After the hours

« A porta aperta, anche il giusto vi pecca. » Amongst the global fashion cities nicknamed the "Big Four", Milan distinguishes itself from the others by one clear fact: it is the only one that is not a capital city. And this curious detail hides an entire story. Remaining an assembly of independent city states until unification in 1891, for many centuries fashion in Italy only existed on a local level, with a long legacy stretching back to the Middle Ages of different cities specializing in their own crafts, fabrics and luxury goods, as well as distinct sartorial flavorings. The echoes of this system rang through to post-Second World War when Italy first seriously entered the global fashion market, with several cities vying, overtaking and losing out to one another as they tried to set themselves up as the place for fashion. But what Cassidy loves the most about this place, is that it is calm and relieving. In New York, where she lives, everything goes in a hurry. She has the pressure of her own work and her own career on her shoulder, and maybe soon enough, she would have even more pressure on  if she's being hired for the job she has applied to. Cassidy loves her job very much, even more than much; in fact, it is what keeps her alive. Fashion makes her draw breathes everyday. She doesn't really remember where that passion for fashion comes from, but she has always felt connected to it in a way.  When she was young her mother used to travel a lot for work matters, so she stayed with her father waiting for her mother to come home. When her dad died from a heart attack, Cassidy was 6, and her mother was spending most of her time flying out of the country.  When he died, her mother took her to every single travel she'd have to do. Cassidy got bored easily, especially during the long hours in the plane, so her mother bought her fashion magazines to read whenever boredom would knock at her door. And somehow it worked, because for most hours of the travels, it always catched her attention. After years of reading these magazines, she started developing her own opinion in fashion, analyzing the clothes, the fits, the colors; and within a few months, she knew every single color combinations for a perfect outfit by heart. Then she later started to get seriously interested in fashion, considering earning her own money from it.  She went for shopping every saturdays, and she was soon known as the best dressed in her high school. She started googling about it; about models, creators, brands, hautes-coutures, Fashion week, and all the things that could one day lead her to perfection. Because as much as it sounds alarming, Cassidy Vaughan was not perfect. She was trying to, though. She was trying to be perfect to please her mother, to catch her attention, though it has never worked. Her mother never really understood where that passion came from, but Cassidy didn't care, because deep down she was convinced fashion was a delicate form of art that only true artists could understand.  She definitely was not perfect. No one was. But she was for sure a perfectionist. Some people could see it as a flaw, but Cassidy always said that in the end, it was a good thing. It motivated her, pushed her closer to her goals every single day. And even though sometimes it was hard, cause she was being horrible to herself, she knew she would later thank herself about it. She was sure that all those years of hard work would one day pay off. It somehow already did, because at only 23 years old, she's already standing here in Milan, watching a fashion show with her team. She studied at the prestigious Drexel University of fashion in Philadelphia for five years until she graduated, and then dropped off and immediately got a job at Glamour magazine as an assistant in journalism. She was not the head of the company and Glamour was not the best magazine but she was sure one day it would lead her to even greater thing, such as Vanity Fair or even Vogue. She would even be able to create her own magazine if she worked hard enough.  But now her work was paying off, and that's all that mattered. Even though she was young, and bubbly, and happy, she also knew she would have to give up on things to reach perfection. She had already gave up on her mother before going to college. They don't talk anymore, and Cassidy was okay with it. It was a part of the deal. Giving up on things we love or enjoy. Cassidy watches attentively the show, sitting next to a few of her colleagues. She's thinking about the day she'd be placed in the front row to watch fashion shows among the best known creators in the world and she smiles. A model catches her attention while posing; she's wearing a navy blue long dress, filled with white pearls on the chest and probably gems that are diamonds on the back of the dress. If you have enough imagination you can understand the dress is Navy themed. Not too bad, she thinks. The dress is not surreal, but it is probably one of the best she has seen during the show. She is somehow disappointed as she is not used of Givenchy being disappointing. This is the spring collection, which means colorful and decorated pieces. But this year, Givenchy had chosen sad colors such as black, dark blue or even grey. They probably wanted to make something original by using different colors, but it didn't work out. Cassidy thinks  the idea is not too bad, but they truly wanted to use these dark colors they at least could have cropped their dress a bit shorter to spread the vibe of spring and warmth.  Her attention fades a bit at a moment, a woman sitting not far away from her catches her forest green eyes. The woman is slouching a bit on her seat, watching the show. She seems tired, or bored, Cassidy can't tell. What she can tell is that she is beautiful. She has a very pale skin, which makes her very attractive. Her hair are black, and her eyes have the color of honey. She seems cute. Even though Cassidy really loved the way she looked, it was not what caught her attention in the first place. She just has the strange feeling of knowing this woman. She reminds her of someone, but she is unable to say who. It is not that important, but it however troubles Cassidy's mind. She never forgets who she meets.  She tells herself it is the way the woman site that makes her laugh. Everyone in the room is  rich, famous people, models, or smaller people but with big dreams, including Cassidy. Seeing the way that strange woman sits is very unusual, and right now it is very funny. She wonders who she might be a second time. She for sure does not work for Glamour magazine, just by seeing the shade of her lipgloss. Cassidy takes a moment to remind herself about the event from last month. As an Editor assistant at Glamour, she had received a call from her boss, panicking. Bazaar Harper and Glamour had a very similar cover magazine this months in the way it was edited, and the company of Bazaar had accused Glamour of copying. Cassidy was the one to call the editor in chief of Bazaar to find an agreement, and she remembers having to go to their company to agree on a few things. Cassidy doesn't remember much of the office now, except the fact that every single person that worked here wore light lipgloss. It sounds cliché, right? The editor has kept that thought for herself until the end of the show. Now she has just got up to finally find out about this woman. She finds her way across the people in the room, following the woman with her eyes as she is getting up. She is wearing a lovely cerulean short dress, circled by a thick black belt. She is about to leave. « Here you are. » Cassidy says as a greet. The woman turns slowly to meet Cassidy's eyes. She slightly smiles, but she is looking at Cassidy with confusion. Cassidy takes time to analyze her makeup. Her blue light and white eye shadow matched perfectly with her light lipgloss and her skin tone.  « Do we know each-other? » The woman asks. « I saw you during the show and I had a feeling that we've already met before. » Cassidy explains. Her own skin is pale too, but tanner than the woman's, there is freckles on her face. She has blond short hair and her eyes reminds green.  « You're a journalist? » The woman questions. « An Editor. Are you a journalist? »  « Yes. Well I don't remember interviewing Editors before, but we might have met in other circumstances. » The woman nods. « Who do you work for? » Cassidy asks as she gets closer to the woman as there is an infinite crowd noise in the room. « Bazaar Harper. »  Cassidy nods.  « Well I work for Glamour and I remember coming at Bazaar for an editing issue a few months back. I might just have seen you quickly at the office. » Cassidy smirks at the woman. « Oh, that must be so then. » The woman nods « I'm Sierra Asher. » She says, giving Cassidy her hand to shake. « Cassidy. Cassidy Vaughan. » She answers as she shakes her hand softly.  Sierra Asher puts a black padlock behind her ear. « So what did you think of the collection? » The journalist asks to start the conversation. Cassidy is about to answer when she stops herself, trying to find good words.  « It was something. » She just replies. « Something? » Sierra chuckles. « To be honest I think it had some highlights, like the few jackets we saw. But the colors and the way they designed their dress was definitely not it. »  The woman laughs, and Cassidy shrugs her shoulders. Cassidy always says what she thinks, even if it sounds mean or cruel, she got it from her mother. « That is a very polite way to say that you hated it. » Sierra corrects with a smile.  « I didn't say that. I just wouldn't want to... » Cassidy stops and searches her words. She's trying to make a good impression.  « Insert it in Glamour magazine? » Sierra cuts her, smiling. « You read my mind. » Cassidy nods as she looks at Sierra with a deep smile. She stares at her for a while. Cassidy enjoys to stare at people in the eyes, it helps her to see beyond what people are. She always believed eyes were the reflect of the soul. And as she stares as Sierra softly, she can only see a beautiful-hearted and genuine soul.