WERE we hoping that the Duchess of Cambridge might stop by to see Daniella Issa Helayel’s latest spring/summer 2012 collection? OK, yes, we’d be lying if we said otherwise – such is the affinity between the two ever since the Duchess of Cambridge wore that blue Issa number when the engagement was announced.
But, there or not, that wasn’t going to stop this designer from having a good time and putting on a show. As the nights draw in and the days begin and end with a chilly air about them, Daniella Issa turned our minds right back to high summer again putting all things tropical right at the top her agenda.
Cue pineapple prints on dresses, a streak of coral on heels and refreshing shades of turquoise mint. It was all beach-perfect – and made perfect sense given that the designer explained in her show notes that this collection was about going back to her Rio de Janeiro roots (read colour, carnival and any other suitably flamboyant and vibrant synonyms).
Out came bouncy hair – the sort that looks great by but not in the pool – with broderie anglaise summer flirty dresses or those of palm patterns, kaftans gliding beneath shore-line prints and light, easy-breezy all-in-ones. The prim little jackets and skirts could have been designed with the Duchess in mind, and there were coral variations on that now infamous wrap dress should she want something brighter for her royal visits next summer.
Walking with a spring in her step – courtesy of vertiginous and neon heels – Issa’s girl had something for all her summer fun. Halter gowns, the tropics in sequin formation, fringed and fanciful party frocks and swimwear to show off a killer body. There was the show-stopper that could have stepped straight from the Notting Hill Carnival (for us here) – a sequinned, beaded, bejewelled and feather leotard with equally extravagant headpiece up top. At the end, as a group of girls – all bouncy hair again – took to the catwalk to close the show, you couldn’t help thinking it was along the lines of Issa’s Angels, never mind Charlie’s.
SEE THE ISSA LONDON SHOW ARCHIVE