Company Category: Sweaters

Isle by Melis Kozan is a sophisticated brand that captures the fun, funky flair of its designer, Melis Kozan. Her passion for fashion began early, and her career at Diesel in Italy introduced her to the fundamentals of design and the world of international fashion. In 2005, Melis and her husband, Chad Kozan, combined her eye for women’s apparel with his experience in textiles to launch Isle—an international clothing brand that has steadily grown into a complete lifestyle collection. Today, Isle offers tops, tunics, sweaters, jackets, pants, leggings, skirts, faux fur styles, and the iconic Cha-Cha Dress that first put the brand on the map. All original prints are created in-house or sourced from Italy, France, and Turkey, and every garment is manufactured in their Istanbul facility. With design and production closely overseen, Melis and Chad ensure the exceptional quality their customers expect. Constantly inspired by their travels—as well as art, photography, film, and global culture, Melis infuses each collection with an international sensibility. The Isle woman is fresh, edgy, sexy, and sometimes sweet; she seeks pieces that are stylish yet wearable, effortlessly transitioning from day to evening. Isle designs are modern, chic, and easy to wear for women of all ages who love to stand out through their style. Born and raised in Istanbul, Melis and Chad now live in New Jersey with their twin sons, Arda and Batu. KOZAN represents the evolution of a personal style that first took shape in the early 2000s at Diesel, the international Italian denim brand where Melis Kozan learned design fundamentals and developed a global approach to fashion. In 2005, Melis and her husband, Chad, launched their own company, Isle Apparel. The brand was a natural extension of the family’s entrepreneurial and fashion-focused roots. Chad’s father, Ahmet Kozan, founded his textile factory in Turkey in 1980, bringing his expertise as a textile engineer to the family legacy. Isle Apparel quickly became known for its fun, funky, and feminine silhouettes—especially the signature “cha-cha” dress—and its vivid, bold prints designed in-house with a sharp attention to fabric and detail. As Melis’s aesthetic expanded, she introduced more casual elements into her designs, leading to the launch of BAR by Melis Kozan in 2014. Featuring soft French terry, easy jacquards, and breezy linens, BAR filled a niche for luxe everyday clothing. With her busy travel schedule between the U.S., Turkey, and fabric markets in Paris and other European cities, Melis sought pieces that were effortlessly stylish, sophisticated, and comfortable enough for a 10-hour flight—garments that could move seamlessly from one continent to the next. Her passion for fashion and her own personal evolution ultimately inspired the creation of KOZAN. Influenced by sculptural jacquards and vibrant contemporary art scenes from all over the world, KOZAN crafts versatile, statement-making silhouettes that transition with ease, from a late-morning brunch to an avant-garde exhibition, or from the workday to an elegant dinner. These are the pieces you return to again, the quiet icons in your wardrobe that you instinctively reach for whenever you want to look and feel your most confident.