Pinstripes, Top Hats & Coral Beads: See How the Men Did High Fashion for BellaNaija at 20

Shawn Faqua, Larry Hector, and Yemi Cregx presenting three distinct menswear interpretations of the High Fashion Icon brief.

Pinstripes, Victorian tailoring, jacquard, coral beads and a very serious amount of headwear. The men at BellaNaija’s 20th anniversary Grand Red Carpet Experience clearly had their own ideas about what High Fashion Icon should look like, and they were not all heading in the same direction. Shawn Faqua went vintage, Larry Hector brought Victorian tailoring to the carpet, Yemi Cregx played with colour and proportion, while Sydney Ihonu looked to Eastern Nigerian royal regalia for his take on the theme.

The looks were part of a much bigger fashion story at the BellaNaija at 20 Grand Red Carpet Experience, where celebrities, creatives and industry figures came together to celebrate two decades of BellaNaija. With High Fashion Iconas the theme, the carpet became a place for guests to have fun with shape, tailoring, texture and personal style. While the ladies stepped out in everything from sculptural gowns to corseted suits and dramatic headpieces, the men brought their own interpretations to the brief.

Veekee James, Mercy Eke, and Prudent Gabriel attend the BellaNaija 20th Anniversary Grand Red Carpet Experience.

First up, Shawn Faqua went straight for old-school tailoring in a pinstriped three-piece suit. The wide crossover lapels gave the jacket a strong shape, while the structured button placement and broad trousers leaned into the proportions of classic menswear. He finished the look with a matching tie, dark sunglasses, a charcoal fedora and a walking cane, taking the vintage reference all the way through rather than stopping at the suit.

Shawn Faqua wearing a vintage-inspired pinstriped three-piece suit with wide crossover lapels for the High Fashion Icon theme.

Then there was Larry Hector, whose Victorian-inspired black tailcoat brought an entirely different mood to the carpet. The coat featured broad peak lapels and traditional button placement, worn with a white collar, black bow tie and black gloves. He added a tall black top hat to extend the silhouette upwards, while a crimson red feather boa fell across his shoulder, breaking up the black tailoring with a burst of colour and texture.

Larry Hector wearing a Victorian-inspired black tailcoat paired with a crimson feather boa for the High Fashion Icon theme.

Yemi Cregx took a softer route, working with blush, black and metallic tones. His iridescent blush jacquard blazer sat over a high-collared black shirt, complete with a structured neck wrap and pleated waist vest. He paired the top half with charcoal wide-leg flared trousers, rectangular sunglasses and a black leather handbag, creating a look built around contrast: soft colour against dark tailoring, fitted details against wider proportions.

Yemi Cregx interpreting the High Fashion Icon brief at the BellaNaija 20th anniversary celebration in a blush metallic jacquard blazer layered over a black high-collared shirt with a neck wrap, pleated vest, and wide-leg trousers.

Sydney Ihonu brought culture directly into his interpretation of High Fashion Icon, stepping onto the red carpet in an Eastern Nigerian royal ensemble. His look began with a deep burgundy undertunic beneath a golden-beige woven cape, cut with broad angular shoulders and finished with burgundy trim. From there, he layered on the details: a burgundy velvet cap topped with twin white feathers, red coral beads around his neck, matching wrist cuffs and a traditional hand-woven fur fan.

Sydney Ihonu wearing an Eastern Nigerian royal ensemble with coral beads and a feathered cap for BellaNaija at 20.

That mix of fashion and heritage gave Sydney’s look a very different place on the carpet. While the other men played with vintage tailoring, unusual proportions and rich fabrics, he used royal regalia as the foundation, bringing a distinctly Nigerian reference into the evening’s high-fashion conversation.

From Shawn Faqua’s pinstriped three-piece and Larry Hector’s top-hat-and-feather-boa combination to Yemi Cregx’s wide-leg proportions and Sydney Ihonu’s royal-inspired styling, the BellaNaija at 20 red carpet gave Nigerian menswear plenty of room to explore the High Fashion Icon brief in their own ways.

See more looks below

Denrele Edun wearing a bright yellow floral-embroidered suit with an avant-garde feathered headpiece at BellaNaija at 20.

Henry Orakwue wearing a white longline coat and black wide trousers for the High Fashion Icon theme at BellaNaija at 20.

OC Ukeje styled in a dark textured sleeveless tunic vest for the BellaNaija Grand Red Carpet Experience.

Actor and TV host Uti Nwachukwu attending the BellaNaija at 20 Grand Red Carpet Experience in a teal blue double-breasted suit featuring an extended pointed shirt collar, wide-cut trousers, and tinted round sunglasses.

Designer Emmy Collins London attending the BellaNaija at 20 Grand Red Carpet Experience in an asymmetric teal blue double-breasted longline jacket with green tartan plaid detailing, paired with a green dress shirt, tartan tie, tinted glasses, and a burgundy fedora hat.

Shamz Garba opting for geometric tailoring at the BellaNaija at 20 celebration, wearing a brown and cream checkerboard patterned mandarin-collar jacket paired with brown wide-leg trousers.

Kola Omotosho making a bold colour statement at the BellaNaija at 20 Grand Red Carpet Experience in a royal blue ensemble featuring an exaggerated pointed collar, matching blazer, and wide-cut trousers.

Media personality Elozonam interpreting the High Fashion Icon theme at the BellaNaija Grand Red Carpet Experience in a grey windowpane plaid double-breasted jacket styled over a bare chest with a pearl necklace, white rose lapel flower, and white trousers.

Folagade Banks wearing a black velvet tuxedo jacket trimmed with white pearl embellishments for the High Fashion Icon theme.

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