Black Label [EN]: Chapter 142

Black Label 142

142. The First Confrontation

Chairman Ardo.

He is the head of the LVMH Group and is known as the ‘Emperor of the Fashion Empire.’

It’s a somewhat exaggerated title, but it’s also the most accurate and simple way to describe him.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that not only French-born brands but also all sorts of premium brands from around the world are in his hands.

His 24 hours are busier and more tightly packed than anyone else’s.

It was only natural, as he had to handle a vast amount of work every day, an amount that could never be managed unless one lived life calculated in seconds.

Chairman Ardo, sitting at his desk in his office, put the thick cigar he had been holding between his fingers into his mouth.

After taking a long, deep breath, he immediately exhaled a cloud of acrid smoke and asked,

“Really? Something like that happened…?”

In response, the neatly dressed executive secretary standing before Chairman Ardo nodded once and replied,

“Yes, that’s correct. Judging by the articles praising ‘Lee’s’ rational response that are being reported one after another, it seems that not only the brand’s board of directors but also the other reporters present at the scene were impressed.”

Chairman Ardo clicked his tongue and dropped cigarette ash onto a crystal ashtray.

He understood why the reporters were writing articles about something that wasn’t a big deal.

The majority of the designers he had worked with so far were uncontrollable ‘troublemakers.’

Even if Lee had thrown something or cursed at the press conference, it would have been understandable.

A response that might be considered normal elsewhere had enough potential to be transformed into a response worthy of high praise in the fashion world.

“Since the other party is who they are, they must take responsibility for their slip of the tongue. Not only the idiotic reporter but also the affiliated media company should be banned from all group-related events.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Keep an eye on them like that for a month or two, and then subtly hint to the media company that everything will be resolved once they fire that reporter, and that they can get along as well as before.”

After speaking, Chairman Ardo gave a bitter smile and cut off the end of the cigar he was smoking with a ‘Cigar Cutter’ made of 24K gold.

The power of the LVMH Group is truly beyond imagination.

Not only fashion but also liquor, watches, jewelry, and even cosmetics.

At the very least, it was clear that they possessed enough influence to inflict appropriate punishment on anyone who carelessly provoked them.

Also, Chairman Ardo was the kind of person who could tolerate a slight loss for the sake of someone he had hired.

“Are there any other progress reports?”

“Yesterday, Lee had his first meeting with the employees of the Diom House.”

“Oh, really? What was the reaction from the Christian Diom board of directors?”

The executive secretary hesitated for a moment before cautiously adding,

“I had a brief conversation with them, and they seemed worried.”

“There’s already something to worry about when the work hasn’t even started? Is it just that they don’t like Lee because he’s Asian?”

Chairman Ardo asked in a very prickly tone, and the executive secretary swallowed the saliva that had filled his mouth before answering.

“Lee has apparently chosen his country, ‘Korea’s’ traditional clothing [Hanbok] as the main theme for this haute couture collection. It seems that Diom’s board of directors is concerned about that point.”

Chairman Ardo frowned deeply and asked again,

“What? Traditional…? What is that…”

Chairman Ardo trailed off, shook his head once, and then asked again,

“Do you have any free time in your schedule tomorrow?”

“There’s a gap of about thirty minutes around 9 a.m. tomorrow…”

Chairman Ardo said in an irritated tone, “Damn it, that’s breakfast time!” and then added,

“I’ll go to Diom myself then. I can skip breakfast, but I can’t stand to see my brand doing stupid things.”

After speaking, Chairman Ardo gestured lightly, as if chasing away a bug. It was an order to leave.

The executive secretary bowed slightly and immediately left his office.

Alone, Chairman Ardo gazed at the scenery of Paris beyond the window and became lost in thought.

‘Tsk, truly disappointing. To come up with such an idiotic idea…’

The value that Chairman Ardo has consistently pursued since founding the LVMH Group is none other than the ‘popularization of luxury goods.’

The reason why the premium fashion industry has achieved its current market size is also because it has been pursuing that value.

At least, he firmly believed that a popular design could never be created by forcing the tradition of one country onto others.

He shook his head once to shake off his 잡념 [japnyum – idle thoughts] and began reviewing the backlog of documents again.

He had a mountain of work to do right away.

* * *

That evening, Jae-seung sat down in front of his iMac PC as soon as he arrived at the penthouse.

It was to collect and organize data related to Hanbok.

“Hmm…”

He believed that in order to proceed smoothly with the work, the designers and atelier meisters, as well as the working staff, needed to have a perfect understanding of all the information about Hanbok before starting.

As Jae-seung was engrossed in looking at the monitor screen,

“Lee, are you very busy?”

Ashlyn asked, lightly hugging Jae-seung from behind.

Ashlyn had also completed all of her scheduled activities and had just joined him at the penthouse in Paris in the evening.

Jae-seung gently pulled her wrist, sat her on his lap, and replied,

“I think I’ll be very busy for a while.”

“Really? I can’t help it…”

Ashlyn pouted her lower lip in a nonchalant tone, and Jae-seung stroked her hair once and continued,

“Ashlyn, would you like to audition for this model audition?”

“For the Diom haute couture model audition…?”

“Yes. The schedule hasn’t been set yet, but it’ll probably be soon.”

“Really? I should start preparing now, shouldn’t I?”

Jae-seung 음… [eum – a Korean filler word, like ‘um’] and then began to speak in a cautious tone.

“I’m also a judge for this haute couture model audition, but I can’t give Ashlyn special treatment. You know that, right?”

“Of course. Even if you said you would give me special treatment, I would have refused. I think a career built in a dishonest way is just a blemish.”

Was Ashlyn’s answer quite satisfactory?

Jae-seung smiled faintly and brushed Ashlyn’s side hair behind her ear.

Ashlyn suddenly kissed Jae-seung on the cheek and whispered in a low voice.

“I won’t bother you anymore.”

After speaking, Ashlyn lightly got off Jae-seung’s lap and was about to slowly walk towards the living room when Jae-seung called out to her.

“Ashlyn, wait a minute.”

“Huh?”

“Can you take a look at this?”

Ashlyn nodded once and began to stare at the monitor screen.

How long had it been? Ashlyn narrowed her brows slightly and continued to speak in a slightly trembling voice.

“Lee, what is this?”

“Is it bad?”

“No.”

Ashlyn answered briefly and looked at the ‘Hanbok’ photo on the monitor screen and said again.

“It’s really so elegant and beautiful…”

* * *

The Diom flagship store on Montaigne Street was still closed because it was not yet opening time.

Thanks to this, Jae-seung had to enter the building through the employee-only entrance at the rear of the store.

The morning at this ‘Diom House’ was quite relaxed. Neatly dressed store employees were strolling through the lobby, exchanging various conversations with each other, and office workers were stationed in front of the elevator.

As Jae-seung appeared in front of the elevator, ‘Chloe,’ one of the atelier meisters, greeted him.

“Maestro, good morning.”

“Isn’t that too much of a title, Chloe?”

Chloe widened her eyes in surprise and asked back.

“Oh my gosh! You remembered my name? Then do you remember the names of the other meisters?”

“No, I only remember a few people who have stuck in my memory so far. I have to try to memorize them all.”

The title of Meister of the Diom House Atelier is by no means something that can be obtained for free.

In the first place, Diom’s atelier is a place where only those who have reached the level of 명인(名人) [myeong-in – master craftsman] gather, and the title of ‘Meister’ is given to only one person who has the most outstanding skills among them.

Chloe, the Meister of the Atelier, was an old tailor with over 40 years of experience.

The wrinkles engraved on her hands were like medals representing her skill.

“Lee, by the way, your pants are quite sexy?”

It was a comment about the fluorescent ‘*Swim pants*’ that were a little shorter than ordinary shorts.

Although it was only yesterday that he learned this, Diom House was a place with no special dress code.

There was no problem at all even if he didn’t stick to a stiff and classic suit, so he ended up coming to work in comfortable clothes.

“Thank you. My roommate kept asking me, ‘Are you going to Diom in those pants?’ so I was quite worried.”

“Are you talking about Lee’s sub-designer, ‘Kang Jun’?”

“No, no. Unfortunately, Kang Jun is just a sub-designer. My boyfriend is a model for Victoria’s Secret.”

She exclaimed, “Ah…” and replied in a gentle tone.

“I guarantee that’s just because Lee’s legs are too sexy. I think I would have said that too.”

At that moment, the elevator doors opened after arriving on the first floor. Chloe got into the elevator and opened her mouth again.

“Lee, I looked up ‘Hanbok’ before going to bed last night. Is that where you got the inspiration for the design to be shown at this haute couture?”

Jae-seung smiled as if he was satisfied.

He had only said a few words in passing, but he didn’t expect her to voluntarily look it up in just one day.

“Yes. That’s right. What did you think of it, Chloe?”

Chloe shrugged her shoulders once and continued.

“What should I say? It was surprisingly elegant and refined clothing. The source of inspiration itself is extremely excellent, but I think the key is what kind of haute couture it will be sublimated into?”

“I think you’ve seen it exactly right. That’s definitely the most important part. It will be a difficult task. If we can successfully complete it, it will be really rewarding.”

As soon as Jae-seung’s answer was finished, Chloe smiled brightly and replied.

“You’ll be able to do it. Diom House is a magical place that makes the impossible a reality.”

As Jae-seung replied, “Thank you,” a clear notification sound rang out and the elevator doors opened.

Jae-seung took a step outside and began to speak softly.

“First of all, I’m going to show you a few pre-designed drawings at today’s meeting.”

“Huh? You already have pre-designed drawings…?”

“Yes. It’s just a draft, but it’ll be enough to convey what kind of feeling I’m pursuing.”

After speaking, Jae-seung threw open the meeting room door and entered first.

Chloe, who was blankly 바라보고 있던 [barabogo itdeon – gazing at] Jae-seung’s back, followed him with a faint smile.

As the two of them took their first steps into the conference room, an unexpected person greeted Jae-seung.

“You’ve arrived.”

The unexpected person who greeted Jae-seung was none other than ‘Chairman Ardo.’

He was sitting in a chair in the center of the spacious conference room with one leg crossed.

“It’s been a long time.”

“Yes.”

Chairman Ardo answered briefly and added in a chilling tone.

“I squeezed and squeezed my time to come here.”

Jae-seung tilted his head slightly as if he was puzzled and asked back.

“If you had something to say separately, you could have said it over the phone…”

He trailed off and looked around for reactions.

Unless one was an idiot, one could immediately grasp that an unusual situation was unfolding, to the extent that the atmosphere in the room was heavily subdued.

Not only the CEO, Albert, but also Lee Kang-jun, and even the designers and atelier staff were all sitting in stiff postures with frozen expressions.

“I heard you were trying to do something stupid.”

Jae-seung frowned and asked back.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Correct it.”

Chairman Ardo said in a somewhat forceful tone and stood up, saying.

“I’m the client. I guarantee that the public can’t accept the tradition of one country. Tradition looks beautiful only when you can fully understand the time and history contained within it.”

At those words, Jae-seung shook his head from side to side and answered softly.

“I have a draft prepared. I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask me to cancel the plan without even looking at the illustration once.”

Chairman Ardo asked back, “Appropriate?” and sat down again, continuing to speak in a sneering tone.

“Okay, then I’ll tell you to revise the plan after looking at the drawings.”

Jae-seung opened the file folder in his hand and took out a few sheets of A4 paper that were neatly 꽂혀 있던 [kkotyeo itdeon – tucked] inside.

Then, he began to attach a few illustrations of the Hanbok-themed haute couture designs that he had drawn himself, one by one, onto the whiteboard set up in the front.

“Please take a look slowly.”

With those words, a heavy silence settled in the conference room for a moment.

Before long, loud and low murmurs began to rise from all over the conference room.

Jae-seung took a long breath to calm his emotions and began to wait for the next words to come out of Chairman Ardo’s mouth.

‘Everyone who has looked at it properly has given it a positive evaluation.’

Considering Chairman Ardo’s daily routine, he probably hadn’t had a chance to look at the Hanbok photos properly yet.

Moreover, the illustrations attached to the whiteboard had all undergone transformations into haute couture forms.

Jae-seung himself was in a state of half-doubt, but paradoxically, he could say that a glimmer of hope remained.

At that moment, Chairman Ardo opened his tightly closed mouth.