Imane Ayissi Shows AW22 Collection “Miyené” at Couture Week in Paris

Words by The Folklore Team

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Cameroonian designer Imane Ayissi is known for creating high fashion, made-to-measure pieces that blends the contemporary with the traditional. Growing up among artists, including a mother who was a former Miss Cameroon, Ayissi was naturally drawn to the world of fashion, starting out as a model and a stylist before heading up his eponymous atelier in Paris.

For his collections, the designer takes inspiration from the various cultures of his native continent, using each as an opportunity to showcase the textiles, craftsmanship and key elements of the African wardrobe mixed with the traditions of French haute couture.

Ayissi has presented his collections in Rome as part of Altaroma as well as Arise Fashion Week in Lagos, Nigeria, but it is in Paris, during couture week, that he shows his new collections. For AW22, Imane Ayissi explores the importance of appearance in African societies in the latest collection shown during couture week in Paris. Titled “Miyené”, which translates to “see and be seen” in the Ewondo language of Cameroon, the collection plays with shapes, colors and textures, from balloon-sleeve dresses and bold stripes to fringed embellishments. Traditional African hairstyles are depicted as contrasting patterns on stark white fabric, while beaded fringes create a physical representation of Black hair.

The designer worked with Cameroonian visual artist Boris Nzebo to create graphic printed textiles that imbue each piece with personality and character, a commentary on the way perceptions are made through the clothes we wear.

Imane Ayissi AW22 Couture “Miyené”

Photographs courtesy of Dominique Maitre/WWD