Design Brand To Know: Imane Ayissi

Imane Ayissi was founded in 2004 by Cameroonian designer Imane Ayissi who was born in Cameroon into a family of artists and sportsmen, he invested in fashion – a passion born in the wake of a Mother Miss Cameroon – and became a stylist for the largest ready-to-wear manufacturing workshop in the country.

Ayissi later on moved to Paris in the early 90s and began a modeling career and walked for the biggest luxury brands (Dior, Lanvin, YSL, Valentino, Givenchy, Cardin, Montana…) as well as participating in advertising campaigns and numerous fashion editorials. It was at this time that he decided to devote himself fully to his work as a couturier.

The France-based eponymous couture brand produces high fashion, made-to-measure pieces that merge the contemporary with the traditional. Known for his consistently colorful creations that feature simple yet eye-catching silhouettes, Ayissi became the first Sub-Saharan designer to officially show at Haute Couture Week in Paris in 2020, where he presented a collection that received near-universal praise.

The different cultures of his native continent are a frequent source of inspiration for his collections. Far from the reductive representations of a Black Continent of which only wax would be the adornment, Imane Ayissi undertakes each season to highlight the textile treasures from a neglected or ignored heritage. His creations mix craftsmanship, traditional materials, and cuts as well as fundamentals of the African wardrobe to which he infuses a couture dimension.

Though Ayissi has spent the past two decades working from Paris, there remains a distinct element of “African-ness” to his creations which often elegantly unite traditional African tribal art elements with Parisian couture principles. And though he refuses to incorporate wax prints into his work due to their ties to colonialism, he often utilizes fabrics like Kente and Manjak cloth to signal his African roots. Speaking to L’Officiel Arabia, he stated, “I am a fashion designer, but I also come from an African country, where I spent the first twenty years of my life. So I don’t design “African fashion” or “African garments”, but I don’t want, and can’t, erasure my African heritage. You can see this African heritage through my relationship to colors, to the body.”

Ayissi has garnered significant international attention: since launching, the Imane Ayissi label has been spotted on the likes of Zendaya and Angela Bassett and has received the acclaim of global critics and press, including features in Vogue editions, Forbes, and Vanity Fair Italy. His creations are also often a mixture of “academic” know-how and more current “ways”, such as recovery or diversion, anti-waste postures as well as arts of constantly re-interpreting uses.

Included in the article are shots from Imane Ayissi’s recent couture AW 22-23 show

Credits:

Photo @fabricephoto
MUA @bouchra_elisabeth
Show supported by @iffac_official
Many thanks @hautecoutureweek @morandpascal @roberta.annan
PR @stationservice
Thanks @philanthropistinheels

Sources: Imane Ayissi & IA Connect

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