Hi everyone! Welcome to another edition of STREET @FRICANA where everything is African! Today's interview and feature is a male designer. 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 to 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 Yaoundé 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 that every human is a part of Wazal. When I create my clothes, I am inspired by what I see as the future. This is 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.

Ayissi is one ambitious designer and I am sure we will be seeing a lot more designs from his collections.

Click on 'Photos' to see his collection.