Page 72 of Unbind

I take him at his word, heading past the banks of desks, which probably belong to the production, design and merchandising functions, towards the huge cutting tables. Evan would lose his life. Each table must be twelve feet longat least, affording space to cut even the most audacious, extravagant patterns from the fabric.

Best of all, Vega’s fabric collection lies under each table. I assume the bulk of the current season’s fabric is at the factories, but every fashion brand accumulates excess fabric, which is often used when sampling future collections. On the shelves under the table at which I’m standing lie roll after roll of tweed. I recognise the fabulous, metallic-heavy signatures of two of the top mills, Mahlia Kent and Linton, both of whom are beloved by brands such as Chanel and Balmain. The rolls are organised by colour: from duck-egg blue to azure at one end while pink shades ranging from salmon to magenta lie at the other.

Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory has nothing on this. It’s dazzling, the sheer scale of Vega’s resources. The fun I could have playing with these fabrics.

The magic I could weave.

What really hits me hard, though, is when we get to the far end of the room, only to find that it’s actually an L-shape. Around the bend is a sumptuous area that is clearly where Vega sees his most important clients. The flooring here is walnut, the walls a pale pink silk that also covers the changing area, and the fixtures rose gold. It’s feminine and indulgent and stunning.

And hanging on that silk? Photo after photo mounted on perspex, showing the great and good of the entertainment industry wearing Omar Vega’s admittedly gorgeous creations.

Margot Robbie in aqua-coloured ruffles on the red carpet at Cannes.

Emma Watson at some premiere.

Queen Rania of Jordan in a frothy emerald green tea-dress.

A sketch of a silver sequinned dress commissioned by Taylor Swift, signed with Vega’s trademark flashy scrawl.

Images that credentialise the man who dressed these women as the real deal.

And just like that, the childlike excitement I felt at being let loose in this inner sanctum dissipates, leaving only a crashing, sickening sense of imposter syndrome.

‘It’s so beautiful,’ I tell Adam, giving him a smile I hope reflects none of this. Clearly, I’m a worse actor than I give myself credit for, because he takes my hand and pulls me down to sit next to him on a plum-coloured velvet sofa that’s supported God knows how many famous bottoms.

‘Remember what I told you,’ he murmurs into my hair as he wraps an arm around me and pulls me to him, ‘raw talent and commercial potential and financial strength aren’t the same things—well, neither is a business’s size. This isn’t allhim. Sure, it’s built around him, but we have three hundred people working for this brand, and that’s not including any of the centralised functions I mentioned, nor the PR agencies we pay an arm and a leg to every month.

‘This is a machine, and it’s a fucking cash-hungry machine at that. All this gloss is the result of massive investment and hundreds of people who are very, very good at what they do. It takes an astounding amount of time and money and hard work to translate one person’s vision intothis.’

I nod a little too vigorously. ‘I know,’ I say, my throat so tight it aches.

‘That wisteria dress I saw on your mannequin yesterday,’ he continues. ‘You know more about this stuff than me—a lot more—but I swear to God, you put that up on the rail over there and get some celebrity in and she’ll bite your hand off to get her mitts on it. It was spectacular. Exquisite.That hardware you had going on on the shoulders? Just beautiful. Honestly, sweetheart, I’m not exaggerating. From what little I’ve seen, your creative talent is just as good as his. Better, possibly.’

I start to roll my eyes at what is an absurd proclamation from a businessman who’s astute enough to know better and most likely still sex-drunk, but he reaches up with his free hand and grabs my chin gently.

‘Listen to me. The only thing separating you from Omar Vega is circumstance.The only thing.And if you’d like to chat at any point about taking steps to change the circumstances of your brand, then I promise you I will do anything in my power to support you through the process.’

44

ADAM

She doesn’t seem to believe me, and it pisses me off.

‘It’s so easy to feel intimidated by all this,’ I continue, waving my hand around the space. ‘But it’s just a snapshot of where a business stands at a certain point in time. Your journey may not be on the same timeline as his, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get there.’

‘Sometimes I think I’m delusional,’ she admits. ‘Like, what the hell am I even doing? It feels as though I’m just trying to stay afloat every day. What’s the point? The company’s maxed out its credit cards. It feels like such an effort to keep it going, and I’m so focused on survival that there’s no oxygen for growth.’

I release her face and take her hand. ‘That is very, very standard for a business of your size. There’s this toxic rhetoric out there that things should be easy, or that a company’s viability rests on how quickly it can grow, but that’s bullshit. I meant what I said about circumstances. Vega has a lot of advantages that you don’t.

‘But I hear what you say about feeling deluded, too. If a business is a dead horse, I firmly believe you should walkaway.’ I pause, squeezing her hand. ‘Forget the bills and the struggles for a moment. What’s your vision for the brand? Why did you start it, and do you still stand by that vision?’

She sighs. ‘I felt that there was a place for a beautiful British brand that has craftsmanship and sustainability at its core. I don’t want to have to cut corners or compromise on the craftorthe ethics—that’s why I positioned it in a less price-sensitive part of the market.’

I nod. ‘Smart.’

‘And I know there are better designers than me out there. I know there are people who are more commercial, who have more celebrity relationships and are just better at hustling… But I truly believe in my bones that our aesthetic has a place in the market. And I really, really believe in our prints. I think they have so much potential beyond clothing.’

‘Like what?’ I ask, my interest piqued. ‘Pull up your Instagram, will you?’

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