africa,” she recalls. “Over time, the phenomenon grew, and today every African country has at least one.” Her outlook: “Our designers are talented. We have managed to equip ourselves with quality equipment, and we are now moving into ready-to-wear, after being confined to made-to-measure for a long time.” What remains, she says, is “the real problem”: financing the sector — “the key point” to produce in series, to international standards, and conquer the world market.

An edition resolutely turned toward business

The 2026 edition embraces that ambition. Its scientific and strategic strand, built with the Ivorian state scheme Fin-Culture, aims to “bring designers out of isolation and foster their professionalisation”: a panel will present the support mechanisms for local brands, and an expert will share the keys to managing and structuring a fashion company. On the catwalks, emblematic figures — Ibrahim Fernandez is announced — will rub shoulders with the new generation, in a deliberate bet on mentorship and transmission.

And there is the novelty the promoter highlights: “One of this edition's particularities is the integration of the Fashion Networking evening. It is designed precisely so that fashion players can meet, exchange and get to know one another. The most important thing is not only to put on the show, but to come and seize all the essential opportunities that allow us to develop our activity. This edition is resolutely turned toward business.” Without forgetting, she adds, “the discovery of the women who weave the local loincloth”.

Abidjan, a capital that owns it

Recent editions have taken up residence at the Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire and its Palais des Congrès in Cocody — the setting of Abidjan fashion's great nights. For 2026, Isabelle Anoh's invitation doubles as a programme: “I invite you, from November 11 to 15, to come to Côte d'Ivoire and discover this magnificent country, this Sublime Côte d'Ivoire. Come and discover its fashion, meet its designers, learn — and share our way of being and our know-how.” Festival TV will be there — and is telling the story right now, in the festival's complete mini-site: catwalk gallery, the promoter's full interview and a special report on air.