{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1616479"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1616479/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2021NB0610/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2021NB0610/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2021NB0610","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2021NB0611","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2021NB0612","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2021NB0613","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2021NB0614","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2021NB1508","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O1616479/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1616479","accessionNumber":"T.2434-2021","objectType":"Dress","titles":[{"title":"Akouma","type":"named collection"}],"summaryDescription":"Imane Ayissi founded his eponymous label in Paris in 2004. He is known for his glamourous collections which mix beautiful textiles from the continent with classic French couture techniques and silhouettes. Ayissi was born in Cameroon in 1969 to champion boxer Jean-Baptiste Ayissi Ntsama and Julienne Honorine Eyenga Ayissi, the first Miss Cameroon. \n\nThis dress  comes from Ayissi’s Couture Spring/Summer 2020 collection, Akouma. Translating to ‘wealth’ in Ewondo, Ayissi used this collection to explore how ideas of wealth, luxury and preciousness can be communicated through clothing, investigating how the value of different materials changes across the world. Obom, Cameroonian bark cloth, was a key feature of the collection: ‘Africa is full of these textiles, little considered in the world today, but which are precious by the tradition in which they are part.’  The dress has a classic A-line silhouette with a short bodice and voluminous skirt. It is made from a white silk and hemp blend and the bodice is embellished with applique obom flowers. The elegant dress is typical of Ayissi’s design aesthetic and has become one of his most notable designs, featuring as the cover image in the Vogue 2020 feature on him (image below) and worn by Didi Olomide on the cover of Moyi Magazine in December 2020. ","physicalDescription":"Dress designed by Imane Ayissi. Look 23 from the 'Akouma' collection, Spring/Summer 2020. White silk and hemp blend with appliquéd Cameroonian bark cloth flowers.\r\n\r\nFloorlength dress, A-line silhouette with short bodice and voluminous skirt. The bodice is decorated with lots of applique bark cloth flower around the neckline on the front and back.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Ayissi, Imane","id":"AUTH372703"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Imane Ayissi","id":"AUTH361819"},"association":{"text":"fashion house","id":"x35890"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"silk","id":"AAT14072"},{"text":"hemp","id":"AAT14043"},{"text":"bark cloth","id":"AAT48116"}],"techniques":[{"text":"weaving","id":"AAT53642"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Silk and hemp (from Chinese organic fabric supplier), barkcloth from Cameroon","categories":[{"text":"Evening wear","id":"THES48999"},{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Clothing","id":"THES48975"},{"text":"Womenswear","id":"THES49044"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2021NB0610","2021NB0611","2021NB0612","2021NB0613","2021NB0614","2021NB1508"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"SHLN","id":"THES49063"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Dress","id":"x47499"}],[{"text":"Gown","id":"AAT46161"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Paris","id":"x29068"},"association":{"text":"designed and made","id":"x39722"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"2020","earliest":"2020-01-01","latest":"2020-12-31"},"association":{"text":"designed and made","id":"x39722"},"note":"Spring/Summer collection"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Purchase funded by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Diana Quasha","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Length","value":"1760","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Maximum","date":{"text":"06/08/2021","earliest":"2021-08-06","latest":"2021-08-06"},"part":"Shoulder to hem","note":""},{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"810","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Maximum","date":{"text":"06/08/2021","earliest":"2021-08-06","latest":"2021-08-06"},"part":"Bust - measured inside costume","note":""},{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"665","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Maximum","date":{"text":"06/08/2021","earliest":"2021-08-06","latest":"2021-08-06"},"part":"Waist - measured inside costume","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"385","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Maximum","date":{"text":"06/08/2021","earliest":"2021-08-06","latest":"2021-08-06"},"part":"Nape to waist","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Measured by conservation","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Dress, silk, hemp, Cameroonian bark cloth, Imane Ayissi, Paris, France, Spring/Summer 2020.\r\n","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Haute couture","id":"THES48861"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Haute couture has been seen as the pinnacle of fashion in the Global North since the mid 19th century. For Ayissi, working within the French couture system shows the skill and refinement of African fashions, challenging stereotypes that they cannot be luxurious. Here he has woven together silk and hemp, embellished with painted <i>obom</i> (bark cloth), speaking to global exchange in the fashion world. V&amp;A, Room 40, <i>Africa Fashion </i>","date":{"text":"02/07/2022 - 16/04/2023","earliest":"2022-07-02","latest":"2023-04-16"}}],"partNumbers":["T.2434-2021"],"accessionNumberNum":"2434","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":2021,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-05-01","recordCreationDate":"2021-05-09","availableToBook":false}}