So after waking up with a champagne headache Sunday morning around 11.30 I decided to get my ass in the shower and begin to prepare for my trial at 'One of a Kind' which started at 3. I was due to work from 3 - 6. I had my shower whilst listening to Lady GaGa's new track (again) and sat infront of my wardrobe wondering what the hell I was going to wear. I forgot to take a photo but I decided on a grey short sleeved collared shirt that has little button fasteners on the sleeve so you can kind of roll it up and make it look cooler (which of course I did), I bought it paired with my new black H&M leather-waxed denim-esque jeans. Ben's studded belt , a black bow tie and my skull-lace-chain brooch from Diva. I was going for a kind of preppy-meets-punk look and after an hour of getting ready was happy with my look. I left the house with a good luck kiss from Ben and was on my way! The whole way out to Portobello road (which with the 3 tube changes and all the walking is about a 45minute trip) I listene'd to Lady GaGa's first album 'The Fame'. It just always puts me in a good mood and makes me feel like I can be anyone I want to be - famous for a day - so to speak. I walked my way to Portobello Road and instead of getting my usual Starbucks order , I chose a bottle of Lucozade instead , to help with my hangover and give me some energy! Man I forgot how good Lucozade tastes! Anyways I walked into One Of a Kind 
to notice an amazing emerald green vintage dress newly put in the window , I stopped for a minute took a deep breath and walked in to be greeted by Mike - today wearing his signature blue jeans white shirt combo only paired with a really cool navy wool cardigan that was very military styled and had gold military buttons. He told me later on that he designed it and had it made. "Hows your day been" - I asked. He told me it was pretty quiet for a Sunday and normally its busier that all changed quite quickly. I paid attention to the way Mike spoke to the first customer that walked through the door. Advising them the clothes were split up into decades , 80s , 70s, 60s , 50s etc. Listened to what he said how he said it and just after that customer a VIP customer of Mike's came in so he ushered them into the backroom and left me alone to control the shop. So i followed suit - "how you going guys , have you ever been to our store before. basically we have 80s dresses here followed by 70s , 60s , 50s and then everything after that is 40s and older, if you walk up and turn the corner we have jewellery , a room of shoes and our coat room with all our furs and long winter coats". When Mike came out after about 20 minutes , Jeffy , the other boy who works there walked through the door after his break - wearing a really cool school boy style blazer , jeans and a printed t-shirt. "Jeffy , you should see I leave Denis alone for half an hour and I can hear him from out the back talking like a pro , he just heard me once and he's picked it all up in 5 seconds , he's a natural". This was good , this feedback was all good. After some more hustle & bustle Mike left to get some lunch and thats when 'It' happened. Basically there were probably 6 people in store, and to explain to you the layout , its quite a small store , or rather just full of clothes that take up lots of room. You walk in , to your right is a narrow corner full of bags , two big Vintage Louis Vuitton Trunks sit on top of the pile of bags. After this corner is the counter top , above it are all the polaroids of the famous people , vip's that have shopped in the store. To your left are double decker racks of clothes , sectioned off in their decades. In the middle of this section is a round rack with more clothes and as you walk down its the same , the ceiling is covered with clothes hanging from it. A vintage beaded 1920s slip dress hangs next a vintage marabou feather Christian Dior bolero. You come to the end of this room and straight ahead is the very narrow passage of menswear including shoes clothes bags hats and ties. To your left is another hallway that leads you past the jewellery cases on the wall and into the large room full of shoes and the smaller coat room. The door to the secret room is what appears to be a mirror , at the end of the menswear section , that with the pull of a latch turns into the vip room. So imagine 6-8 girls in such a confined space and the store is full. In walks a , lets say , larger woman , thick dark hair swaying over her shoulders. Wearing a big caramel wool wrap/cardigan with loose linen trousers. Her daughter walks next to her sipping on her starbucks , in ripped up jeans , cons and a big wool kimono style jacket looking very reminiscent of Missoni. As I looked at this woman I thougth 'is it , could it be , no It cant be'. The two unidentified women look around talking to eachother on italian , when Jeffy says to the girl "I like your jacket where is it from" she replies , "My mum made it for me". I then say "thats funny becuase it looks like a Missoni" - then as I realise what i'm saying the woman turns to me smiles and says "Yes I am Angela Missoni". 
"I knew it" - blurted out of my mouth. Denis why would you say that , came to my mind straight after. "I am looking actually for vintage Missoni peices to add to my archives can you help me?" Before Jeffy could say anything I walked over to her , thankfully earlier in my shift I literally looked through every rack and knew where all the vintage Missoni was. I pulled out each peice and lay them all out for her pushing anyone else out of the way. Missoni was in my presence & i intended to cater to her every need. "Would you like me to show you some Missoni Mens" , "Sure" she replied. I walked her over to the jumper I fell in love with the other day. I held it up "Look at this , perfection, I am so in love with it". "Ah yes I remember this pattern". I began to stutter , my lips were dry and my heart was beating a million miles an hour. "Can I just tell you , as a young fashion designer myself how much of an honour it is to meet you , the legacy your family has left on fashion with your label is amazing. I could cry" and then I did. There I am standing next to Angela Missoni with tears streaming out of my eyes (It wasnt ugly crying I wasnt sobbing just all of a sudden tears streamed from my eyes). She put her hand on my shoulder and said "Thankyou very much". She paused, I paused, we had a moment. She was in a hurry waiting for her husband , he called her and then Jeffy (knowing the ropes) said "let me take you to the vip room to show you some more elaborate vintage missoni we have" he ushered her and her daughter to the room while i waited instore for her husbands arrival. He walked in and said "I'm looking for..." and before he could finish i said "Angela? She's in the backroom come with me" - Angela , Denis what are you on a first name basis now , how weird is this? It felt so surreal. 5 mintues later the whole family came back out. She took our business card and said "I'll be back thankyou for your help". "It was an honour to meet you" I said , and she smiled at me one last time before she left the store. "Oh my god I cant beleive that just happened" , I said to Jeffy. I couldnt quite breathe. For those of you who dont know , Missoni , is an italian fashion brand that started in the 6os its a family owned label that is still going strong. Their signature zig zag colourful styled weaving of wool is instantly recognisable. Their impact on textiles , fabric and the fashion industry is still so important. There are peices that you all would see every day that are influenced by Missoni and you wouldnt even know it. Its truly an amazing label and more so a legacy to fashion and the textile industry. This is one of my favorite examples of Missoni.
Missoni in the new millenium has truly become a fashion empire. You can buy everything from Missoni perfume to Missoni furniture and homewares. Its always been one of my favorite labels and I am so blessed to have met this amazing woman who took over from her parents (which are still alive but just retired) she's one of my hero's. I still cant beleive it happened. The rest of my shift went really quickly , nothing could get me off the high I felt. Mike was really happy with my work so he paid me for my 3 hours and said that basically whenever they need someone they will call me also the owner still wanted to meet me but he was sick so couldnt come in so he said they'll call me when he's available. I was more than happy with that offer and walked out a very very happy boy! Today's experience is one I will remember for the rest of my life. Absolutley Amazing! Lets hope more good things are to come. That's it for me xoxo Deni
to notice an amazing emerald green vintage dress newly put in the window , I stopped for a minute took a deep breath and walked in to be greeted by Mike - today wearing his signature blue jeans white shirt combo only paired with a really cool navy wool cardigan that was very military styled and had gold military buttons. He told me later on that he designed it and had it made. "Hows your day been" - I asked. He told me it was pretty quiet for a Sunday and normally its busier that all changed quite quickly. I paid attention to the way Mike spoke to the first customer that walked through the door. Advising them the clothes were split up into decades , 80s , 70s, 60s , 50s etc. Listened to what he said how he said it and just after that customer a VIP customer of Mike's came in so he ushered them into the backroom and left me alone to control the shop. So i followed suit - "how you going guys , have you ever been to our store before. basically we have 80s dresses here followed by 70s , 60s , 50s and then everything after that is 40s and older, if you walk up and turn the corner we have jewellery , a room of shoes and our coat room with all our furs and long winter coats". When Mike came out after about 20 minutes , Jeffy , the other boy who works there walked through the door after his break - wearing a really cool school boy style blazer , jeans and a printed t-shirt. "Jeffy , you should see I leave Denis alone for half an hour and I can hear him from out the back talking like a pro , he just heard me once and he's picked it all up in 5 seconds , he's a natural". This was good , this feedback was all good. After some more hustle & bustle Mike left to get some lunch and thats when 'It' happened. Basically there were probably 6 people in store, and to explain to you the layout , its quite a small store , or rather just full of clothes that take up lots of room. You walk in , to your right is a narrow corner full of bags , two big Vintage Louis Vuitton Trunks sit on top of the pile of bags. After this corner is the counter top , above it are all the polaroids of the famous people , vip's that have shopped in the store. To your left are double decker racks of clothes , sectioned off in their decades. In the middle of this section is a round rack with more clothes and as you walk down its the same , the ceiling is covered with clothes hanging from it. A vintage beaded 1920s slip dress hangs next a vintage marabou feather Christian Dior bolero. You come to the end of this room and straight ahead is the very narrow passage of menswear including shoes clothes bags hats and ties. To your left is another hallway that leads you past the jewellery cases on the wall and into the large room full of shoes and the smaller coat room. The door to the secret room is what appears to be a mirror , at the end of the menswear section , that with the pull of a latch turns into the vip room. So imagine 6-8 girls in such a confined space and the store is full. In walks a , lets say , larger woman , thick dark hair swaying over her shoulders. Wearing a big caramel wool wrap/cardigan with loose linen trousers. Her daughter walks next to her sipping on her starbucks , in ripped up jeans , cons and a big wool kimono style jacket looking very reminiscent of Missoni. As I looked at this woman I thougth 'is it , could it be , no It cant be'. The two unidentified women look around talking to eachother on italian , when Jeffy says to the girl "I like your jacket where is it from" she replies , "My mum made it for me". I then say "thats funny becuase it looks like a Missoni" - then as I realise what i'm saying the woman turns to me smiles and says "Yes I am Angela Missoni". "I knew it" - blurted out of my mouth. Denis why would you say that , came to my mind straight after. "I am looking actually for vintage Missoni peices to add to my archives can you help me?" Before Jeffy could say anything I walked over to her , thankfully earlier in my shift I literally looked through every rack and knew where all the vintage Missoni was. I pulled out each peice and lay them all out for her pushing anyone else out of the way. Missoni was in my presence & i intended to cater to her every need. "Would you like me to show you some Missoni Mens" , "Sure" she replied. I walked her over to the jumper I fell in love with the other day. I held it up "Look at this , perfection, I am so in love with it". "Ah yes I remember this pattern". I began to stutter , my lips were dry and my heart was beating a million miles an hour. "Can I just tell you , as a young fashion designer myself how much of an honour it is to meet you , the legacy your family has left on fashion with your label is amazing. I could cry" and then I did. There I am standing next to Angela Missoni with tears streaming out of my eyes (It wasnt ugly crying I wasnt sobbing just all of a sudden tears streamed from my eyes). She put her hand on my shoulder and said "Thankyou very much". She paused, I paused, we had a moment. She was in a hurry waiting for her husband , he called her and then Jeffy (knowing the ropes) said "let me take you to the vip room to show you some more elaborate vintage missoni we have" he ushered her and her daughter to the room while i waited instore for her husbands arrival. He walked in and said "I'm looking for..." and before he could finish i said "Angela? She's in the backroom come with me" - Angela , Denis what are you on a first name basis now , how weird is this? It felt so surreal. 5 mintues later the whole family came back out. She took our business card and said "I'll be back thankyou for your help". "It was an honour to meet you" I said , and she smiled at me one last time before she left the store. "Oh my god I cant beleive that just happened" , I said to Jeffy. I couldnt quite breathe. For those of you who dont know , Missoni , is an italian fashion brand that started in the 6os its a family owned label that is still going strong. Their signature zig zag colourful styled weaving of wool is instantly recognisable. Their impact on textiles , fabric and the fashion industry is still so important. There are peices that you all would see every day that are influenced by Missoni and you wouldnt even know it. Its truly an amazing label and more so a legacy to fashion and the textile industry. This is one of my favorite examples of Missoni. Missoni in the new millenium has truly become a fashion empire. You can buy everything from Missoni perfume to Missoni furniture and homewares. Its always been one of my favorite labels and I am so blessed to have met this amazing woman who took over from her parents (which are still alive but just retired) she's one of my hero's. I still cant beleive it happened. The rest of my shift went really quickly , nothing could get me off the high I felt. Mike was really happy with my work so he paid me for my 3 hours and said that basically whenever they need someone they will call me also the owner still wanted to meet me but he was sick so couldnt come in so he said they'll call me when he's available. I was more than happy with that offer and walked out a very very happy boy! Today's experience is one I will remember for the rest of my life. Absolutley Amazing! Lets hope more good things are to come. That's it for me xoxo Deni
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