Cameroonian Ayissi headlines Paris Fashion week

The highlight of the highly exclusive Paris Fashion Week, July 3^rd to 9^th, showing the Autumn/Winter 2026/27 collections by some of the world’s most famous designers, was the work of Cameroonian Imane Ayissi. By New African.

The Paris Fashion Week, one of the world’s Big Four shows – the others are London, Milan and New York – is so exclusive you need an invitation just to attend. It is also highly influential and often sets the tone for global fashion trends.

Only a very select set of design houses are invited to display their creations and parade them on the catwalk. The highlight of this year’s show was work by Cameroon’s extraordinary creative genius – Imane Ayissi.

Ayissi seemed destined for global success from a very early age. His father, Jean-Baptiste Ayissi Ntsama, was a gold-medal-winning middleweight boxer, while his mother, Julienne Honorine Eyenga Ayissi, was the first lady to be crowned Miss Cameroon in the 1960s.

Artistic ability seems to run through the family – his siblings are dancers and singers, and he was a member of the National Ballet of Cameroon

Ayissi is the son of the country after the country gained independence in 1960. His brothers and sisters are dancers and singers. They performed in front of several Heads of State and in 1992, the Ayissi brothers joined former tennis star, Yannick Noah on a major European tour.

He was a finalist in the Model Europe competition organised by Casting Magazine in 1995, and he moved to France in the 1990s and worked as a model for Dior, Givenchy, and Lanvin.

His natural flair for fashion began while he was still a child when he designed stunning costumes for his mother. In Paris, he dedicated his life and creativity to producing imaginative and esoteric collections. He has always been in high demand during fashion shows.

Describing the Autumn/Winter 2026/27 collections at the Paris Fashion Week, Editor-in-Chief of Design and Art magazine, Jeanne-Marie Cilento says: “Amid the gilded salons of the Aero Club de France in Paris, Imane Ayissi prepared to present Ozouandam Ollat, the Ewondo expression for haute couture, a collection that reaffirmed his voice within the international couture landscape. The show culminated in an impromptu and joyous dance on the runway.

“For the new season, the Cameroonian-born, Paris-based designer explored the relationship between movement, memory and craftsmanship, creating a refined vision of couture where once more he melds the precision of Parisian savoir-faire and the richness of African artisanal traditions.”

She writes that the theme of the show was departure and flight, setting the tone for a collection built around transformation and freedom. “An announcement inviting guests to prepare for takeoff introduced a theatrical sense of movement, while also carrying an emotional resonance for Ayissi, paying tribute to his late mother, a former Miss Cameroon and flight attendant whose elegance and presence remained an important influence throughout his life”.

“Sculptural dresses unfolded into sweeping capes and extended trains, while carefully constructed volumes created a sense of power without sacrificing elegance,” she says about his collection.

“With Ozouandam Ollat, Imane Ayissi continues to demonstrate that haute couture is not a fixed tradition but an evolving art form. By bringing together personal history, global craftsmanship and an unmistakable creative identity, he is helping to shape a more expansive and inclusive future for couture, one where history becomes a source of innovation and beauty”.

Another great triumph for Africa’s creative genius.