When certain singers release a single note you know their name. When particular painters touch a canvas with one stroke you can tell who they are. And when you see a fold in the fabric of a gown will you recognize the work of Imane Ayissi? You should.
As I sat with a friend pouring over the images of Mr. Ayissi’s Next Queens couture collection, we couldn’t control our Wow’s!, Oh’s! and Iwantthat’s! Our mutual enthusiasm was surprising since she lives fashion and I avoid it. The thing that caused our unanimous admiration was simple. Imane Ayissi is a designer who brings out the innate beauty in women. He designs for that natural, mysterious and powerful quality that we are born with but only a rare few master. Women like Nefertiti, Madonna, Cleopatra, Josephine Baker, Marilyn Monroe, Toni Morrisson, Grace Kelly, Grace Jones, Aretha Franklin and Lady Di are some of the women who inspired his latest collection.
To create clothes this stunning requires a marriage between discipline and inspiration. For Imane the rigor comes from the qualities he values most – refinement, elegance and gentleness. It’s no surprise that these are also the words that come to mind when you meet him. Each of his gestures is an unfolding, an invitation, or and acknowledgment. He speaks softly so you want to tilt your head to hear more and his words sound selective and thoughtful. He embodies the type of clothes he designs.
His creative route/root
His skills don’t come from formal training as a designer but through a lifetime of observing and respecting the world around him.
Movement
During his years as a dancer, he developed a disciplined sense of fluidity. His work as a model taught him how to make clothing come alive – whether on runways or frozen in photos. So, his designs reflect what can happen when you use what you know and what you value in order to create. The evidence is in the dual nature of his styles, clothing that draws attention to the body and honors it. In his hands there’s no need to worry that your breasts are too small or your hips too big because his draping flows and curves around the assets you have. Your every gesture is as fluid as a queens.
Fabric
Mr. Ayissi’s instinctive touch with fabric is rooted in his childhood in Cameron. On Saturdays, after watching colorful wedding processions pass through the capital city Yaoundé, he would rush to capture the designs. He used scraps of paper, the dust on the street, or scissors and the dresses in his mother’s closet. Today when he sees beautiful fabric, he glides it over his arm, drapes it over a shoulder and lets it pool around his skin. His passion for design rest there – in the communication between the fabric, the body and what it allows you to imagine.
and France
Ultimately it has been Mr. Ayissi’s life in Paris that has elevated his designs to such a high level. Conserving history is intrinsic to the French way of life, and people here say that world culture belongs to everyone. French designers have always searched the globe and borrowed the styles they’ve found most fascinating. They have offered interpretations of those ideas mixed with impeccable attention to detail and an ironic blend of respect for traditional forms and irreverence.
Imane Ayissi takes the French touch a step further. His designs recognize what Parisian couturiers admire most in the beauty of Africa, but instead of interpreting the images and ideals, he brings them directly from his roots and childhood. He uses the French respect for history and tradition to honor the richness of Africa’s. He offers his talent for draping and movement to create designs that are tributes to his native land. And his designs are at their best when the colors and texture of the fabric work as foils to the richness of the darkest hued skin.
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When I look at Mr. Ayissi’s collections I wonder if I could really wear them. The models look like they should be on a pedestal in a museum or in a king’s bed. They look daring, clever and most of all sensual. They look like France, and Africa, and the world. You want to touch them. You want to be them. But for Imane Ayissi, each women, just being herself, can be a queen, too.
Additional information
To purchase:
Imane’s couture collection is by special order only. Evening and wedding dresses range from 1,500 to 5,000 euros. To contact him, visit his website or myspace page at:
For information on fashion design in Paris, visit:
- Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) at www.ifm-paris.com
- International Fashion Academy at www.ifa-edu.fr
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