Material Girl

Wow. Seriously. She looks like... Grace Kelly.

On ketamine. She's at the top of her game. There she is.

The belle of the ball. I don't know whether to curtsy or cry.

Oh, babe, I can't believe this is all for you. I am so proud.

Who's the muscle? My keeper.

You've got a minder?

They insisted. Don't ask me why.

So if I tried to assault you he'd have to manhandle me?

I guess he probably would. Let me know when you're ready.

So is this where all the cool kids hang out? Lydia, you look beautiful.

So who's the lucky lady, then?

Who's been keeping you from us?

She's called Japan. Ah.

She sounds pretentious. I was just on the phone with a Tokyo boutique.

They saw the London Dress - they want 30 units.

They've placed an order? Oh, my God!

And with Fashion Week around the corner, not a moment too soon.

It's the next step for us now, Ali. We already have a profile amongst the press.

Thanks to this order, we now have a buyer and a stockist. Which just leaves one tiny box left to tick.

Which is? The Fashion Council wants to see six samples from the collection first.

But I don't have a collection.

They want to see them by the end of next week.

OK. Well, no pressure then.

Ali, without a show at Fashion Week we aren't even competing.

We need this. I know.

Then what's stopping us?

Absolutely nothing.

I'll take those.

Now allow me to propose a toast.

To the London Dress, to Fashion Week...

And to Pure Grace. Pure Grace.

So, hypothetically speaking, how much do you think she'd mind if we left?

I don't think she'd even notice. Too many fashionistas blocking her view.

But she will be all right though, won't she?

She's not exactly pacing herself.

Yeah, she'll be all right.

She's got Mimi and Alex looking after her. I think she'll be fine.

In that case, I think you should take me home.

Come on then.

Wow.

She's really going for it.

The Lydia Kane rodeo show. Never a good sign. Should we do something?

Probably best just let her ride it out.

Leave her to it, I'm going for a cruise.

Ali! Hello, Davina. Not leaving, are you?

But of course you are.

How's business?

OK. As good as that?

She's just had her first order in from Japan. And you are?

I'm Chris. Ali's boyfriend.

So your fella not with you, then?

My "fella"?

Yeah, only cos you're not the only mature guest in here tonight.

So if you're in the market...

Champagne? I'm AA, you idiot.

Mitchell, my point is the future's looking very bright for us now.

Fashion Week's no less than we deserve.

Who's going to Fashion Week?

Mwah! Mwah!

You're not, surely?

With the London Dress order on the table it's just a matter...

The London Dress?

That which was shat on from a great height?

That's your big breakthrough piece?

She's right, Marco. It's not enough.

Ali's a nobody. Even if they were going to give you a slot, who on earth would come to see it?

Well, I would, for a start. No offence, darling,

but whilst I'm sure you could take on the after show party

single-handedly, one audience member doesn't quite make a show, does it?

What exactly do you mean by that?

Look, you're standing up for your friend. It's very touching, but let's not kid ourselves.

You know what, Mitchell. I don't think I want you here very much.

No? Then why don't you airbrush me out later?

That is your speciality, after all. Or I could just use force.

You are joking? Guys, I think Mitchell here is just leaving.

Lydia, you'll regret this.

Quaking(!)

There he goes. The great Mitchell Crompton.

See how he runs.

Lydia. Lydia.

Lydia, Lydia. Over here. Where is my car? Hello?

Photo for your fans, Lydia? Little bit of up skirt for the tabloids?

What do you think you're doing? My job. Now why don't you do yours?

Get that thing away from me.

Oh, come off it. It's not like you've got anything else to offer.

Oi. Leave her alone.

Thank you very much indeed.

Come on, love.

Let's get you home.

Oh, my God, now this

is what I needed. Pump me full of this stuff and I can handle anything.

What's wrong, babe?

It's fine. It's what tabloids are there for.

Totally harmless. Totally.

Ooh.

I need my manager. Lydia.

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

Let me have a look.

Oooh. That is not a good look. Marco?

I've sent Trish to pick up the fabric for the London Dress,

so I thought we could get a head start on the collection.

Marco, there's something you should know.

Could be worse. How could it be worse?

Well, at least no one knows she bankrolled the label. It could be our name mixed up in all this.

Like, uber-catastrophe.

In English, please.

Well, I've done Berwick Street and they're all sold out.

None of them have the fabric.

Someone must love silk velvet.

You don't buy silk velvet in that kind of bulk.

You do if you don't want anyone else to get their hands on it.

Meaning? You should have heard her last night. Who?

Davina. I told her we were going after a slot at Fashion Week, she nearly gagged.

We screw up this order, we got no buyer. No buyer, no show.

This is her. Trust me. So what are we going to do?

Cut out the middleman. If we can't get the fabric from the shops we'll go to the mills who supply them.

PHONE RINGS

You all right?

They've dropped me from my perfume campaign.

Apparently they felt that my public image was no longer compatible with a fragrance called Pure Grace.

Forget them. You don't need them anyway. Yeah, but they're not the only ones.

What do you mean? I've lost them all.

All of them? Every contract.

No-one will go near me.

This is my fault. I should've been there to fight my own battles.

Ali, this isn't about that. I don't care about Mitchell.

What do you mean?

My public image? What is that, exactly?

Party girl? Binge drinker?

Lydia, you don't have to justify your behaviour to anyone.

But I need to justify it to myself.

You know, I need some self respect at least.

I was 14 when I started modelling.

I hadn't even done my GCSEs and I was my family's highest earner.

Suddenly I'm getting kicked out of school, because I'm never in class.

And I'm getting touched up by middle-aged men in Milan

and pretending that I can handle it, because I'm drunk.

And now it's ten years down the line and I have turned into this thing that I never wanted to be.

It's this industry, you know. It's made me

what I am, and now they want to bring me down because of it.

Well, I don't need this career to make me happy.

I'm not going to model any more.

Look, maybe you just need a bit of down time.

Yep. With the paps camped outside my house?

Well, why don't you stay here for a few days?

Look, if you're going to quit the modelling career you're going to need our help.

You stood up for me. It's my turn.

Thanks.

Just a few essentials, babe!

Right.

What's going on?

A small hitch. Minor issue.

Marco, please tell me that you haven't just bought all of this.

The mill would only sell it to me in bulk. It was all or nothing.

But they want 30 dresses.

There is enough here for 100. More.

All right then, 100 dresses is what we'll make. And sell.

I've spent the money, I need to get it back. We can't make 100 dresses.

Not by ourselves.

Well, then, we'll hire a factory.

And how are we going to afford that? I'll find a way.

Do you trust me, Ali?

I don't know.

You know we call ourselves a label. A label is something you sew

into the clothes you manufacture, not some sketches on a wall.

We will meet this order and we will make it to Fashion Week.

You get designing, I'll find us our factory.

# Who's that girl? The one that I remember

# Who was she, with her hands wrapped around the world? #

PHONE RINGS

Babe, where's your bottle opener?

In the drawer under the kettle. What are you doing?

I guess I must be opening a bottle.

You were supposed to be coming to the studio. You said you'd help me with the collection.

Yeah, I was.

I'm not feeling up to it at the moment. I'll lay low for a while.

Lydia. With a bottle of wine?

If I can find the...

Ooh, got it. Thanks, babe.

Happy women are all alike.

Every unhappy woman is unhappy in her own way.

Who's that? Is that Carrie Bradshaw? It's Anna Karenina, isn't it?

Sort of. You know, there might be something in that. What do you mean?

Well, I mean for the collection.

It's actually quite inspiring.

Unhappy women? Oh, definitely. Not unhappy women, but risk takers.

Women who are ruled by their hearts and not their heads.

Women like Lydia.

Like Anna Karenina.

Like Anna, yeah.

Marco, silk velvet has a much slower turnover,

and with such a small order, you're at the back of the line. We're looking at four months.

That won't work. I've got to sell these units by the end of the month.

I've got bills to pay. As do I.

So we're looking at traditional Russian Court and Orthodox costume.

It's got to be well tailored, and lots of taffeta, brocades, fur and gilt.

OK. On it.

We're not the only ones feeling the pinch here, right?

So what I need here, Gary...

Paul. Exactly.