There’s something unmistakable about a photograph by Adebayo Jolaoso. Maybe it’s the way he captures fabric in motion—fluid, architectural, alive. Or the way his lens lingers on Black skin, not as a trend but as a truth.
Jolaoso’s work is deliberate, reverent, and distinctly Nigerian—authentic without ever trying too hard.
Raised in Lagos and trained in sociology, Adebayo’s fascination with people and culture was always going to lead him to the image. But it’s in fashion—its exaggerations, its elegance, its drama—that he found his perfect canvas. Over the years, he has quietly built a body of work that not only celebrates Nigerian designers and models but also questions how we perceive and who gets seen. His photographs have graced the pages of Thisday Style, Nataal Media, Schick, Africa Is Now, and more, and he’s worked with everyone from Lisa Folawiyo to Adidas, Mavin Records to Mai Atafo.
Now, with the launch of his debut coffee table book, Eclectic, Adebayo isn’t just compiling his archive—he’s making a statement. A statement about beauty, about representation, and about what it means to document Nigerian fashion on its own terms. In this intimate conversation with Ayo Lawal, he talks about the making of Eclectic, the photographers who shaped his lens, and the future he sees for fashion storytelling in Africa.
Let’s start from the beginning—what first drew you to the world of photography, and how did fashion become your lens of choice?
Photography is something I accidentally stumbled upon years ago. It all started with my older sister taking selfies on her pink Nokia flip phone. I had always wondered how she managed to get the right images, so when she got a new phone, she handed over her pink Nokia phone to me. I started taking photos of myself to recreate what she was doing. One day, I decided to take a photo of our living room and the ceiling, and then the idea started to take pictures of everything except myself.
The fashion side of things was influenced by my parents, especially my mum. My mum had a lot of fashion magazines around the house, from British Vogue to Tatler and even Arise Magazine. I remember flipping through those magazines and liking the images, but not thinking much of it. However, over time, I began to gravitate towards these images as I started to get curious about photography, and that’s how it all began.
You’ve called Eclectic a deeply personal project. What was the moment or experience that planted the first seed for this six-year journey?
In 2018, I had photographed a show, and it felt like nothing I’ve ever seen in my life. The rush, the chaos, the conflict, the creativity, the nuances, and the passion was just something amazing to watch. I believed there was a larger story to tell after I took those photos; I didn’t want them to just be another Instagram post. I genuinely felt this was a story here. A story of beauty, not curated beauty, just raw and unfiltered, and I wanted to document that. In 2019, I began to approach things more intentionally and with greater immersion. I surrendered myself to the process of looking for moments, emotions, beauty, and creativity. That’s really how the journey started.
Backstage at fashion shows is often chaotic, intimate, and unfiltered—what draws you to this hidden space behind the runway?
The answer is within your question itself. The chaos, the intimacy, and the unfiltered, unpredictable nature of the environment really drew me in. You never know what you’ll get or who you’ll meet, and that makes it even more exciting. There’s so much going on, and even though I captured a lot through the years, there are also moments I couldn’t capture and could never get back, and this made me more versatile in my methodology and approach to capturing backstage.
Eclectic” is not just a book; it’s an archive, an exhibition, a statement. What do you hope readers and viewers walk away with after experiencing this body of work?
Eclectic has something for everyone. It’s a visual archive that showcases our growth as an industry and group. It’s also a visual love letter to the industry, as these images were captured with empathy and care. It’s also a statement because it’s a story for us by us. I know I can’t control what people will see when they experience this body of work, but my hope is to leave everyone inspired and making sure this is a gateway to our creativity and beauty.
There’s a clear emotional thread running through eclectic, from anticipation to exhaustion to joy. How do you capture these fleeting, honest moments without intruding on them?
Aside from speed and paying a lot of attention, I think it’s important to immerse yourself in the process. You have to become one with the people who you’re working with. It shows a little in the end product when you’re detached from what you’re photographing. I’ve built strong friendships and long-lasting relationships with the people I’ve photographed in this environment, and most importantly, I approach it with a lot of empathy and patience. There’s a lot to capture, but you can’t rush the process.
You’ve documented fashion weeks like Lagos Fashion Week, GTBank Fashion Weekend, and Arise Fashion Week. How would you describe Lagos as a character in this visual narrative?
Lagos is a blend of it all, the positive and the negative. There’s chaos, and there’s calm, there’s conventional beauty, and there’s also unconventional beauty. I think this project doesn’t seek to create a narrative, but instead serves as a gateway into what we really are in the fashion space in Lagos. These shows you’ve mentioned have done a phenomenal job in highlighting and giving a platform to some of the most talented creatives from Africa. Lagos has always been a trade hub and a cultural melting pot, and it has also become a fashion capital. That narrative can’t be altered or forced. It just is what it is.
Representation seems to be a recurring theme in your work. Why is it important to document African fashion and black beauty from an insider’s perspective?
I strongly believe representation matters. For years, there has always been a way we are depicted internationally, which has a fetishising feeling. The depiction of fashion and beauty here had gotten a buzz globally, but it represented our creativity and beauty through a lens of fantasy and a rough aesthetic. I thought that was limiting and a very narrow way to see African and Nigerian fashion. Creativity exists, and craftsmanship exists. There were multiple variations of women and men that look great in different forms, and I wanted an eclectic project to capture that. I think theres a way someone who’s part of the culture will capture the culture intimately as opposed someone withnessing it from the exterior, for instance, a person who’s not Nigerian will never understand how difficult it is to work in power outages and see the resilience it took to complete a collection or how a model or assistant couldnt find a bus early because of one reason or the other to get to a show or fitting and still show up correct with full energy. Nobody can understand the intricacies it takes for us to show up like we do.
Your style combines art with documentary realism. How do you strike the balance between aesthetic beauty and authenticity?
I think the technical skills it takes to use photography as a medium to tell an artistic story matter, but I also think you need to feel what you’re photographing to know what to look for or what to photograph. I always had it in mind to document humans as well as human progress and contribute to the visual language, along with an Archive of what fashion in Nigeria really looks like. However, I also love fashion, and you can see that in how I captured garments and details in this project. I also believe that while documenting the real world, there’s also beauty around us, whether it’s effortless or curated; it’s all still there, and it’s magnificent. So, while I set out to capture great clothes and creatives at work, I also discovered how beautiful we really are and what beautiful things we were creating. I think things naturally balance themselves out when you also stop overthinking it and just enjoy and be part of what you’re documenting.
What were some of the challenges you faced in compiling six years of work into a single cohesive project like Eclectic?
The biggest challenge we faced was narrowing down the photos. This was because, through the years, I had captured thousands of images, and I also didn’t want to be biased and pick only images I would love, so it was difficult letting some images go. Another tough part was striking a balance between images with lots of emotion and stories, and those with images that are strictly focused on beauty and some vanity. We had to look for what was contrasting and what was complementing.
The designers of the book (John Asuquo) and I worked really closely on this project for 2 years and some change, and there were days we were both super tired and had other things going on in our lives, but I think the idea itself and how ambitious it was kept us going. It was the first of its kind here, and it needed to be done well. This in itself was a challenge. However, we really believed in what we were doing.
The eclectic exhibition had a strong response—over 300 guests, rich conversations, and deep engagement. How did it feel to see your work resonate with so many?
It felt great. I was ecstatic. Seeing people I know and complete strangers walk in and take home with them such a profound experience and story was something beyond beautiful. I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who showed up, my team, and the gallery, who we worked together on this. Most importantly, I’m glad it started a conversation, a conversation around celebrating us in real time, people in the fahsion space are not immune to human experiences, our creative die, go through depression, job hop to look for better income and also live life and i thinks important we celebrate our work and what we’ve contributed, no matter how little.
Looking ahead, what’s next? Are there more stories you’re hoping to tell, or is there another chapter of Eclectic still to come?
There’s more to come, but I have to leave it as a surprise for everyone. However, just know we’re cooking and it won’t disappoint.
