Models stepped on to a Paris runway last week wearing sculptural gowns in African textiles by Imane Ayissi – the first and still the only designer from sub-Saharan Africa to take part in Paris's haute couture shows.
Ayissi's Autumn/Winter 2026-2027 collection "fused sculptural elegance, artisanal mastery and cultural storytelling into a personal vision of contemporary couture", wrote Jeanne-Marie Cilento, editor-in-chief of Design Art magazine.
