Last February I arrived at a coffee shop in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles for an interview with Michelle Nguyen Williams, the young designer whose Quail label had experienced a series of delirious ups and heart wrenching downs over the previous five years. We’d scarcely sat down and were still making small talk when her phone buzzed. She glanced at it, finished her thought, then looked at the phone again.

“Do you mind if I read this email?”

Upon finishing, she set her phone down and looked up at me.

“It’s so ironic that we’re meeting to talk about Quail today. That email was from my showroom in New York. I’ve been waiting for their report on the buyers’ reaction to the preview of my spring line. It was mixed.” She was visibly upset. “I don’t usually break down in front of strangers, but I might cry.” She paused. “This can all be on the record.”