Chapter 13

We had dinner with Connie and Isabella in a small restaurant where they were known and talked about the likely campaign. They had a lot of experience and had already mapped out the likely destinations of our travels, following the European, and then the world-wide advertising.

What surprised us was when Connie looked around and lowered her voice.

“Harriette, we will organise an Italian passport for you. It will be a proper one, with a new picture and the magic ‘F’. It will be in the name of Harriette Edwina Sharpe. You will have the contact address of an apartment that you will be using whenever you come to Milan, which will be often. It will be official and will allow you to enter America in a couple of years, about the time we’ll be ready for that market. Hopefully, most of the craziness will be less by then. There will be another, easier one, for Sally.”

“If you can do that, Sally is now legally Sally Sharpe. We’ve been married for a year.”

“That’s news! I expect that we’re now part of a very small circle.”

“You’re only the fifth and sixth to know. Not even Sallys’ parents have been told.”

We got to know the two women over the meal and wine. They had worked for Prada since they had graduated from the School of Management, part of the University of Milan. They had spoken some English since learning it in High School, and it had been helpful in organising promotional material for outside of Italy. We were told that the office were all betting that we would sign a contract, which they had heard would be for ten years.

Back in our room, I had to give out the laugh that I had been holding inside. Sally wanted to know what was so funny.

“We have an appointment with the MD tomorrow, yet we have been given all the information we needed to decide today. We’ve been told that our pay will be the same as our current contract, and it would be for five years with a second five as an option. I’ll be expected to remain in character for all those years, and we’ll be travelling as much as we have been, but this time in the audience.”

“Don’t forget, we’ll be expected to be picking up on trends and new directions while we’re doing all this, as well as keeping an eye on the Village stores.”

“So, we’ll just have to make sure we keep records. I’ve never kept a diary, but it will come in handy. This is all so exciting, something that gets into you, being part of creating trends, rather than following them.”

“And creating a completely new brand of shoes.”

Next morning, we walked over to the office and were shown into the office, where the MD greeted us with a smile.

“Welcome back! Have we fed you enough information to decide?”

“You have, sir. I don’t think that there was much left to say.”

“Just one thing that you’ll need to do before May, and that’s to learn some more Italian, so that you can talk to the workers in our factories and offices. We’ll supply you with a program for your laptops, and there’s a teacher in London, who’ll visit you in Knightsbridge on weekends to listen to how you’re getting on.”

“We do have a smattering already.”

“More than a smattering, if I’ve been informed correctly. Now, I have a pair of forward dated contracts. If you sign them today, you’ll get new laptops with encrypted communications software. We’ll be able to keep you informed of developments with our plans for the different facets of your future responsibilities.”

“If you allow us to read the paperwork, sir, we’ll sign.”

“Very good. My secretary has them and will show you to a quiet space where you can read. Take your time. When you’re ready go back to her and she’ll call me to come and witness your signatures. If you have any problems with how you’re being treated, give her a call to sort things out.”

We were given the contracts and went off to look through them. They were dated on the day after our current ones finished and were for five years, with an option to continue for another five. We were to be employed as ‘Promotional Ambassadors’.

“If we sign these, we’re committed for up to ten years.”

“It’s a guaranteed future.”

“Not fully guaranteed, as there is a clause about termination for conduct intended to cause distress to the Group.”

“The way we’ve been treated, I can’t see us doing anything that bad. So far, it’s all as we’ve already been told, the overview of the Bicester stores, but as direct employees of this office, as well as the promotions and consultancy duties. I haven’t seen anything about a clothing allowance.”

“We’ll have to look good for the whole ten years, and we’ll be earning enough to afford to buy what we like, rather than what we’re expected to wear. Of course, we can always give ourselves an employee discount.”

“Discounted clothes, shoes, handbags and cosmetics, that’s every girls’ dream!”

We went through the papers, word for word, and then went to see his secretary. After we had signed, the MD took us to the executive dining room where all the others were waiting for us. He announced that we were now considered as part of the team, and to be given all the information that we would need. We had lunch, with a lot of chatter in both Italian and English. When we left the office, we had a pair of top-of-the-range laptops with new email addresses and a contact list of all the people we would need to know, safe behind a password.

Our driver took us to the apartment and waited until we had packed. We were taken to the airport where we had been booked on a flight back to London. We were waiting to be called as we slowed down, mentally.

“An interesting day, love.”

“It sure has been, Harry. It’s life changing. We’ll be busy for ten years after May.”

“We’ll be busy for the months up to May, love. It’s the first part of the new season, and we’ll be mentoring the new girls, as well as any others that they’ve signed. It will be good practise in developing our management skills.”

“Do we tell Carol that we’re definitely not re-signing?”

“It would be good to do, between us, allowing her to properly plan for the summer and beyond.”

“We’ll go and say hello when we get back, before the others return. We’ll have to talk to Yvonne as well. I’m not sure if we would still be on her books after May. If we keep the Equity cards, in order to model some of the new products then she would probably insist that we’re still on her books, even though we hadn’t been employed through her work. I wouldn’t mind if she’s still there, behind us. I suppose that we’ll need some models in the Village sometime in the future.

We were called to board, and with us deep in thought it wasn’t that long before we were in an Uber and on the way back to Knightsbridge. We let ourselves into the apartment and just unpacked, put our things away and changed into nightwear. We had enough tinned stuff in the kitchen and made a light meal, before turning my old laptop on and searched for a nice area to live near Bicester.

It didn’t take long to find a wonderful property, just out of Bicester, in Wendlebury. It was beautifully decorated, with four double bedrooms and four bathrooms, plus outside buildings, a good garden with outside entertaining area. It was Grade Two listed and was one and a half million. We emailed the agent, asking for a viewing.

Two days later, we went towards Oxford in the car, and met the agent at the property. It took our breath away, being a great house, with a fair amount of land and lots of car parking. Obviously, there had been plenty of interest. The vendor wouldn’t accept any offer based on the result on our own property selling, so we told him that we didn’t have that problem. We also told him that we were cash buyers and would like it sold with the furnishings, seeing that it would save us having to fill the house ourselves.

He took our details and told us that he would get back to us. When we left the house, we checked out the route to the Village, which took us up Wendlebury Road until we went onto the A41 via a roundabout, which took us directly to the Village. If we carried on past the Village and into Bicester, there were several schools, with a primary not far from a secondary.

We didn’t bother to go into the Village, it wasn’t time for another visit. We went to Oxford and the Royal Oak, near the university, a place we had discovered while we were on the shoot here. We had a big meal, so that we wouldn’t have to cook or buy in that evening. We looked at the brochure for the house.

“What did you think of this, love?”

“I loved it. Four big bedrooms, and one with a bathroom that rivalled the two-person one in the apartment. We would have the ability to keep one room for guests, and two for our children.”

“We’re now having more than one?”

“There’s twins in my family, but not in my generation, so be prepared.”

After the meal, we rang Yvonne to see if there was anyone in the agency. Robin answered and put us through. We made an appointment to see her on Monday. I think that she guessed it would be about our contract, if Mavis had been talking to her.

Over the weekend, we stayed in the apartment, looking at the new laptops and starting to take in the wealth of information they contained, including starting the Italian course. We only went out to eat in one of the outlets in the store, or at our usual pizza place. On Monday morning, with just this week to go of our holiday, we went over to the store and sought out Carol, catching her in the salon area, where she was overseeing make-overs for fresh-faced young girls, who were excited at seeing us within touching distance. We asked her for a short, private, conversation, and she took us into the waxing room.

“You have news for me, I expect.”

“We do, Carol. We definitely will not be re-signing in May.”

“You obviously have a future mapped out.”

“We have. We will be starting, the day after our contract ends, as employees of the Prada Group. On top of overseeing their stores in the Bicester Village, we will be actively promoting the products within the Group, including Versace, L’Oreal, Prada clothing, and especially a new range of Prada shoes which will be advertised as the ‘Theone Range’ and only available, for a while, through Bicester directly or by internet.”

“Wow, that’s some future. You’ll be working directly for Milan?”

“We will, and also with the shoe division in Florence. We’re expected to learn Italian before we start.”

“If they’ve named a shoe line after you, they would have to have offered you plenty to sign on.”

“They did, including an apartment in Madrid to stay at when we join them. It was a very attractive package.”

“I’ll bet. I’ll let Mavis know. I think that she didn’t expect you to be with us after May. You’ll probably be talking to us about Prada things in the future. Does Yvonne know?”

“We’re seeing her this afternoon, to see about us continuing with the agency. We’ll need to keep our Equity cards if we do any shoots or shows.”

“All right. Now, you’ve seen the new girls. We’ll go out and tell them that you’ll be mentoring them for the first round of shows, along with the other three. Sally can take these three to New York, while you can see to teaching the second-year ones about actually working on setting up our London show. You may, or may not, get to walk yourself, but I expect that Prada will want you on the runway. By the time the first round of Weeks are over, we’ll have you mentoring all six in a shoot for the summer range, which will be in Northern Italy this year, in the Tuscan region, so you’ll be able to slip away to meet with your new employers if you want. You’ll have a week of holiday racked up, so you’ll have that week off before the final date of the contract. How long is your contract with them?”

“Five years, with an option for a further five.”

“Wow, again! That’s a real guaranteed career. They must have a lot of faith in you both. Congratulations. I’ll organise a farewell dinner before you finish.”

She took us back to the salon and properly introduced us to the other three girls and told them that we would be their mentors for the first part of the year. We had lunch in the Grill and then called an Uber to take us to the agency.

When we walked into the agency, Robin leapt up to give us both hugs, and wouldn’t let Yvonne know we were there until she had taken a picture of us, similar to the big one in a frame beside us, of that magazine cover where I’m looking over Sallys’ head as Veruschka.

When we were shown into see Yvonne, she also hugged us and asked Robin to organise drinks. There was some talk about how well we had done since we were last in her office, some two years before, and then she smiled.

“Now, you haven’t come in just to chat about old times, have you.”

“No. We’ve both signed contracts with the Prada Group that start the day after our existing one with the store finishes. We’re not going to be models, as such, but are Promotional Ambassadors. We’ll be starting out as overseers in the Bicester Village. I’ll be looking after the Prada store and Sally will be looking after Versace and L’Oreal. Over the second half of the year, we’ll be putting a new line of easily re-soled shoes into the Prada store there, with a small workroom. They will be rolling out similar set-ups in selected stores, starting in Florence. They’ve called the shoes the Theone Line, because they stemmed from an idea that I threw out over a year ago.”

“That’s heavy! You’ll be the foot of the campaign?”

“Probably not. But I will be going around the world to promote it. We won’t be modelling as a career but may be asked to show off some of the lines, the Prada with me and the Versace with Sally. We were wondering if we could keep the Equity cards if we’re not professionals.”

“It sounds as if you’ll continue to be professionals, considering that you’ve both mastered the trade and will have to look good for some years. You’re wondering about my commission, aren’t you?”

“Well, yes. We’re to be employed at managerial level, without any mention of our agency commission on the contracts.”

“I’ll just have to bite the bullet and spend less, then. If you’re running the stores, you may need models. How about us coming to an agreement where you’re on my list as clients, and we supply any extra models you may need in this country?”

“That would be good. I was thinking that we could start a ‘Bicester Week’ with all the fashion stores putting on parades. If we propose it, we can say that we’ll organise all the models.”

“Now you’re thinking like a businesswoman. I like the idea. I’ll like it even better if you name one of the shoe styles after me.”

We had a laugh, some more talk, and then went up the road to the Lord Raglan for lunch, now clients of the agency. It was very different from before. We weren’t new kids on the block any longer, and there was a steady stream of other patrons wanting to tell us how much they loved us in the magazines. We had our pictures taken to be added to the celebrities and other models behind the bar.

When we returned to the apartment, we started making a list of things we will have to do. We knew what we would be doing with work. We had the Paris Haute to start, with us taking the others over. Then it was Sally in New York with three of the others, while I introduced the other three to the more ‘behind the scenes’ aspect of working for the store.

After London, we were in Milan and back to Paris. After Paris, we would mentor all six girls in Tuscany for a month, then we would be back in the store for two weeks before using our week holiday to move from the apartment. A lot depended on whether we got the house.

We still had the rest of this week and the weekend before we went back to work, so buckled down to learn Italian, calling the teacher to come and see us on the weekend, to see where we stood and to guide us with other study.

On Monday, we saw Mavis, who had been brought up to speed, and she authorised our mentoring duties over any modelling, unless we were particularly asked for. We got the six together with Carol to plan the Paris Haute show, and to make sure the three new girls all had valid passports.

The days passed, we did the shows, I made sure that the three models were well taught in what makes a show happen as we helped set up our London show. By this time, they had discovered that it wasn’t all being pampered and dressed; that only happened if you were one of the popular freelance models, not house models for the store.

When we were in Milan, we had a large group from Prada in the audience. Sally and I sat with them and quietly discussed how things were going. We were getting updates on the new laptops, so were well versed in developments. The Paris Week was our last in this job, and our charges all got rave reviews, with us making sure that they looked like they enjoyed being there.

The shoot was good. There were three teams, and we were busy keeping up with who went were, wearing the right outfits and made-up properly. Sally was kept on the ball with that side of things, while I did a lot of handholding and pep-talking. By now, everyone knew that we weren’t going to be around, and the six girls would be carrying the load. I think that by the end of the shoot, they were ready for it. Manny took a lot of candid pictures of the two of us looking managerial for his scrapbook.

We had been contacted by the estate agent at the end of February, that the vendor was happy to sell at the advertised price, with the furnishings included. We would have to supply our own linen and kitchen things, but we would be able to sort those out in the last week. We asked if he had used a cleaning and gardening service, which he had, seeing that the property was vacant. We asked him to extend those services until the end of June, and to add the cost to the bill, along with all the extras. He sent us the invoice, which we paid from Sallys’ account with me transferring half from mine to hers. He sent us the keys and deeds by registered mail. We now had our home!

Our last couple of weeks in the store were bittersweet. We had a dinner with Mavis and some executives, where they thanked us for what we had achieved. We spent time walking the entire store, talking to the concession holders. We packed up our cases and took them to the house one weekend, storing the contents and bringing them back for another load. We shopped in the store for bed linen and kitchen things, taking it all down to the car to store.

The last Friday was a lot of kisses and tears, and then we were out of there. Saturday, we took more things and what had been put in the car to Wendlebury and made up the beds, storing the rest of our clothes and setting things out in the kitchen. We didn’t have everything that we needed, so went into Bicester to get food and gadgets. We found an electrical store and bought a big TV, with a soundbar, to be delivered and set up on Tuesday. Saturday night, we slept in our new bed, christening it. Sunday morning, Sally put her remaining birth control pills into a drawer in the bathroom. We then went back to Knightsbridge.

Monday morning, we took all our remaining things to the car, checked that we had only left the things as they were when we had arrived, and Sally drove the car out of the underground car park, while I took the apartment keys into the security entrance to leave. I got into the car, and we left London behind.

Over the rest of the year, we were busy. Sally and I went to Milan to be welcomed into the Group and given our ID lanyards and letters of authority. We were shown the apartment there that we would use. Back in Britain, we introduced ourselves in the Village. Sally had meetings with the Versace and L’Oreal staff, while I was introduced to the Prada staff. I told the manager that I wasn’t going to be full-time, and to promote the best assistant to take over the managers’ position, while I would oversee some changes. I got them in one morning before opening time, and told them all about the new shoe line, asking for a volunteer to be trained in sole and heel repair.

We had contractors in to fit out one of the storerooms and I had a look at the lasts that had been installed. They were specialised, with a top bar that carried a heat pad that would come down on the new sole to cure the glue quickly. I had one big meeting in Florence, where we finalised the new range. There were ten different upper designs, with different strapping set-ups and a few that showed your toes. There were different colours in each design, but all the soles were the same, in an olive green. We named the ten styles, and I was able to name one the Yvonne. Another was Sally, and there was a Connie, but the rest were names chosen by focus groups, all with different initials.

I was fully trained in the repair process, which was quite simple. The spares would be supplied in boxes, marked with the initial of the style and one of twelve different sizes. I trained up our new part-time cobbler, and we had our first delivery of the new range to set out. The advertising kicked in, with our store as the only place in the country to see the new product. The initial campaign was around the green aspect of not throwing out worn shoes, with the tag line, ‘Saving Humanity, One Sole at a Time.’

Sally had been right, as she gave birth to twin girls in April. We had to employ a nanny for their first year, as we were away a lot of the time, but things settled down after a while, and we were home a lot more. In the Village, we became well known and well accepted, as there had been plenty of magazine covers with one, the other, or both of us featured. We were asked to join the Village Management Committee and offered to organise a fashion week, with a single runway in the middle of the Village, with us supplying all the models. It was very successful; we all had a good time and we all sold heaps.

By the time the first five years whipped past, we had established the new shoes as the ones for life, with the other brands having to scramble to catch up. Sally had reorganised both Versace and L’Oreal stores to be stronger contenders in all the markets around the world. Our girls started primary, and Sally didn’t sign the second five-year option. I did, now the main earner in our family. Our house had become a home, one that we were proud to live in and to invite guests to stay.

We had Sally’s parents stay with us for a month, with Sally taking them around the area, and them spoiling the girls rotten. We had John and Mum stay with us as well, with young Alan. They loved the house and painted pictures of it for us to put on the wall next to the others of theirs that we had. We settled into life with me as an executive, heading off to visit other stores, and us taking the girls to various fashion weeks around the world. Of course, they grew up steeped in in fashion and glamour, but were both good students with it. By the time they were in high school, they were the most stylish in their year, and happy to be known as the twins with two mothers.

Our daughters both became successful models and married millionaires that they had met in Madrid. I stayed as Harriette for the rest of my life, only changing the wig for a silvery one as I got past retirement and we moved to Marebello, where we joined a small enclave of other ex-Prada millionaires. I often thought about a particular day, many years before.

Mum had just the one extra child, my half-brother. They came to visit us when he was six, and I went into the Village with her, my two, and young Alan. As we walked along the main walkway, shopkeepers would come out and talk, sometimes with a gift for the children. Mum had to stop and giggle.

“What’s up, Mum?”

“I just had a vision of that time you and Sally came back to Braintree, and we went around the Village. That day, the two of you were feted by all the outlets. Today is so similar that the old adage came to mind. ‘You can take the girl out of the Village, but you can’t take the Village out of the girl’.”

“Funny you spoke about a girl, Mum. We’re happy with our two and won’t try for anymore. We’ve been talking about me going the whole way. I’ve been living like this for nearly ten years, and it wouldn’t be a surprise for anyone if I took my next holiday in hospital.”

“That would make things easier, all round, but do you really need to do that? You’re a beautiful woman, a famous model and already a successful businesswoman. Nobody even considers you as being less than a wonderful woman. I even don’t think of you as anything but my daughter. Don’t take the chance on seeing the surgeon, darling, you’re never ending up with ear or nose hairs, so how you look now will be how you look later. The only thing that an operation would fix is something out of sight.”

“I guess that you’re right, Mum. It’s not as if I want to utilise any new plumbing as it should be used. We still have a good time in bed. I just thought that I should make the body fit the clothes.”

“You’ve made the clothes fit the body for years, darling. Just enjoy life, enjoy those girls of yours and enjoy what you do. There may be a time for serious changes, but what you’re talking about isn’t needed for you to be you. You’re wonderful the way you are. What you’re suggesting may even be something that you find you don’t like. It’s one thing to invert your willie but reversing that operation won’t be a fast fix.”

Marianne Gregory © 2026