Evie told Aiden she thought I deserved a lie-in, so scheduled our appointment for 11.30 a.m. What she did not realise, however, is that Pippa does not share that sentiment, and I was immediately told to use the extra time to finalise Pippa’s expense report and send it to her for approval before I went.
By ‘finalise’ she meant ‘start’, as well as empty her desk drawer to find half of her receipts myself. She knew for a fact that it was a full day’s-worth of work easily, especially if she were the one doing it. But nothing was going to stand in the way of me and Evie. One early morning and a rushed train and Tube ride later, here I am, only three minutes late, at the foot of a shabby-chic brownstone building just off Bond Street.
The lobby is just as gorgeous as the outside, complete with light stone walls and pale-pink sofas leading straight to the lift that takes pride of place in the centre of the room. I press the button without even looking for an alternative. After the way I power-walked from the station, the last thing I need is to battle five flights of what I can assume are probably inexplicably gorgeous stairs.
‘Maddison!’ Evie exclaims as the door slides open to reveal the most beautiful loft I have ever seen.
She runs over to me, engulfing me in a hug, hints of oak and vanilla and cocoa butter dancing their way up my nose. She smells as amazing as she looks; I knew that she would, but it’s different to experience it in person. The tighter she squeezes, the more I try to process the fact that Evie Eesuola is hugging me right now.
‘Let me take your coat. Did you get here OK?’ she asks, taking a moment to look my sweaty face over.
‘Yes. Sorry I’m late! I got caught up with some work!’ I try my best to not sound out of breath.
‘Oh, don’t be silly.’ She gives a breezy flick of her wrist as she beckons me to follow her across the room. ‘You’re right on time. Come in– Anika is so excited to meet you!’
The place is decked out in a variety of plush furnishing and antiques, a bright and colourful theme running through the space. It feels full of life, packed with ornaments, mirrors and knick-knacks, each one placed far too intentionally to be considered clutter. Large bay windows adorn the furthest wall, proudly displaying a crisp view of the London skyline. The light that shines through them casts speckles of golden sunshine across the white-and-yellow-patterned wall opposite. She leads me across the open-plan floor, turning the corner to reveal racks upon racks of clothes, all hung on beautifully antique metal railings. Standing by them is a woman, her braids wrapped on top of her head in a bun. She meticulously flicks through the pieces with such firm concentration that she doesn’t even notice us appear.
‘This is my stylist. Theonlyone I trust with my look. Anika, this is the wonderful new event planner I was telling you about!’ Evie says cheerily.
Anika breaks from her focus, dark skin glistening in the window light as she turns to face us with a gentle smile.
‘Maddison? Lovely to meet you!’ She walks over to welcome me with a hug.
She hovers as she withdraws, resting her hands on my shoulders as she slowly but kindly looks over my frame.
‘You are stunning. Good bone structure,beautifulcomplexion. This is going to be a piece of cake.’ She turns back to one of the racks and starts vigorously fishing through the items. ‘Do you have any preferences?’
She patiently awaits my response, but I can’t answer because I have absolutely no clue what’s going on. I look to Evie, the deer in headlights that I am, as she smiles back at me softly.
‘Anika’s dressing you for Friday. You didn’t think I’d let you go to the La La Lounge unprepared, did you?’ she asks with a tinkling laugh.
‘I, erm. . .’ I’m stunned, somewhere between flattered and offended. ‘You really don’t have to. I know I didn’t look my best the first time you came to the office, but I swear I don’t wear skater skirts everywhere!’
She stares back at me quizzically.
I try to explain myself fully. ‘My brother didn’t take his clothes out of the dryer and then there was no time to get to the office. I practically ran to the bus stop in the rain and then—’
‘Maddison,’ she says, gently stopping me in my tracks. ‘This isn’t because I don’t think you can dress.’
‘It’s not?’
‘No!’ She takes in my panicked expression. ‘Do you know why I started my channel?’
I know she’s gone from strength to strength in the fashion industry and covered pretty much every area she can. I know she is synonymous with luxury and beauty. I know that her YouTube channel grew so huge that the major streamers had a multi-million bidding war to turn Evielution into a studio-style show. I don’t, however, know why it all started. What made EvieEvie.
‘I started because there was a huge disparity between the life I wanted and the life I was told I should settle for.’ Her voice is firm. ‘I knew that working twice as hard for half as much was bull. If I was going to work twice as hard, I wanted twice as much.’
I blink. Her intensity is startling and maintaining eye contact with her is like staring straight at the sun, but I can’t look away. She is pulling me in, making me hang on to her every word.
‘My parents begged me to get a real job, but I wanted to use my obsession with clothes and hair and make-up to give every other Black girl the chance to be as frivolous and stylish as they wanted to be.’ She takes my hand. ‘I’m doing this because I can. And because you deserve this.’
I don’t even know what to say. It’s too kind and too much, and has prompted a knot in the back of my throat.
‘If your boss asks, we workedsuperhard today,’ she says, winking before she scoots to the side so Anika can measure me.
‘How’d you feel about glitter? I know it can sometimes be tacky, but not the way I do it,’ Anika says, boasting.
She turns back to her racks, tape measure balanced between her lips as she pulls out the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen. The design itself is simple– mini, with a sweetheart neckline and off-the-shoulder sleeves that drape lightly on the shoulders. It’s a deep grey– smoky and mysterious, and adorned top to bottom in fine glitter detail. Each fragment catches the light, radiating perfect tendrils on the patterned walls. It’s understated yet showy, elegant but simple, and I can’t stop staring at it.
