Hi everyone! Welcome to another edition of STREET @FRICANA where everything is African! Today’s interview and feature is a male designer (yes -thats right I have finally featured a male designer by popular demand! This young designer’s street style designs are edgy and daring with his textures. Read on…
THJ: Hello and thank you for taking time out ot do this interview. So who is the guy behind Wazal Couture and where are you from in Cameroon?
Joseph Ayissi: My name is Joseph Marie Nga Ayissi and I’m a young designer, passionate self-taught fashion in accordance with the times and reveur. In Cameroon I spent part of my childhood in Yaounde but I come from a small town called Obala.
THJ: How did you get into the world of fashion and designing clothes and what made you become a fashion designer?
Joseph Ayissi: I became naturally creative because my father was also a tailor. I got into fashion because I wanted to walk in the footsteps of my father, who remains a role-model.
THJ: What does Wazal Couture stand for?
Joseph Ayissi: Wazal is from Cameroon’s Waza Park and the letter “L” is Lion -The mythical lion is the very emblem of Cameroon… the force, the king of the jungle.
THJ: How would you describe the type of clothes that you design and who are the people that would typically wear your clothes?
Joseph Ayissi: The clothes I create depend on a lot of things. I can tell you is that every human is a part of Wazal. When I create my clothes, I am inspired by what I see as the future. This my trademark- to stand out!
THJ: What specifically do you design and what are Wazal Couture’s Signature products?
Joseph Ayissi: As I mentioned earlier, it all depends on how I work. My collection and current products are a classy mix of lambskin Meloton wax out the bourgeoisie or a simple T-shirt or with patterns.It all depends on atmosphere.
THJ: I noticed that the items you design tend to be more casual and have a street style edge to it. I also noticed that on Wazal Couture’s website there are mostly T-shirts, Blazers and Harem pants that are being sold and mostly for men. What else do you design?
Joseph Ayissi: The site is only a small part of what we do. There is for example, a clothing line for women called Wazalionne. There are also full of prototypes and collections ever released but over time his will if it specializes in menswear too, because many are in the feminine.
THJ: Do you design dresses and other outfits for women or is it limited to T-Shirts?
Joseph Ayissi: As I mentioned earlier, we have a clothing line for women called Wazalionne. At the appropriate time we will work on a collection for children or strong woman as these all are possible over time.
THJ: If there was one person you could do collaboration with, whom would that be and why?
Joseph Ayissi: If I had to work with a person, I think that the name would not matter but the person’s mental state of mind and values would define whether or not we could work together.
THJ: What difficulties do you face as an African designer in world of Fashion and how can this be changed for the better?
Joseph Ayissi : I think that the difficulties that can be found in the lives of a young designer will be the same problems that everyone else in its infancy would face. Only hardwork and discipline paid off. I avoid finding myself around people that I not share the same values with.
THJ: What advice would you give to young Cameroonians who would like to get into the world of fashion and into the business of designing clothes?
Joseph Ayissi : The only advice I would give is to believe in your dreams and all things are feasible and attainable.
More information and Detailed Biography on Joseph Ayissi and Wazal Couture:
AYISSI NGA Joseph-Marie aka JJ STYLE is a clothing designer chic Streets Franco-Cameroonian nationality. Being himself the son of a tailor and following in the footsteps of the pioneers of fashion as Cameroon Imane AYISSI or Martial TAPOLO, he created “WAZAL” his clothing line in 2005.
In 2006, he launched his first models that are worn by some celebrities such as SINGUILA, ALPECO, WAYNE BECKFORD, ROMARIC KOFFI and LALCKO. Its brand “WAZAL” is a blend of WAZA, the name of a park in Cameroon and the letter “L” Lion, animal symbol of this country. The Natural Park aspiring respect and the lion aspiring power. WAZAL COUTURE fashion universe expresses a sport in a constant search for materials, styles and creativity. In mixtures of colors. black, orange, blue, ecru and various printed, he adds touches of materials such as cotton, fleece, denim, wax, the milano, leather and synthetic fur under various grounds. He was trained in a fashion school in Paris known as VANESSA RUIZ and specializes in creating tuxedo jackets. The first was also created in 2013 under the declination « Braguette Tété ».
In 2013, he was part of the guests of the Ambassador of Cameroon in Paris for the exhibition of the feast of the Cameroonian youth and the Fashion Night Lounge at the Elysée Palace in Paris, where he presented his three concepts : Wazal Rock, Braguette Tété and Africafutur. These concepts are based on criteria that since the beginning symbolized his career: Audacity, Respect and Creation.
Wazal cuts are futuristic and modern, following the latest trends. I present to you my collection of tuxedo jacket called Fly Suckled 2014/2015, also know as « Braguette Tété » in the Cameroonian argo. Suckled/Tété means bourgeois or chic. Combining the chic with the idea of the Fly/Braguette, Wazal made a wink the African elegance in chic steet.
-Smoking Jacket Fly or Braguette Tété Black Leather Materials: lambskin leather and red lace,
-Smoking Jacket Fly Tété military camouflage Materials: Military Camouflage and lambskin,
-Smoking Jacket Fly Tété blue color: black Materials: Fleece and jeans on the back,
-T-Shirt Tété New York pattern Material: Milano,
– Cotton blend printed digital New York
– Harem pants black jogging together Materials: Fleece and lamb leather
– T-Shirt Military Camouflage pattern Tété Material: Milano
Ayissi is one ambitious designer and I am sure we will be seeing a lot more designs from his collections.
You can shop at the Wazal store at: http://www.wazalshop.com/
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