How Grace Ladoja’s Homecoming Captures The Fusion Of Fashion And Culture In Nigeria – Essence

Grace Ladoja is a cultural curator whose seven-year-old festival, Homecoming, embodies that spirit standing at the crossroads of music, fashion, art, and sports. Through it, Ladoja is bringing Nigerian culture to the global forefront. Homecoming has worked with rising stars like Olaolu Slawn, esteemed designer Mowalola, and global artist Rema while continuing to spotlight the next generation by cultivating a community where success feels inevitable.

This year, Ladoja used Homecoming as a launchpad for her latest venture: a concept store that marks the festival’s first permanent space. Over the weekend, the store came to life with pop-ups from brands like Free The Youth, Ambush, Tia Adeola, Mowalola, Stüssy, and more. 

Instead of fully building it out right away, she’s turning it into a dynamic cultural incubator, inviting hair artists, fashion designers, singers, and more to activate the space and shape its identity over the next six months. The full buildout is set for completion by November, just in time for Nigeria’s vibrant “Detty December” season.

In collaboration with the brands, the creative minds and tastemakers behind them led panels and workshops throughout the day. Attendees were free to come and go, gaining valuable insights from masterclasses, workshops, and more. The programming spanned multiple industries, including sports, design, tech, and music, and featured notable figures such as Yoon Ahn, the co-founder, and creative director of Ambush, Angelo Baque, the founder behind Awake NY, photographer Gabriel Moses, and others.

They also introduced an interactive sports element, unveiling a fresh football concept inspired by the re-release of Nike’s iconic T90. The competition featured star-studded teams, The Plug, Native, Street Souk, Waf, Motherlan, and Homecoming, battling it out in a high-energy, free-flowing showdown. The excitement peaked with a surprise appearance from football legend Jay-Jay Okocha, adding even more buzz to the action-packed event.

“I opened up my first concept store. It sounds crazy, but it’s real,” Lodja shared with ESSENCE. “I’m going to use the next six months to do testing and this probably sums up with community means to me. I’m [also] going to use the next six months to ideate that space with the community it’s going to serve. So I am going to let them feed in. I’ve got a framework of what I want to do but I want [to] form it with the community so they can take some ownership in it,” she added.

Homecoming’s greatest strength lies in its ability to nurture and uplift a community. It’s built on collaboration, with members leaning on each other for knowledge, resources, and support—growing stronger together. From the start, Homecoming set out to draw more people to Nigeria, shining a light on the talent rooted there. 

Born in the UK, Ladoja first visited Nigeria 16 years ago and instantly felt at home, which inspired her to name the initiative “Homecoming.” She understood the importance of investing in one’s roots and saw herself as a bridge, connecting Nigeria to London. Identifying with both communities, she is dedicated to highlighting the significance of cultural exchange and empowering both to thrive.

Emphasizing unity and equal representation, the inaugural festival broke the mold by eliminating VIP sections—everyone was on the same level. Instead of headlining acts, big names were woven throughout the lineup, creating a shared experience unlike anything other festivals had done.

“We did our first activation with Slawn at the store for his shoe there. Which is so beautiful because Slawn’s story and mine is very unique,” Ladoja shared. “We found him at Homecoming when he was 15, and we took him to London and we’ve been on this journey with him since.” She recalls how intentional discovering him was and notes that she was moved to tears that day. 

During this point of our conversation, Ladoja also explains how it feels to have begun with grassroots efforts and built upon these roots over the years. She then expresses that the entire building process has been beautiful. “Now we are in my store and I am launching [his shoe] and to be on that journey with someone like that is special.”  

Homecoming is more than just a festival or a concept store, it’s a framework, as Ladoja describes it, designed to elevate Nigerian culture on a global scale and adaptable to promote culture worldwide. While African culture is now in the global spotlight, Ladoja and Homecoming were ahead of the curve, recognizing something far beyond this recent surge. 

Though Homecoming has been around since 2018, it has quietly made waves over the years, activating in cities like Lagos, Ibiza, Miami, Houston, Atlanta, Paris, and more. Moving forward, they remain committed to advancing culture and fostering global connections.