Viral model who walked on Nigeria's streets just debuted for Chanel

A few months ago, Rachel Ojuromi was strutting past market stalls and rail overpasses in Lagos, dressed as Chanel on a thrift-store budget. This week she walked in the real show.

Rachel Ojuromi goes from Lagos thrift finds to Chanel runway

Rachel made her Chanel runway debut at the house's Spring/Summer 2027 show in Paris, the collection titled La Conversation — Part Three — Different Faces of the Same Coin. The 22-year-old Nigerian model gained attention by turning Lagos streets into her runway with thrifted designer pieces and creative fashion looks.

The moment that changed things for Rachel was a tribute. She and her best friend, the stylist and designer Debby Fasingha, recreated Chanel's Métiers d'Art 2026 collection using entirely thrifted, second-hand pieces. They staged it across Lagos landmarks, including the Red Line rail overpass in Yaba.

Creative director Matthieu Blazy commented on the post with a single word, "Everything," plus a heart emoji, and the comment drew more than 14,000 likes. Within months, she was on the show's cast list.

A Lagos original

Rachel's appeal was never only about the clothes. She and Debby rose to fame through viral TikTok and Instagram videos that turn the streets of Lagos into a runway, mixing looks from Nigerian labels, her own wardrobe and thrifted finds from Yaba market. I-D, in an interview with her, noted that she was born and raised in Lagos and has hardly left, and that closeness to home shows in the work. Her clips are loud, funny and packed with real life.

Through The Process Africa, she is working to reshape the narrative around African youth culture by documenting emerging talents across fashion, film and the visual arts. Rachel is now signed to four agencies: No Smoking NYC in New York, Safe Management Paris, SUPA Worldwide London and her mother agency, Next Canada. The same report says SZA helped spotlight her work.

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