Infinite Motion by Imane Ayissi for S/S 26, Paris Haute Couture | FashionTV | FTV

Experience the living art of couture in the spring/summer 20226 haute couture show of Imane Ayissi unveiled at Paris Fashion Week! This season, the designer Imane Ayissi invites us into the most intimate corner of the atelier: the moment of the first draft. The collection, titled “Bissakarak”, takes its name from the Ewondo language of Cameroon, meaning "scribble." It is a tribute to that suspended, exhilarating moment when a hand first attempts a sketch, and a silhouette begins to breathe. For Ayissi, the creative process is not a means to a static end, but a reflection of a deeply rooted African tradition, the art of wrapping oneself in fabric. Unlike the rigid structures often found in Western tailoring, the “Bissakarak” collection celebrates the loincloth: a garment that is never finished, always in motion, and daily re-created by the wearer. Through masterful draping, pleating, and innovative tying techniques, Ayissi transforms fabric into a living dialogue between the body and the cloth. The collection serves as a cultural bridge, weaving together the majestic aesthetics of African chiefdoms with the architectural purity of Ancient Greece. In a "pas de deux" of textures, the designer juxtaposes the heritage-rich Kente cloth of Ghana, the raw raffia of Madagascar, and Nigerian woven loincloths with the fluid elegance of silk faille and Gazar. This fusion pays a sophisticated homage to the masters of drape, Madeleine Vionnet and Madame Grès, while maintaining a distinctly contemporary African soul.