Zenam is styled by Cameroonian designer Paul Roger Tanonkou. The clothes are all made in Milan, where Tanonkou’s atelier is based, thanks to the support of Pluvial Ventures, a start-up incubator for migrants founded by Gaia Trussardi and Alex Legler. Self-taught Tanonkou has a degree in computer science and started out in fashion in 2004 with Zenam, an ethical, sustainable menswear label. Zenam’s summer 2022 collection is ostensibly genderless, though it mostly consists of suits and shirts.
In the Bamileke language of Cameroon, ‘zenam’ means ‘sunbeam’, a moniker certainly embodied by this highly colourful, print-rich collection, overflowing with traditional African motifs - masks, ethnic micro patterns and floral designs - on soft, lightweight cotton fabrics and crisp, fresh poplin in warm colours, a collection that simply oozes fluidity and joy.
