The Johnsons, Bill and Sally, were Texans, very pleasant people who would have loved to carry Saverio leather goods in their stores, but Cosima had explained it wasn’t possible. It was against the family philosophy of keeping their goods exclusive to their own stores, a tradition she had upheld to honor her grandfather. Sally and Bill were gracious about it, and had brought in a decorator to transform the palazzo into Texan luxury. Cosima had agreed to it provided the Johnsons made no permanent structural alterations.
They were giving a housewarming party that weekend, which Cosima had agreed to attend, although she never went to big parties. She thought it would be rude not to accept the invitation, and she was curious to see what they’d done to the palazzo. But she was apprehensive too. She was sure it would be vulgar and nothing like the interior during her parents’ lifetime, but she had to be practical now. She had rented the palazzo for an enormous amount, so she wouldn’t have to sell it. And the Johnsons had agreed to the price without hesitating or complaining. They loved Venice, spent two months there every year, and were thrilled to have the palazzo. Sally had told Cosima that people would be flying in from all over the States and Europe for their party.
Despite how effusive the Johnsons were, and how larger than life, Cosima liked them. They had grown children she’d never met, and interesting taste, and it was always possible that they had done the palazzo beautifully, although the famous decorator they’d used had a reputation for over-the-top excess. He’d done a château in France, and Cosima had cringed when she saw the photographs. She hoped that the Johnsons hadn’t gone too overboard in their décor at Palazzo Saverio, even though it was more than likely they had. But they hadn’t bought it, and how far could they go in a rented house? She was about to find out.
She had important meetings that week before the party. She had the entire new fall line of designs to approve, and she worked closely with the designers. They’d added a line of silk and cashmere clothes for men and women five years before. It was doing extremely well and had turned out to be a real moneymaker. They had also added a line of hunting clothes for men. They were very popular, along with their other equestrian items, which had been inspired by the saddles her grandfather had made.
Saverio’s only real competition was Hermès, and even her grandfather had said that there was room in the world for both of them. Each house had its own distinctive style, and their clients were loyal. Both houses followed many of the same old-fashioned rules to protect their exclusivity and brand. Many of the Saverio customers loved having to come to Italy to buy from them.
Cosima entertained her biggest customers when they came to Rome, and invited them to dinner at her apartment, or their favorite restaurants, and even let them wander peacefully through the store after hours, noticing items they might not have seen otherwise, and she had her selling staff bring them some of the very latest items directly from their workrooms. Their signature handbag, the Tizianna, named after her mother, had been made famous by Sophia Loren. Grace Kelly had ordered three of them when they came out and wore them alternately with her Hermès Kellys. There was even a smaller one, for evening, named the Adria bag, which her grandfather had named for her grandmother when he created it. Cosima had the Tizianna in every color and wore them daily. It was a perfect work bag.
Luca objected vehemently to the signature bags, and said they were just one more old-fashioned element that kept them out of step with the modern world. He thought everything about Saverio was antiquated, and he had no respect for tradition. Allegra had designed a bag she named the Cosima, which she was dying to have made, but Cosima wouldn’t let the workroom produce it. She thought it was too avant-garde and fashion-forward for their line. She insisted that Saverio wasn’t dictated by passing fashion trends. It was about timeless elegance and style. Their products were classic. At twenty-nine, Allegra was hungry to move forward as a young designer, but Cosima kept her within the boundaries of their brand and history.
Luca was bored by all of it, except that their profits paid his bills. He was more interested in buying fast horses and gambling, or in almost anything for a quick profit. Whatever brought in fast, easy money, Luca liked. He considered their own products ancient history and predicted that one day Saverio would be viewed as the dinosaur of the industry. He dismissed his sister’s success at keeping their stores relevant and alive as one of the most respected brands in the world, no matter how limited their distribution. That was part of the magic of Saverio products. Being hard to get created a high level of demand for them, none of which Luca understood or appreciated. History was of no interest to him, only easy money, which he was able to spend even faster than they could make it.
* * *
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Cosima left the terrace to shower and dress, and she would stop for a cup of coffee with Allegra before she went to her office. She liked to be at her desk by eight o’clock. She would have a slew of emails to answer from suppliers and important customers, people who appreciated Saverio and couldn’t get enough of them, many with famous names, and new customers begging to own one. The business was already far more successful than it had been in her father’s day. It was still a struggle at times, but she had big dreams, and maybe one day she’d no longer have to worry about money. Until then, she was honoring the name, and carrying on the traditions, just as her grandfather and father would have wanted. It had been a long, hard climb for fifteen years to grow the business, selling only in the two cities her father and grandfather approved of, and she respected their wishes.
At thirty-eight, she felt as though she had only just started. They still had far to go, but she was sure that they would get there. She was thinking of opening a pop-up store for two weeks for Fashion Week in Milan, trying to keep the brand current and in full view in another city at a busy time, which would attract attention. She still had new ideas for the brand. Considering where she had started at twenty-three, unprepared to run the business, she had done a very good job. And there was always so much more to do. Every day there were new challenges for her to face. She could hardly wait to get to her desk each morning. She loved the business and all it represented. It was the epitome of elegance and style.
It was a new day, and a beautiful morning. She brushed her long blond hair and twisted it into a knot without looking. Even after fifteen years of running the business, she was still excited about what lay ahead, as she stepped into the shower and began her day. She was grateful for how far they’d come. Her love of the business was the driving force in her life. She knew she had single-handedly kept it alive for the past fifteen years, and she had saved and improved the company she had inherited, with love and hard work.
Her family and their business were her life.
Chapter 2
Olivier Bayard sat in his office in Paris on a warm June morning, and looked out the window, feeling like a lucky man. His company’s offices took up five floors of a renovated building on the Left Bank, which they owned, and they rented out the rest of the office space to an ad agency and a successful law firm. Olivier owned real estate all over Paris and was a consummate businessman. He owned the largest, most successful handbag company in France, and his bags were sold in department stores all over the world. The company owned factories in France and Italy, where they produced their more expensive bags. At the lower price point, they manufactured part of their line in China, which allowed them to sell at accessible prices, while still maintaining the trendy, fashion-forward look of the better bags. What they made was modern, had a big audience, and sold extremely well.