Billion Dollar Baby

10

"This is wrong," I state, eyeing the clothes on the rack. "Blue and red clash. You can't hang them next to each other."

"Which one would you like me to move?" Sarah asks.

"Hang the blue one in front of the black one," I instruct. "Blue, black, white, red — that works well."

"Got it," she takes a few steps up onto the top of the podium and moves the dresses around.

We should've done this when the retail staff was in. The extra hands would've been useful, but their training has ended for the day.

"That looks better," I say. "But maybe we should switch the red and blue one around? No, actually, never mind. I like it this way."

Part of me wishes I'd made more colourful designs. All my gowns have such muted tones, the store looks strangely bare. I'll have to add some more opaque shades into my next collections. Maybe even a few bright tones over summer.

"Are you happy with this now?" Sarah heads back over to me.

"I think so, yeah. Something doesn't seem right about it, but I can't figure out why," I can't tear my eyes away from it. "I think we should put the white one at the front—white, blue, black, red."

"Let's give it a go," she swaps the dresses around and steps back to take them in. I look away for a moment to freshen my perspective, then glance back up.

"This is it," I say. "It's perfect. You can see all the dresses—none of them are blocking another. They're all in view. What do you think?"

"Me?" she hesitates. "I—uh... I don't know. I don't know much about fashion."

"Sure you do. You dress yourself every morning, don't you?" I joke.

"I suppose so."

"So do any of these dresses stand out more than the other?"

"Not really, no," she shakes her head. "I mean... the red does a little but that's normal, right?"

"Yep. Red naturally stands out."

"Is there anything we can do about that?"

"No, but we don't have to. It's at the end of the row so it doesn't shadow any of the other gowns."

"Oh, I see," she nods. "I didn't realise so much went into setting up a store."

"It's called visual merchandising. It's one of the main things you learn in a fashion degree."

It's also one of the main career outcomes. I can't imagine spending my life doing it, but not everyone has the same opportunities I have. If it wasn't for my family it's probably exactly what I'd be doing.

"This looks fantastic, Valeria," Dad says, sticking his phone back in his pocket. He came over about half an hour ago to see how it was going but was stuck on the phone since. "You've done such a good job with this."

"Thanks, Dad," I smile. "It's actually turned out better than I expected."

I rarely get to see all my designs displayed nicely like this. They're usually covered with garment bags, hidden out of sight. Even during runway shows, it's far too hectic backstage to get a good look at them all together. I had no idea what my collections would look like together—if the shades would clash, or the fabrics would cause fiction, or even if there was enough room in this store to display them properly. But there is. It's perfect.

Melinda and I picked out this space almost a year ago. It's right in the heart of 5th Avenue, down the road from the Ferrari Corporation, between Louis Vuitton and the Apple Store. Central Park and the Pulitzer Fountain are on the other side of tr crossing. It's the ideal location. It costs a fortune, too. The store wasn't on the market. It was part of Bergdorf Goodman, but we made them an offer they couldn't refuse. I was determined to have my store here, and it's paid off. I couldn't have imagined the place any better.