Lucy Knott - The Ingredients for Happiness

Giulia’s boutique was an honest-to-goodness fairytale. Louisa knew she had made the right decision in accepting Giulia’s job offer, upon meeting her and the rest of Luca’s family over Christmas, when she had first laid eyes on the exquisite shop. Gold and pink lettering glazed the shopfront with mannequins dressed in such eye-catching bespoke pieces that they made Louisa’s sketching hand itch. Every day brought a new challenge, be it repairing clothes, working on her own designs or serving customers in the shop and helping them pick out the perfect outfit.

More recently came the added challenge of preparing five impeccable outfits for Italy’s Young Designers Fashion Showcase that was now only a few months away. Giulia had worked her magic and Louisa was the youngest designer on the bill, not to mention the newest. No pressure. Louisa hadn’t been expecting this. Giulia had brought her on board initially to help her with Milan Fashion Week in the autumn but when Louisa had shown Giulia her sketches, Giulia had waved her hands dramatically in the air in typical passionate Italian fashion while shouting ‘ Bellissima, bellissima! ’ Giulia then proceeded to busy herself with phone calls that Louisa was not to overhear – she would receive a wagging finger if she was caught earwigging – for a few days before she announced the news about the showcase to Louisa. It had all been extremely hush hush with the showcase being a prestigious event and difficult to get a spot at. Louisa felt eternally blessed to have Giulia on her side.

Now Louisa stood with pins in her mouth, eyes like slits, concentrating on getting the perfect fold to the hem of one of the pieces she was making for the showcase – a beautiful crochet-covered, contrasting-collared black and pearl dress – when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She gave a slight jerk as it tickled her thigh and plunged her hand into her cardigan pocket desperate for it not to cut off.

Prodding the mannequin with the pins she was holding, careful not to prick herself, she quickly swiped the green answer button.

‘Amanda, hey,’ she said, loudly, excitement in her voice at being able to speak with her big sister. It had felt like forever, when truthfully it had only been two days, but with Amanda being busy at the café and Sabrina still in LA trying to get the boys a record deal, she hadn’t been hearing from them much.

‘Hey Lou, how’s it going? How’s galivanting around Italy with a drop-dead gorgeous Italian and eating cake the size of a football going?’ Amanda asked. Louisa could almost see her sister playfully smirking down the line.

‘It’s going swimmingly,’ Louisa noted, a smile creeping up on her face as she leaned back, resting against her office chair and eyeing up the dress in front of her. It seemed Amanda had been checking her Instagram – that was at least a good sign where her sister’s blog was concerned. Hopefully Amanda had actually started to understand how to use it.

‘Happy to hear it. So, what’s new?’ Amanda asked. Louisa hopped up on her chair, turning away from the dress that was distracting her from being one hundred per cent present with her sister. She had been waiting patiently to talk to Amanda over the past couple of days, excited to share the showcase news with her. The difficult hem on the dress could wait.

‘I’ve got an incredible opportunity coming up actually that I’ve been dying to tell you about,’ Louisa started, absentmindedly picking up a red pencil crayon and shading in a flared skirt on another design she was working on.

‘Oh yeah, me too, but you first. Tell me, tell me,’ Amanda sang. Louisa smiled; she sure did miss her sister – even the sarcasm and teasing she so often dished out.

‘So, Giulia got me this amazing opportunity to take part in Italy’s Young Designers Fashion Showcase, I still can’t believe it to be honest, but being here, well … I’ve been designing nonstop, it’s like all my passion has coming flooding back, inspiration is everywhere,’ Louisa gushed, pausing in her drawing to gaze out of the office window and into the pretty shop glittering with stunning fabrics and extraordinary pieces. She could just make out the edge of the Pasticceria Pansa sign to the right across the way from their shop. How was this her life now?

‘Lou that’s awesome. Oh, I’m so proud of you. Wow,’ Amanda said, a little breathless, which made Louisa’s smile grow wider. It meant the world to have her sister’s support. She hadn’t realized how much she had needed Amanda’s words to give her that extra boost of confidence. The dress she had been working on today had been bugging her, she just couldn’t get it right. Amanda’s words encouraged her. ‘Maybe if things are going according to schedule here, I can come and watch,’ Amanda added. Louisa shrieked at the thought of her sister coming back again soon. She knew Italy wasn’t far but understood work could get in the way. They had been used to Sabrina living across the world for four years and accepted each other’s dreams. Though Louisa’s cheeks flushed at remembering the times she hadn’t been so understanding of Sabrina being so far from home.

‘Thanks Amanda, that would be lovely. I’d really like that,’ Louisa replied, twirling her crayon between her fingers. ‘So, go on, tell me your news?’

‘Well …’ Amanda paused. If Louisa knew her sister this would be for dramatic effect. ‘I think everything should be set for March 23rd – our opening day, can you believe it?’ Louisa could have sworn her big sister actually squealed. ‘I mean the place is still a mess and I don’t have electricity yet, but you know, that’s the plan.’

‘That’s amazing Amanda, wow. This is a great day for good news. Wait …’ Louisa suddenly felt sweaty as she reached out for her desk calendar. March 23rd, March 23rd, why did it ring a bell?

‘Is everything okay Lou?’ Amanda questioned, her voice holding a hint of concern.

‘Yes, everything’s fine. Just one second,’ Louisa said hastily, flicking through the sheets on the calendar to a month from now. She cast her eyes on March 23rd. Staring back at her, written in bright pink marker and circled with stars either side, was ‘Italy’s Young Designers Fashion Showcase’. Her heart sank.

The showcase was everything her heart desired, but she hadn’t accounted for missing Amanda’s opening day. Just like Amanda had been dreaming of the day, so had Louisa. She couldn’t wait to witness her sister make her dreams come true and honour their grandpa’s dreams too. But she had been working on the pieces for the showcase day and night for a month now and had eagerly, and nervously, been counting down the days to make her entrance into the fashion industry. An opportunity like this was like gold dust. She was an unknown in the fashion world, but with Giulia’s help her designs had slowly been making their rounds within Giulia’s well-connected circle. She couldn’t possibly blow this opportunity and skip out on the showcase and nor did she want to – well, maybe just a little bit now that she had heard Amanda’s news.

‘Lou?’ Amanda’s concerned voice asked again.

‘I’m so sorry Amanda, but I won’t be able to make it. March 23rd is the day of the showcase,’ Louisa informed her big sister, feeling deflated, not only because she wanted to be at Amanda’s grand opening but because she had well and truly been floating on cloud nine at the thought of having her sisters at the showcase with her.

‘That’s okay, Lou,’ Amanda said, though her voice lacked the same enthusiasm as before. ‘You’ll just have to take lots of pictures and we’ll Facetime so neither of us miss out.’

‘Yeah, I guess,’ Louisa replied, shuffling off her stool and tugging the pins from out of the mannequin.