Still, Krause deftly handles the oft-belittled personal and political power of clothing, and fans of couture and fabulous fashion will enjoy the extravagant clothing and glamorous world that Emmy is determined to enter. Emmy’s disillusionment with Madame Jolène doesn’t receive the narrative attention it needs to make a clear point about ambition and exploitation, so it’s unclear whether Emmy will make a badly needed moral as well as aesthetic mark on fashion. Though Sophie has some depth, the other characters are largely one-note (the half-Japanese, half-Britannia Secundan contestant makes an important point about hybrid identity but functions mostly as a sop to diversity, even as Emmy realizes that she herself is being tokenized). Realizing that she has been set up, Emmy enlists the help of her enigmatic roommate Sophie and a handsome reporter to dress a scandalous social pariah in order to make a name for herself. And for eighteen years, Emmaline Watkins has feared that her future held just that: nothing. True to its name, the sleepy town of Shy in Avon-upon-Kynt is a place where nothing much happens.

Intrigue and sabotage ensue, while Madame Jolène has no intention of giving Emmy a fair chance, scheduling her for endless rounds of publicity appearances while the other contestants are working on their creations. Betrayal has never been so fashionable than in Autumn Krause’s glamorous debut, perfect for fans of The Belles and The Luxe. Aspiring fashion designer Emmy seizes the chance to make her dreams come true when Britannia Secunda’s doyenne of couture, Madame Jolène, picks Emmy as a token “country contestant” for the cutthroat Fashion House Interview (a Project Runway-esque competition, in a pre-television era, for a design apprenticeship at the elite Fashion House). Victorian-esque Project Runway complete with absurd competitions and bonus instalove.

A dress for the wicked by autumn krause