The History Hour

Osmondmania! and the launch of Lagos Fashion Week

Oct 20, 2023

Donny Osmond, a teenage heartthrob and member of The Osmonds, talks about the collapse of a balcony at Heathrow caused by fans. Also, the podcast covers the first peace walk in Cambodia, the birth of Lagos Fashion Week, and the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh.

50:55

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Episode guests

Donny Osmond

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Lagos Fashion Week put Nigerian design on the global map, showcasing the talent of African designers.

Cambodia's first peace walk in 1992 united Cambodian refugees and locals, healing wounds from the Khmer Rouge regime.

Deep dives

Legos Fashion Week: From Idea to Reality

Omor Yemi Akereli, founder of Legos Fashion Week, recounts the challenges and triumphs of bringing her dream event to life. Despite facing resistance from other fashion platforms, she rallied designers around her vision. The first season of Legos Fashion Week was marked by logistical hurdles, from delays in setting up venues to last-minute changes in exhibition spaces. However, despite the obstacles, the event showcased the talent and creativity of African designers, putting Nigerian style on the international map.

Introduction

2min

War Endings, Building Collapses, and Nigerian Fashion

4min

The Collapse of the Balcony

13min

The Peace Walk: Bridging Divides and Building Connections

6min

The Rana Plaza Disaster

10min

Investigating the Killings in Ciudad Juarez

16min

The Rise of Lagos Fashion Week and African Fashion

2min

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We hear about Osmondmania! The moment in 1973 when teenage fans of American heartthrobs, The Osmonds, caused a balcony at Heathrow to collapse.

Also, we find out about the first peace walk in Cambodia and how it united a country torn apart by war.

Plus, the birth of Lagos Fashion Week and how it put Nigerian design on the global map.

Contributors: Donny Osmond. Josephine McDermott, BBC producer and presenter. Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, organiser of Cambodia’s first peace walk. Parul Akhter, a sewing machinist who survived the Rana Plaza building collapse. Oscar Maynez, a forensic scientist who used to work in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez where hundreds of young women were kidnapped or killed. Paula Flores, the mother of one of the murdered girls. Omoyemi Akerele who organised the first Lagos Fashion Week.

(Photo: Donny Osmond greets fans at Heathrow airport. Credit: George Stroud/Express/Hulton Archive via Getty Images)