Fashionista (3 page)

“
What do you think of this?
”
Ebeneezer Malcolm asked Allegra, brandishing a mock-up of a new ad for Zangari shoes. The tagline read,
“
Made in America with Italian soul.
”
The sole of the shoe pictured
—
a lace-up man
’
s Oxford
—
was red, white, and green like the Italian flag.

She wondered if Ebeneezer was seriously suggesting they make the shoe soles tri-colored, like the trademark red soles on Christian Louboutin
’
s shoes.

“
See, it
’
s a play on words, S O UL instead of S O LE.
”

“
I got it,
”
Allegra said. She ran the line through her head again a few more times.
“
I like it but maybe not for dress shoes. It seems better suited for summer shoes. Sandals. Slides.
”

Ebeneezer thought a minute.
“
You could build a whole summer campaign around a retro
La Dolce Vita
theme. Dress the models up with 60s makeup and hair. And those dresses with the full skirts.
”
He sounded kind of wistful as he pictured the sexy dresses with the full skirts.

“
Have them kicking their sandals off to dance barefoot on the sand.
”

“
Why don
’
t you put something together?
”
Allegra said, seeing he was in
“
the zone.
”

“
Okay,
”
he said.
“
I
’
ll have something for you to look at tomorrow.
”

Allegra smiled as Ebeneezer left her office. She had hired him right out of Booth School of Business to replace Zangari
’
s former head of marketing, who
’
d retired after Enzo died. Ebeneezer was young, metrosexual, ambitious and Allegra loved his energy and his ideas. Mariella had been annoyed that Allegra had offered him the job without consulting her first, but even she had to admit that sales had gone up since he
’
d begun implementing his master plan with mini-movie style ads, modeled after Jaguar
’
s
“
It
’
s Good to Be Bad
”
and BMW
’
s
“
The Driver
”
commercials. They
’
d become viral sensations and now Zangari had a YouTube channel.
I wonder if Jennifer Lawrence needs a new pair of shoes,
Allegra thought. She knew Jennifer was on Ebeneezer
’
s wish list of actors for the next video.
She could totally pull off that glam 60s look
.

She smiled again, but her good mood evaporated as Severine brought in the mail, including several bulky packages that could only contain portfolios.

Allegra
’
s official title was
“
Design Director for the House of Zangari
”
and it seemed like every day half a dozen portfolios from would-be designers landed on her desk. With every celebutante in the country designing handbags, she
’
d come to see purses in her sleep
—
clutches, envelopes, doctor bags, hobo bags. She
’
d only hired one designer sight-unseen. Her portfolio had been outstanding and she
’
d sent it with a gorgeous clutch in forest green faux leather with hand-tooling on the flap and a leopard-print lining. Inside the purse was a hand-calligraphied note that said
“
Vegans need accessories too.
”
Allegra had hired Lily and put her in charge of designing all of Zangari
’
s alternate line of leather-less accessories and they
’
d been a huge hit in their online store.

Panning for gold
, Allegra thought as she contemplated the stack.
I
’
m panning for gold
. She opened the first portfolio to see a sketch of a crossbody purse that was designed to look like a python strangling the wearer.

Nope
.

The next portfolio contained a whole series of geometrical designs, including a circle purse with a hole in it like a life preserver. It was cute but totally impractical, as was the triangle design clutch with looked like it was reversible. Allegra had experimented with triangle shapes herself and knew they rarely worked. Maybe if all you wanted to carry was a credit card and your house key but anything else and the purse would bulge in a way that wasn
’
t attractive.

She scribbled a quick note on Zangari letterhead saying,
“
Try again,
”
and put it aside for Severine to mail back.

The third portfolio came packaged in a metal box that looked like it had been beamed back from the future. Inside were beautifully rendered watercolor illustrations of a knock-off version of Kate Spade
’
s giraffe print purse and another of a tote from Allegra
’
s tribal collection of 2014.
How stupid are you?
she thought crankily. Did you think I wouldn
’
t notice you stole one of my designs? Or one of Kate
’
s most copied accessories?

She closed the box and put it aside. That one would get a form letter saying,
“
Don
’
t bother to submit again.
”

She was just reaching for the fourth portfolio when Sina appeared at her office door.

“
Are you busy?
”
she asked, and without waiting for an answer, turned and ushered in the two people standing behind her. Allegra recognized the girl she
’
d seen in the conference room.

“
This is Amira and her brother Nabil,
”
Sina announced.
“
They
’
re from Syria.
”

“
Bill,
”
the young man corrected in a soft accent.
“
Call me Bill, Sina.
”

Sina pouted.
“
But you have such a beautiful name,
”
she said, and then turned back to Allegra.
“
Amira is a designer,
”
she said.
“
She designed the dress she
’
s wearing.
”

Allegra had noticed the dress, an elegantly simple wrap in a deep pomegranate color that flattered her coloring. The fabric looked cheap but the tailoring was impeccable.

“
It
’
s a beautiful dress,
”
Allegra said. Amira blushed.

“
Show her the bracelet,
”
Sina said, somewhat bossily, and the other girl meekly held out her arm to display the cuff that circled her slender wrist. Allegra took Amira
’
s hand and gently pulled it toward her for a closer look. The bracelet was a bold latticework of hammered metal with tiny faceted garnet beads captured like sparkling fish in a net.

“
Nabil designed and made that,
”
Sina said, blithely ignoring his request that she use his Americanized name.

“
It
’
s a beautiful piece, Bill,
”
Allegra said, somewhat baffled by her sister
’
s show and tell.

“
Thank you,
”
he said softly

“
I told you she would like it,
”
Sina said to Nabil, then turned back to Allegra.

“
I told them they could work here until mother moves the factory to China, and then they can move next door.
”

“
We
’
re pretty maxed out on office space,
”
Allegra said, thinking
When mother moves the production to China???

“
But nobody uses the conference room,
”
Sina said.

“
Except for staff meetings,
”
Allegra countered, trying not to show her dismay at the bomb Sina had so unconsciously dropped.

“
Nobody likes staff meetings,
”
Sina said.

Allegra started to object again but she could tell Amira was following the context of the conversation despite her apparent lack of English, and it was making her tense.

Oh what the hell
, Allegra thought.
If Mariella really is moving everything to China, we
’
re not going to need that conference room anyway
.

“
That sounds fine,
”
she said, smiling at the siblings.
“
Have Severine set them up for parking and whatever.
”

Sina beamed at her, then murmured something to the girl in Arabic.

Since when do you speak Arabic
, she wondered. And then she looked at Nabil and thought she might know the answer to that.

The Syrian girl broke into a smile that transformed her face from plain to beautiful.

“
Shukran
,
”
Amira said.

“
That means
“
thank you,
’”
Sina said.

“
Thank you,
”
Nabil echoed.
“
Thank you very much.
”

“
My pleasure,
”
Allegra said, wondering just where Sina had run into a pair of Syrians with mad design skills. To get everyone out of her office, she asked Sina if she
’
d done her year-end paperwork yet.

“
I
’
ll have that for you this afternoon,
”
she said and quickly hustled the siblings away as if they were lost sheep and she was a border collie.

The minute they were out of earshot, Allegra dialed her best friend.

Grace answered on the first ring.
“
Grace Makaidi.
”

“
It
’
s me,
”
Allegra said.
“
Can I buy you lunch?
”

“
A quick one,
”
she said.
“
Meet you at Fat Rice at 12:45?
”

“
I appreciate it,
”
Allegra said.

“
Don
’
t be afraid to show your appreciation,
”
Grace said with a smile in her voice and hung up.

Allegra had known Grace since they were both in first grade at the British International School of Chicago. Allegra had admired Grace
’
s bright red Mary Jane shoes with little perforations in the toe. She
’
d gone home and drawn them for her father, insisting that he make her an identical pair. Her drawing skills had not been very developed back then and after two failed attempts at executing her design, Enzo had simply accompanied her to school one day, introduced himself to Grace and her father, and offered to make Grace a pair of shoes in return for a week
’
s
“
rental
”
of her red shoes. Joseph Makaidi had been amused by the request and Grace had been delighted. When Enzo asked her what kind of shoe she wanted, she didn
’
t hesitate.

“
Dalmatian shoes,
”
she said,
“
but not made out of puppies.
”

101 Dalmatians
was her favorite movie.

“
I can do that,
”
Enzo said. Grace was a daddy
’
s girl and Joseph Makaidi had been so pleased by her delight in her new spotted shoes that the two families became friends. Joseph was still the family lawyer, and he considered it a failure of that friendship when Enzo Zangari died without a will. Grace had been working as a paralegal for her father since high school so when she graduated from law school it was only natural she join the firm.