\n\tThe 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.<\/p>\n
\n\tHabitually, 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.<\/p>\n
\n\tThey included a few tie-dye looks \u2014 a dramatic cape and tapered pants in dusty pink and white and a cornflower blue minidress adorned with allover floral appliqu\u00e9s \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
\n\tAs he homed in on his classics with a signature twist, Ayissi\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n