Its been a year since the first Sub-Saharan African designer, Imane Ayissi joined the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) calendar. 2021 sees the Cameroonian return to the fashion scene with his Fall 2021 couture collection – Tseundé.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”97″ display=”basic_imagebrowser”]“Tseundé,”from Ewondo language (Ewondo or Kolo is the language of the Ewondo people of Cameroon.) is translated “exchange” in English. The collection signifies exchanges between different cultures and civilizations, different parts of the world, characterize humanity according to Imane Ayissi.
The couture collection marries impeccable tailoring and craftsmanship, with an unexpectedly playful design sensibility which according to Ayissi drew upon colonial era fashions to inspire it’s polished pieces.
During the colonial era, Africans were forced to accept Western attire which included deftly cut, buttoned, covering the body entirely unfit to the climates, history and sociability of the colonized nations. This action, however, has resulted to new creativity and insight as to how Africans dress.
Imane Ayissi’s Tseundé gives a more balanced exchange that could have taken place between these two cultural areas and could have given birth to totally new types of clothing.
The collection of eveningwear that includes floral printed power suits, batik-dyed separates, blazers fashioned from glittering fabrics, and a majestic kente-cloth creation that all but steals the show with its vibrant form.
Collection
