Black Label [EN]: Chapter 118

Black Label 117

118. Operation Name: “The Korean Version of Affordable Jordans”

I had already discussed collaboration work with Ryu Seung-ho in detail.

It was something I had felt many times before, but Ryu Seung-ho’s title as a ‘fashionista’ wasn’t just because of his excellent fashion sense.

He possessed an immense passion for fashion, comparable to any designer or industry professional.

His passion was so intense that he would call me anytime, anywhere, whenever he got an interesting inspiration related to design.

He would even jump out of bed in the middle of the night to call me.

And whenever he talked about clothes, he would always passionately explain this and that.

The same was true now. After a few greetings, he was busy rattling off ideas about the clothes he had designed.

“First of all, the main theme is to capture ‘landscapes’ in the clothes, as I mentioned before. I’ve been thinking about it from time to time, but how about creating a series?”

When Jae-seung asked, puzzled, “A series?” Ryu Seung-ho roughly wiped the *ssamjang* [Korean spicy dipping sauce] from his mouth with his thumb and continued to speak.

“Yes. Starting with the night view of Florence, Italy, where I first got my inspiration, I want to create clothes that capture the night views of world-famous tourist attractions. For example, New York or Paris….”

The moment Ryu Seung-ho trailed off, I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh!” It was a five-star idea that clearly showed signs of deep thought.

“Then, how about releasing it as a series, but selling only a small quantity in the form of a *Limited Edition*?”

“As a limited edition? Well, I’d be happy as long as the clothes I designed can actually be produced.”

After speaking, Ryu Seung-ho smiled brightly and added, “I’ll follow Jae-seung’s wishes unconditionally on aspects other than design.”

Lee Kang-joon, who had been silently listening to the conversation between the two, tilted his head slightly and asked.

“President, is there a specific advantage to releasing it as a limited edition?”

“Advantages of releasing it as a limited edition? Hmm, to exaggerate a bit, there are countless advantages.”

Perhaps because I had been pouring alcohol non-stop, my mouth felt parched. After moistening my mouth with a few sips of water, I began to speak again.

“It might sound immodest to say this myself, but I’m confident that we can get a good response even if we just release the clothes independently. After all, the public will think about the weight of the names ‘Christian Diom’ and ‘LVMH Group’ [Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a French luxury conglomerate] before they consider the design of the clothes I release.”

The employees nodded in agreement.

Sadly, in the domestic market, design is just a secondary factor.

If a mid-level designer who has successfully built a certain level of recognition presents clothes that don’t have any particularly objectionable aspects, they are bound to be sold out before the end of the season, without any unexpected events.

This certainly applied to Jae-seung as well.

Jae-seung had already been praised several times by famous overseas critics and editors, hadn’t he?

In addition, he successfully concluded a contract with the LVMH Group, succeeding in earning the prestigious title of being the first Asian to set foot in Diom House in the history of the fashion industry.

For example, didn’t the pioneer of pop art, ‘Andy Warhol,’ say? Get famous first. Once you become famous, the public will applaud even if you shit.

That was exactly Jae-seung’s situation. Even if he released a rag-like T-shirt at a fairly expensive price, he would easily sell off about half of the initial production volume.

“With so much public attention focused on us, what if we announce the collaboration with Seung-ho, who is recognized as a self-proclaimed fashionista? It will definitely act like oil poured on a blazing fire. I also wanted to keep the promise I had put off, but in fact, this is why I decided to collaborate.”

Ryu Seung-ho slightly lowered his head and gave a sly smile.

‘I definitely like that he’s straightforward and honest.’

After being recognized for his fashion sense and acquiring the title of fashionista, he had received countless collaboration proposals from various designers.

However, among the designers who proposed the collaboration, not a single one had expressed their intentions as honestly as Jae-seung.

That’s usually the case with collaborations between famous designer brands and celebrities.

Meaning and symbolism are also important, but in the end, the starting point is the intertwined interests and money.

But why?

Ironically, most of the designers who proposed the collaboration couldn’t reveal their true intentions and struggled to propose the collaboration by attaching various flowery words and trying to give meaningless meanings.

Such dishonest appearances rather aroused antipathy, and Ryu Seung-ho naturally had no choice but to reject their proposals.

“Now that the collaboration with Seung-ho has been confirmed, it’s safe to say that this season is already a success. But Seung-ho came up with an amazing idea, didn’t he?”

Then, Ryu Seung-ho, who had been blankly listening to Jae-seung’s words, was startled and asked back.

“Yes? Me? Uh, what…?”

“The series, I mean.”

After briefly answering, Jae-seung began to speak with a triumphant look on his face.

“Once we officially announce the collaboration with Seung-ho, *’collectors’* and *’resellers’* will surely rush in. The fact that it’s a work by the self-proclaimed fashionista Ryu Seung-ho is more than enough to make it worth collecting. But what if we release similar-themed works as a series? I can say with certainty that everyone will be eager to get their hands on them.”

The moment Jae-seung’s words ended. Director Song and the design team employees then exclaimed, “Ah!” as if they had realized something.

It is a collaboration between the genius designer who is showing the most unconventional moves among domestic designers and the celebrity who is considered the best fashionista in Korea.

It is no exaggeration to say that its meaning and symbolism have already reached their peak.

But what if we release products with the same theme as a series? It was clear that it would further stimulate the collecting desires of some customers with maniacal tendencies.

“So, what if we release these products as a limited edition to further maximize their scarcity?”

Director Song smiled brightly and replied as if muttering, “That would be the icing on the cake.”

Bingo, that’s it.

The resale market will definitely become more active.

Collectors will try harder to buy it, and resellers who notice such signs will try to hoard more quantities.

At that time, Lee Kang-joon tilted his head slightly and asked with a puzzled look.

“President, wouldn’t it be a loss considering the sales? It’s the same as limiting the sales of clothes that will be sold like hotcakes.”

Such sharp questions are always welcome.

That’s why I can’t help but like Lee Kang-joon.

Jae-seung, who was satisfied, smiled and immediately continued to speak fluently.

“The losses incurred by using the limited edition method can be compensated for in areas other than collaboration products, right? With Wallflower’s own products. After all, it’s impossible to fill all the dozens of products to be released this season with collaboration products, right? And in the long run, it’s much more profitable to release them as a limited edition.”

“Profitable in the long run…?”

“I guarantee with everything I have that these collaboration products will be circulating on domestic online used trading sites for the next 10 years, like the ‘Jordan series’ released by Nike.”

One of the reasons why legendary NBA star ‘Michael Jordan’ can earn record income even after his retirement is thanks to the Jordan series released through collaboration with Nike.

New series are being released continuously even now, and Michael Jordan is receiving huge royalties every year.

“Maybe there are teenagers these days who haven’t seen Michael Jordan’s games, but there probably aren’t any teenagers who don’t know Nike’s Jordan shoes, right? Because products are being released continuously, but since the resale market is so active, it’s the same as doing free marketing even at this moment.”

Then, Ryu Seung-ho asked in a slightly trembling tone.

“Wow, wait. Just a minute. Then, is there a possibility that the collaboration product I will be participating in will also be talked about like that?”

“Yes. Under the premise that Seung-ho will continue to firmly maintain the title of fashionista.”

I didn’t say it, but in fact, one more premise is needed.

Wallflower must continue to maintain its growth trend in the future.

If these two conditions are met, these collaboration products will never depreciate.

No, it was clear that its value would gradually increase over time.

Jae-seung, who finished speaking, gave a shy smile as if he was embarrassed, and added in a gentle tone.

“Well, maybe it could be the Korean version of ‘affordable Jordans’.”

Ryu Seung-ho looked deeply moved for a moment, then covered his face with both hands and even muttered, “Wow, Jordan….”

Anyway, it seemed that he had completely ignored the words ‘Korean version’ and ‘affordable’ that were attached as modifiers in front of ‘Jordan’.

In any case, if the resale market is 활성화되고 [activated] and the 매물s [items for sale] circulate steadily for the next 10 years, it will become an excellent free marketing resource.

If the design is well-equipped, the resale market may last even longer.

The plan is perfect. Now, all that’s left is to come up with a great design.

Even if the public doesn’t pay much attention to the design, the fact that we have to work with 열과 성을 다해서 [all our heart and soul] does not change.

There will surely be a few customers everywhere who will recognize the value of the design.

“Then, the only remaining problem is how to print the night view as it is….”

Jae-seung, who muttered once, was again immersed in deep thought.

It’s not that there’s no way. If we entrust it to the French company that produced the haute couture fabric during the Parsons competition, it would be easily solved.

There was no reason why a company that had perfectly implemented Sterling Ruby’s artwork could not 그대로 옮겨내 [perfectly reproduce] just one night view photo.

However, the problem was that the release price of the product would be too high if we proceeded that way.

No matter what, we can’t release a street jacket for more than one million won, can we?

At that time, Ryu Seung-ho carefully opened his mouth.

“Um, Jae-seung. Actually, I have one method in mind for 원단 [fabric] printing.”

“Yes? A method you have in mind?”

“Yes. I personally asked a few designers I know, and they said that the unit price would increase significantly if it was produced by 직물을 날염하는 방식 [a method of dyeing the fabric directly].”

He accurately read the problem I had. He’s definitely very passionate. Then, Jae-seung nodded once and said, “Yes. That’s the biggest problem,” but then.

“But among the outdoor brand products that go into outlets, there are jackets made of thin windbreaker material, right? Among those products, there were sometimes products with very fancy printing, so maybe the main material is such a material….”

Just as Ryu Seung-ho was about to continue speaking, Jae-seung suddenly jumped up from his seat and said.

“That’s it.”

“Yes?”

“That’s it.”