Veekee James Shows Up in Sculptural Oxblood Leather for the Grand Red Carpet Experience

Sculpted hourglass tailoring, high-neck turtleneck layer, and oversized hat worn by Veekee James at the BellaNaija at 20 Grand Red Carpet Experience.

How do you dress as a High Fashion Icon on a red carpet celebrating 20 years of BellaNaija? If you’re Veekee James, you reach for oxblood leather, a floor-length silhouette, and a hat with a brim wide enough to make sure nobody misses the look.

For the BN20 Grand Red Carpet Experience, where the dress code was High Fashion Icon, Veekee James arrived in a custom design by Abbas Woman, styled by Baudovin Ononiba. The look had plenty of structure, but it was the rich oxblood leather coat-gown and its dramatic proportions that immediately set the tone.

The floor-length piece is shaped around a sculpted hourglass silhouette, with exaggerated peplum hips balancing the sharp, padded shoulders. At the front, a plunging lapel line and subtle button fastenings keep the tailoring clean before the coat opens into a high central slit, revealing a floor-sweeping train underneath.

Precision tailoring meets dramatic movement with a long beaded fringe clutch and oversized hat, styled by Baudovin Ononiba for BN20 Grand Red Carpet Experience

The rest of the look keeps things dark and sleek. Veekee wore a high-neck black turtleneck beneath the leather piece, with fitted sleeves extending into thumbhole cuts that wrapped over her hands. Then came the accessories: an oversized ultra-wide-brim black hat tilted low over her brows, a dark clutch covered in long beaded fringe, chunky gold hoop earrings and classic pointed black heels.

Her beauty look followed the same direction, with winged eyeliner and a rich warm-toned lip keeping the focus on the clothes and that striking hat. Together, the tailored leather, exaggerated proportions and deep colour palette gave Veekee James a distinctly fashion-forward look for BellaNaija’s 20th anniversary celebration.

And for a night built around the High Fashion Icon theme, it was a fitting choice for one of Nigeria’s leading fashion designers to celebrate two decades of BellaNaija and its place in African fashion, entertainment and pop culture.

Veekee James in custom Abbas Woman oxblood leather at the BN20 Grand Red Carpet Experience, styled by Baudovin Ononiba.