I first caught wind of this new brand over breakfast at Balthazar one day. Then—nothing. Years go by. Until one day, I get this box: all natural fibers, wools, linens, mohairs, alpacas. Raw silks! And I refuse to let anybody else touch them. No one’s stickering and folding these fabrics. No one’s putting them on the shelves except me. Because in that moment, I was transported right back to the start, when I first developed the discipline to truly see color.

To this day, it’s discovering the undertone that excites me most. Here is butter, whipped until the yellow blurs into whiteness. Or layers of taupe and silver within a gray. To me, color is something I feel. If it’s done well, it will never be placed. It pulls you in. That's what Issé does for me. It makes me want to hold up one of these drapes and see the color shift from day to afternoon to evening. Isn't that the layers of who we are?