Imane Ayissi Fall 2026 Couture: Birds of Paradise

by · WWD
Imane Ayissi Fall 2026 Couture Collection at Paris Fashion WeekCourtesy of Imane Ayissi

The voiceover inviting guests to fasten their seatbelts and prepare for takeoff set the tone: Imane Ayissi was ready to take flight. His tribute to old-world haute couture and to his mother, a former model and air stewardess who died recently, was like a lofty aerobatics performance in which swathes of highly saturated silks in varying weights and textures, combined with dramatic wing-like raffia fringing and headwear, exploded onto the runway.

Habitually, Ayissi combines such a register with multiple nods to the crafts and fabrics of his native Cameroon and surrounding parts. Here, aside from plentiful raffia riffs, those references were few and far between.

They included a few tie-dye looks — a dramatic cape and tapered pants in dusty pink and white and a cornflower blue minidress adorned with allover floral appliqués — and one of the most striking ensembles in the collection, a loose top done in allover beading, a new technique for the designer, evoking graphic floral motifs in vivid orange, capped with puff sleeves in royal blue silk and matching full skirt below.

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As he homed in on his classics with a signature twist, Ayissi’s plays on volume and proportion were impressive, for instance when a boxy short-sleeved, midi-length shift dress morphed into a bias-cut train and cape to the rear. Ditto an allover sequin flapper dress, straight across the bust but trailing on the floor as the model walked.

As if to prove he had hit cruise speed, the designer and former dancer, who was unable to attend his January show due to a back injury, shimmied down the runway as he took his bow.