Issa London

Daniella Helayel was born and raised in Brazil; surrounded by spectacular nature, sunshine, weekends spent swimming at the beach and a laid-back, easygoing attitude to life. Although Daniella moved away to study at F.I.T. in New York before arriving in London in 1999, the influence of Brazilian roots is clear to see in her designs. The unexpected colours, natural shapes and thrill of carnivals have been translated into memorable, striking prints in fantastically unique colour combinations. Once Daniella arrived in London she was filling her closet with more and more one-off vintage finds, but there was nothing from current collections she wanted to buy. Most women find themselves asking where we can seek out that perfect dress; Daniella’s answer? Design your own! And so Issa was born. At that time Daniella was making clothes for herself and a few friends; experimenting until Issa had its first catwalk show in February 2003. Now the Brazilian designer oversees a label that sells around the world. The result is a label which focuses on creating dresses to make women feel comfortable, confident and chic with a motto of “Issa for all!”. In fact the Issa woman can be anyone who wants to be elegant and enjoy being feminine whilst always on the move with her eventful lifestyle. These truly are 24/7 dresses to help women feel glamorous, elegant yet confident and comfortable whilst updating only her accessories to go from meetings to lunch, back to the office, out to dinner then dancing till dawn. Over the years Issa has been embraced by a growing number of celebrity fans; including Madonna, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Laura Bailey, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Middleton, Sharon Stone, Kristen Davis, Kylie Minogue, Keira Knightley, Jennifer Lopez and of course Issa women all over the globe of different ages and sizes. July 2011 saw Camilla al Fayed, Daniella’s friend since arriving in London, named Chairwoman of Issa. In this new era she will oversee the commercial expansion of the brand whilst Daniella Helayel, Issa's Creative Director will continue to oversee all creative aspects of the brand.