I did not want to spend the whole day bent over a phone, reading through speculation and online chatter, but it was hard to ignore the steady stream of reposts that Claudia was now showing me. Influencers were sharing photos of the Milan shop with captions praising their “accessible ethics” and “fresh approach” to sustainable fashion. Some even tagged our boutique alongside theirs, asking followers which they preferred.

That kind of comparison rarely ends well. The comments were ...