Nigerian model Rachel Ojuromi has emerged as one of the most talked-about rising stars in fashion, marking an incredible milestone in her career after making her runway debut for Chanel during Paris Fashion Week.
The 22-year-old Lagos-born creative walked in Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2027 show at the Grand Palais in Paris on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, marking a full-circle moment after she had previously recreated Chanel’s looks on the streets of Lagos.
In a post shared via Instagram, she dedicated the achievement to her mother, her best friend, Debby, friends, and those who supported her journey, saying the moment was not only about her but about everyone who helped make it possible.
However, Ojuromi’s story did not begin in Paris. Long before she walked for one of the world’s biggest fashion houses, she was creating colorful, unconventional fashion videos with her best friend, stylist, and designer Debby Fasingha, and turning ordinary Lagos locations into her own runway.
How did it begin?
The journey to fame for Rachel Ojuromi started in early 2026 when she started sharing a series of creative fashion videos filmed around Lagos.
Rather than presenting fashion in conventional studio settings, Ojuromi and her creative team took her looks to markets, streets, and other everyday locations where she could be seen confidently strutting and catwalking in bold, colorful outfits while buying vegetables, picking up newspapers, carrying bananas, or simply navigating the city’s busy streets.
Her aesthetic draws heavily from early-2000s fashion, old music videos, Nollywood, and vintage-inspired styling. Many of the clothes are thrifted, taken from her own wardrobe, or created by Debby Fasingha.
Her turning point came when she recreated looks from Chanel’s 2026 Métiers d’Art collection on the streets of Lagos in July. The video went viral, catching the attention of Matthieu Blazy, Chanel’s creative director, who commented “Everything” with a heart emoji under the post.
The rest, they say, is history, as months later, she has gone from recreating Chanel on the streets of Lagos to actually walking for Chanel in Paris.
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4 Things to Know About Rachel Ojuromi
1. She did not originally plan to become a model
Rachel is far more than a runway model; she is a filmmaker, creative director, and passionate advocate for young African artists.
Interestingly, modelling was not initially her main career ambition. She became interested in filmmaking and attended film school. Along the way, she explored writing, communications, and creative direction before eventually embracing modelling as another part of her creative journey.
2. Her mother influenced her relationship with fashion
Fashion was a huge part of Ojuromi’s childhood. Her mother sold clothes and had a keen sense of style, thus exposing her to fashion from an early age.
She has also credited her mother as one of the people who encouraged her to take her modelling ambitions seriously.
3. Her fashion collaboration is with her best friend
Ojuromi’s fashion videos are clearly a joint effort. She collaborates closely with her best friend, stylist, and designer Debby Fasingha, while photographer Odey Ikpä is responsible for the visual content.
The collaboration between Ojuromi and Fasingha began when they met at one of Ojuromi’s film presentations, and their creative partnership grew from there.
4. She champions emerging talent as the founder of Process Africa
In 2023, she founded Process Africa, an arts and culture platform created to spotlight young African creatives, particularly those who may not yet have achieved mainstream recognition.
The platform focuses on the journey behind creative work rather than only celebrating people after they become successful or viral.
Ojuromi was inspired to create it after visiting Ilorin and encountering many young people doing creative work without anyone documenting or amplifying their stories.