Chapter 9

Three days before the deadline, Panya came into the consulting room, its table scattered with drawings and material and the accoutrements of tailoring. Anjali had set the three roughly cut garments on the dummies at the end of the table, trusting that inspiration would come from the unrefined forms.

‘It was easier when I was making more guesses,’ said Anjali. ‘Now that I feel that I know what I am looking for - well it is proving to be a harder task. Both the Factory Manager and the Financial Director need to carry the look of certainty, Panya. But I do not know the Financial Director at all.

‘I know that the garment and its wearer must complement each other. It is a question of neither the clothing nor the person being stretched beyond the capability of the material from which they are made. I know my garments, and I know what conviction they need to carry.’

Anjali sat down heavily and began flicking through a binder of sketches.

‘I do not know both of these people well enough,’ she said, opening the file at a page that was heavy with alterations in blue pencil. ‘I do not know what this man brings to the garment. But we both know that a garment that is made to carry too much of the weight, that is pressed too hard, will let its indifference be known.’

She sighed, frustration shining in her eyes.

‘If that should happen the spell will break and the pitch will be lost. The worry is clouding my vision. I cannot see my way through this.’

Panya walked over to the three mannequins and cast her eyes closely over the garments.

‘You are very close to this problem,’ she said at last. ‘I do not have your refinement, but I do have the essential drive to get the alterations done. Tell me clearly what it is that you are wanting - and then once I know what it is - let me take it through to the end.’

Anjali was still studying the scribbled pages of the file. Panya reached across and took the file from her.

‘You only have two days, and you will need some of that time to dress - and to do the final alterations. It is now that we need to do - and not to design. Let the influence that you seek from these garments stay where it is. It is enough.’

‘I wanted to capture that warm feeling of an evening amongst one’s friends, Panya. The time when ideas are contemplated rather than judged. I wanted the garments to come out of the bronzed depths of a glass of brandy after dinner.’

‘It is captured, Anjali. Or at least it will be when we have made a small alteration or two.’

****

In the last two days there was an easy collaboration between the two women. They made smart cut jackets, and they blended trousers. They accessorised to hint at authority and success. Rather than a sweeping statement of fashion, this was the small assertion of influence. Their combined skill in alteration was the deciding factor, as they inched towards the look that drove the essential detail home.