At the bustling Yaba Market in Lagos, Nigeria, there is something for everyone.
Chatter rises from the traders, whose stalls stretch for miles over cracked gray concrete and packed earth. They might be selling baskets of fresh fruit, wheelbarrows full of phone cases, stacks of sequined clothes or racks of second-hand clothes.
If you’re lucky, you might find a vintage jacket you’ve been looking for, or a pair of long-lasting Levi’s jeans. But you will never be so lucky. Density: The best of Lagos’ best kids. The skaters, often dressed in a uniform of baggy pants and crop tops, visit the thrift market every week. They are fashion savvy just young, passionate and determined and can find the best streetwear they can find.
26-year-old Blessing Ewona founded Dencity skate, dream and thrift together in 2020 in response to the lack of spaces for young queer and female skaters in Nigeria. From their trips to the bazaar to regular skate meetings at the dilapidated National Stadium or Turku Bay Beach, they have found their own map of the city.
“I tried to find one,” she said, referring to a group in which she felt at home, “and then I said, ‘Let me just make mine. Not just for me, but for people like me.’ Also for other people who want a community like this but don’t know how to go about it.
