The Homecoming Concept store launched with a range of activations, including an inflatable installation celebrating the collaboration between Nike and Slawn.
The pathway to the Homecoming Concept Store is narrow and unassuming before opening up to a large compound where a one-story, black brick and glass building sits with a quiet authority. Set in a verdant neighborhood in Lagos' affluent Victoria Island, this store, which also doubles as a creative center, is the physical extension of an idea that has been running for nine years.
The store was ideated by Grace Ladoja (MBE), the founder of the Homecoming Festival, a multi-day event in Lagos, Nigeria, that seeks to bridge the gap between creatives in Nigeria and their counterparts from the diaspora. Across three to four days, guests are treated to art tours, pop-up events showcasing the best local Nigerian-made streetwear, community activations, and a highly anticipated music concert. Since the festival launched nine years ago, it has partnered with existing spaces, curating events that last only a few days and leave little to no trace behind after the festival. But as the festival nears a decade, having pushed the Nigerian creative scene forward in various ways, Ladoja says it made sense to finally dig some roots and have a part of the festival that will exist all year. A space that "centralizes everything," as she puts it.
For Grace Ladoja, this space centralizes everything the Homecoming Festival has been doing for the Nigerian creative scene since 2018.
Photo by Tonii Lens
"I think it's really good to show up at key moments, like Easter or December, but that's not my vibe. I'm more of an always-on person," Ladoja tells OkayAfrica. "For the last four years, we've been looking at different options for how this can come to life. We thought, 'Should we take over the top floor of a department store?' We had different routes we were trying to pursue, and none of them stuck."
When Ladoja learned about what is now the new Homecoming space, the building was run-down, flooded, and had no roof. Still, "I walked through the gate, [and] I knew this is exactly where we needed to be."
Launched in 2017 with its first official event in 2018, Homecoming has facilitated the emergence and incubation of Nigerian artists from various sectors. Its music stage regularly features emerging acts, and its fashion events have helped push local brands to the forefront, directly introducing them to buyers from within and outside the continent.
A cultural center
The Homecoming space launched with a pop-up event at this year's Homecoming Festival. As often happens during the festival every year, the pop-up primarily featured local streetwear and fashion brands. Pith, DyeLab, NBDA, Meji Meji, and many others lined the walls and shelves inside the store. Outside, a customization booth operated next to a live weaving station. But for Ladoja, the vision is much bigger than a concept store. The goal is to build a cultural center, a tactile complement to the Homecoming ethos.
"I grew up in the era of traveling and going to stores like Colette or Fragment in Japan, and these concept stores are more than just clothes. It's a way to activate the community. And I feel like we have such a good community. We need a permanent home to connect with them and give them space to do things."
"We need a permanent home to connect with them and give them space to do things as well."
Photo by Tonii Lens
The space also has a braiding salon and a radio station, along with the store. Ladoja envisions hosting a range of creative and community-focused ideas that will enliven the country's creative ecosystem.
Feyisola "Kulupsy" Ogunbanjo, the programming and production manager for the Homecoming radio station, hopes the station will guide the country's vast creative landscape. To launch the station, “we explored music from the past and futuristic sounds as well. What we wanted to do was represent the whole of Nigeria as much as possible," she tells OkayAfrica.
Kulupsy believes that the radio station embodies the core of Homecoming - a meeting ground for diverse cultures, a point where collective understanding can be reached and amplified. "I think that there are a lot of fusions in terms of music and people borrowing from the past to the present. I want people to understand that the radio is for everyone and creativity has no limit."
"We're programmed every day to give new talent, as well as established talent, a space to do what they want," Ladoja adds. "The whole space is, as you can see, it feels a bit like a gallery. So we can have art exhibitions, we'll have a cafe, and we'll activate constantly. We'll have a retail component upstairs, but there'll be content activations downstairs and takeovers monthly."
"How do we show the power of our community?" was the driving question for Grace Ladoja while ideating the homecoming concept store.
Photo by Tonii Lens
In this new phase, Ladoja has returned to the theme that birthed Homecoming: the engineering community. "The whole thing is based on, 'How do we show the power of our community?' That is sometimes overlooked here. It's not fintech or oil and gas. But if you can centralize it and show its power, that's what's exciting for me."
