You couldn’t begin to imagine what I went through up there on that mountain. One moment, everything was just as it should have been. I had everything in its rightful place and the group was confident in our journey to the top. I knew that we had some difficult terrain ahead of us so I advised everyone to try and get some shut eye. Get rested and then walk the grogginess off before hitting the real dangerous stuff, right? But then something happened that completely shut everything down. Even now while sitting here in this warm cafe retelling you this story I get the chills.
First, I heard twin sisters Talina and Marina kinda arguing but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary because it is what they do. It wasn’t until I heard Franklin, another team leader, shouting about something as well. My husband, Eric Dean, was taking a few photos of me when suddenly we heard “Sweet baby Jesus on the cross!” from what sounded like Ursula, the eldest team member. That’s why I’m scowling over my shoulder but once we got the proofs back, I realized it was actually a pretty good photo. I look rugged and masculine, right?
But I digress. Ursula screams about Jesus on the cross, so Eric Dean and I scramble to our feet and run over to the pack. As we near, I can see Talina on her knees sobbing, clutching a piece of clothing against her face. When my presence registered amongst the others, I got bombed with their statements about what just transpired.
“She went absolutely mad! I’ve never seen anything like it. To her own sister? Who can get a signal? Please! Won’t someone call for help?!”
Apparently Marina discovered that Talina was having an affair with her Argentinian husband. But here’s the thing! Despite being the betrayed wife, everyone was siding with Talina who had, in most circles, brought shame to her family name. But why? Well, Marina snapped and began throwing Talina’s clothing off a nearby cliff. A pair of Stella McCartney boots, Rag & Bone trousers and an Emma Cook kaftan. What Talina gripped in her hands was considered “the straw that broke the camel’s back” in Marina’s sartorial destruction: the Dolce & Gabbana printed silk-satin dress she planned on wearing during our celebratory dinner once reaching the top peak. Marina had taken her pocket knife to it, leaving it in shreds.
Now, I’m a pretty level headed person and it takes a lot to push me over the edge. But one thing I cannot forgive, one thing no one should ever do is fuck with someone else’s Dolce & Gabbana. Before I knew it, I was leading the search for Marina who had fled the scene. We never found her and considering what she had done up on that mountain, she better not ever show her face again.
Model Rael Costa in Brunello Cucinelli Fall 2011 campaign
Image courtesy of Made in Brazil
