Rachel Ojuromi had reportedly never left Africa before she travelled to Paris for Chanel SS27. As recently as May, the 22-year-old was an operations intern in Lagos filming thrifted fit checks, and on 5 October she walked the Grand Palais runway for Matthieu Blazy.
Within months, she and her best friend, Debby Fasingha, a stylist and designer, had recreated Chanel's Métiers d'Art looks using second-hand clothes, and Blazy responded in the comments. Her story shows how far a sharp eye, a thrift rail and a phone camera can take you.
Who Is Rachel Ojuromi?
Rachel Ojuromi is a Nigerian model and creative director who posts as @giverachelashot on Instagram. Her fit-check videos took off this spring, turning everyday Lagos errands into catwalk moments with a look that mixes 2000s music-video glamour with classic Nollywood.
The videos are a team effort. Debby, a designer in her own right, styles the looks and makes some of the pieces, while photographer Odey Ikpa shoots the work. Rachel has called Debby one of the greatest designers out there.
By her own account, roughly half of what she wears comes from Yaba Market, where she has shopped for years. She says her love of fashion came from her mother, who has always sold clothes and accessories.
She also founded The Process Africa three years ago, a platform that spotlights young creatives in fashion, film and the visual arts. She opens her Lagos home to other creatives to stay, work and shoot in. She says young Africans can share their work with the world regardless of the resources they have.
How Did Chanel Find Her?
The Chanel moment grew out of an old habit. Rachel says she and Debby have long thrifted in the markets and watched runway shows together.
They recreated Métiers d'Art 2026 looks from second-hand finds and shot them around Lagos, including on the Red Line rail overpass in Yaba. She has said she admires how Blazy makes grand ideas easy to digest, and her videos do something similar.
Then Blazy commented, 'Everything,' under the video, with a red heart, and the invitation to Paris followed.
Is Chanel's Casting of Rachel Ojuromi a New Trend?
The SS27 show was the third chapter of Blazy's 'The Conversation,' which retraces Gabrielle Chanel's life across different eras. His show notes describe women as 'different faces of the same coin.'
Rachel offers another reading: a Lagos interpretation of Chanel, built from Yaba Market finds and now walking alongside the fashion house's own designs.
She also fits a wider Blazy pattern. Awar Odhiang closed his debut Chanel show, and Bhavitha Mandava became the first Indian model to open a Chanel Métiers d'Art show last December. Rachel joins a run of fresh faces Blazy has launched on his biggest stages.
What's Next for Rachel Ojuromi?
Her invitation followed a run of videos and a platform she had spent three years building, not a single clip. That groundwork now has a far bigger stage behind it.
She is now represented by agencies in New York, Paris and London, according to BellaNaija. The Process Africa also gives her a platform to keep spotlighting young African creatives.
Rachel Ojuromi's Chanel debut has put Lagos street style in front of the fashion world, and fans are looking forward to seeing more of her on the runway.
