The Kate Effect Strikes Again? Issa Opens Its First Ever Store In Japan

Kate Middleton wearing Issa

It seems the Kate effect has struck again as Issa are launching their first store on the 28th March in Japan. Issa have certainly benefited from their number one royal fan K Mids, as she wore their navy wrap dress when she announced her engagement and she has worn Issa creations on her royal tours. Her ruched silk jersey engagement dress was that popular that they have launched it in various colours and have also created a maternity version. How very clever of them.

Well now the Kate Effect has stretched all the way to Japan, as the brand are opening their first store in the Roppongi Hills Shopping Centre in Japan. Issa was only launched in 2003 by Brazilian-born, London-based designer Daniella Helayel. Now we have to wonder, if K Mids hadn't worn their designs would the label have such a global reach? The Kate effect does after all ripple worldwide.

It's not the first time a store has opened thanks to K Mids, as Reiss expanded to the US thanks to Kate's iconic Reiss looks - from the white 'Nanette' dress for her engagement photo to the 'Shola' dress she wore to meet the Obamas and that now infamous blue frock that she shares with her mum. At the time a spokesperson from Reiss told WWD, 'From a sales perspective, both [the Nanette and Shola] dresses sold out very quickly online, and in the U.S. the Shola dress sold out before stores even opened their doors. People were calling our customer services number, and buying over the phone'.

There has been some debate over whether the Kate Effect is actually a thing. Jane Shepherdson, CEO of Whistles, was the first to say that Kate Middleton wearing your creations doesn't equal megabucks. Take the blouse she wore to her official engagement portrait, which may have got the Brit brand buckets of publicity, but because the piece was two years old and not available to buy, it didn't translate into actual sales.

Then Mr Roland Mouret said that she doesn't sell clothes. The designer said Kim Kardashian would sell more clothes than the Duchess: 'The kind of people who like Kate’s style are not the kind to rush out and copy her dress. You don’t see hundreds of women running around looking like her.' Ouch.

But the figures speak for themselves. For example just this month when Kate bought a Lovestruck dress from Topshop the website crashed as it received over 60,000 hits when the news spread and at one point a dress sold every minute. Oh and it sold out, obvs.

We're very excited about the first Issa store and everything, but can we please have one in London. Please?

See Kate Middleton's biggest style hits in the gallery below...

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