If you happened to be around Kensington on Friday 7 or Saturday 8 August, you might have seen some exquisitely dressed men, women and children making their way towards the Olympia exhibition centre for Africa Fashion Week London.

Photography: Monika Schaible

AFWL was founded by British-Nigerian lawyer Ronke Ademiluyi, and since its creation in 2011 has hosted four catwalk events, showcasing over 300 designers to almost 45,000 visitors including buyers, retailers and journalists.

Photography: Josh Daniels

More than just a fashion show, the team made good use of the space at Kensington Olympia, allowing designers to exhibit and sell their wares from stalls and inviting singers to perform for the crowd over the two days.

I worked as one of the models and walked the catwalk in outfits inspired by South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and beyond.

Photography: Monika Schaible

The guests included dignitaries, bloggers, journalists and fashionistas, you could hardly move for street style photographers and swarming TV crews, including BBC Africa and BET International.

Meanwhile backstage was just as lively; hair and make-up teams, including the talented artists under Abbie May Hopkins, worked to get each of the models looking camera-ready while photographers pulled models aside, keen to get exclusive shots before we went on stage.

Photography: Africa Fashion Week London/Facebook

Of course as a self-confessed product junkie, I had my eyes on the products, and was impressed by the Fashion Fair foundation and Motions holding spray.

With 43 designers showcasing across Friday and Saturday’s shows, it was pretty manic. But the backstage team, headed up by Sola Oyebade and Lola Royle kept everything running smoothly.

Photography: Chkorev Photography

See you next year?

Check out some more photographs of the gorgeous designs in the articles below:

In Pictures: African fashion comes to London — BBC News

Africa Fashion Week London 2015 From The Lens Of Glenn Osei-Gyimah — Okay Africa

Africa Fashion Week London: Photos from 2015 edition — Pulse.ng