"I felt like a princess," says US teenager Brianna LeDoux about her prom gown which she specially commissioned from Nigeria.

"I wanted my dress to stop people in their tracks."

The 18-year-old from Florida, who has Haitian and Dominican roots, wore a black garment made from a sequined and beaded, lace fabric, which is commonly used in traditional Yoruba designs for events where people want to wear matching clothes.

"I didn't just want a dress," Brianna tells the BBC.

"I wanted a story I could wear - something that said: 'This is who I am, and this is where my roots run.'"

High-school proms in the US are a rite of passage - long-idealised in countless coming-of-age movies - and are an opportunity for some to make a statement about identity and fashion.

The event is more than a party, it is a spectacle: part red carpet; part social milestone and for many young women - a powerful moment of self-expression.

But when Brianna made a TikTok video of herself in her African prom gown, she did not expect the reaction she got - it went viral and her post now has more than 1.1 million views.

This reflects a growing interest that has driven demand for custom-made outfits with bold designs and unique embellishments.

What began as a TikTok and Instagram trend - with people like Brianna flaunting their garments - has led to a booming business that links fashion designers in Africa to young people outside the continent.

The average price for an African-made prom dress ranges from $600 to $1,000 (£440 to £740), depending on the complexity of the design, fabric choice and added details. Custom luxury pieces can exceed $1,500.

This may sound expensive but is much cheaper than having a garment custom made in the US - where the cost starts at around $3,500 and can go much higher depending on the designer and materials.

The BBC spoke to five fashion designers in Nigeria and Ghana who, in all, fulfilled more than 2,800 orders for prom dresses during the 2025 season, most of them bound for the US.

Designer Shakirat Arigbabu and her team, based in south-western Nigerian city of Ibadan, were responsible for 1,500 of those.

She has carved out a niche for herself even though the prom tradition is not popular in her country.

"Ninety-eight per cent of dresses we made went to the US. We were working in shifts, just to meet deadlines," Ms Arigbabu says.

Her business, Keerah's Fashion Cave, employs 60 full-time staff and........

© BBC