Five years ago, Kate Middleton wore an Issa dress for her engagement pictures and made the brand famous. Today, the Duchess of Cambridge has moved on from Issa—she doesn t wear it much, if at all, anymore—and Issa is moving on, too. But not entirely. The sixth look in this collection is "The Kate Middleton" but with a higher hem, deeper neckline, encrustations of beading, and two smallish but very much in situ shoulder pads. Shoulder pads! On a Kate Middleton? "She will always be there," said creative director Jamie O Hare, "but it will be a different take each season."
Overall, Resort finds the brand evolving from a wrap-dress and print-jersey specialist into something with a heftier commercial depth of field. O Hare said: "I m trying to stay close to what Issa is. And it s quite fun, actually, limiting yourself. To what I can do with jersey, what I can do with a twist, what I can do with drape, a wrap—because what you can do is endless." True, but there were new elements here, like jersey jacquard, among reflections on the old—the distorted animal print, the mega-worked embroidery, the engineered caftans. The prissy respectability of Issa is being redeveloped into something that will suit a brasher, bolder flavor of princess.
