Code Red Lipstick by Sarah Sky

Author:Sarah Sky
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic UK
Published: 2014-05-19T04:00:00+00:00

Jessica yawned and swayed on her feet as she was stitched into her gown. Last night, she’d had rehearsals for Saint Laurent, Chanel and Alexander McQueen until one a.m. She’d managed to grab a few hours’ sleep before she was back again at five a.m. having fittings, make-up and hair tests for all three designers ahead of the day’s shows. Haute Couture Week was exhausting. It was hardly surprising the make-up artists had to slap lots of under-eye concealer on all the models. Everyone looked shattered.

It was ten a.m. and she’d already been sewn into an exquisite green floor-length gown with a long train and a traffic-stopping ruffled red dress with a huge corsage at Saint Laurent. Her line-up at Chanel included a jewel-encrusted silver lace gown with layers of hand-beaded tulle and a shimmering white sequinned creation. Seamstresses had checked all the dresses fitted perfectly and taken Polaroids of her wearing each outfit. They stuck the pictures to the clothes hangers to help assistants remember who was wearing which gown during the frantic mid-show outfit changes.

Now she was at Alexander McQueen: her final fitting. She closed her eyes as she stood in front of the mirror. What were Margaret and Nathan up to? She hadn’t heard a peep out of either of them despite leaving messages on both their mobiles. Had they re-interviewed Allegra?

“Stop slouching, s’il vous plait,” a seamstress said.

She straightened up. Apart from the short taxi rides between the couture houses earlier, she’d been standing in front of mirrors or practising walking for the last four hours. She longed to escape. This fitting was dragging on for ever as the stylists experimented with different ways of doing her hair while Camille watched, hawklike.

“You look amazing,” she said, peering over her shoulder.

Jessica looked up and gaped at her astonishing appearance in the full-length mirror. A gothic princess stared back. She was squeezed into a royal blue boned corset that produced a tiny eighteen-inch waist. The blue silk skirt had a massive train, which was so heavy it felt like she was dragging a small child after her, and her rose gold stilettos had the most vertiginous heels she’d ever tried on. She resembled a skyscraper, standing at almost seven feet tall.

Hairstylists busied themselves around her. They’d decided on a massive beehive, which would be studded with Cartier diamond clips tonight, making her look even taller. A woman stood on a chair and perched a gold crown precariously on the top of her bird’s nest hair.

“Voila!”

The whole effect was amazing yet bizarre.

“Wow!” Camille stared admiringly at her.

Jessica tried to turn around and lost her balance, almost toppling over the seamstresses who knelt at her feet, pinning the hem.

“I can’t get used to wearing these heels,” she groaned. “They’re too high and a size too big. I know I’m going to land flat on my face on the catwalk.”

“You’ll be fine,” Camille said. “You need to keep your eyes fixed straight ahead as you come down the runway. Don’t worry. I’ll be there tonight and I’ll keep an eye out for you.

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