France, July 19 -- 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.

"His work has always existed at the intersection of cultures: not as a contrast between African heritage and European technique, but as a sophisticated dialogue between two creative worlds."

Such recognition didn't come easy.

"I have been fighting for 28 years," Ayissi told news agency Reuters in 2020 when, aged 52, he first broke into the closed circle of Paris couture houses, after repeated rejections from the governing Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. "This time, it worked...