Black Label [EN]: Chapter 178

Black Label 177

178. A Chrysanthemum

Several more days passed. As time went on, the day of the collection to unveil Janel’s F/W [Fall/Winter] season products to the public was fast approaching.

The closer the scheduled collection date came, the more heightened the atmosphere within Janel House became.

Was it that all the employees had become much more sensitive than before?

The frequency of disputes between employees increased, and private conflicts, aside from work-related friction, also became frequent.

This was an extremely natural change that any brand in the world often faced as the show day approached.

Screech-

Early in the morning, Jaesung’s limousine stopped in front of the Ritz Hotel, which had been selected as the venue for this Janel 2015 F/W season collection.

Jaesung, after getting out of the back seat, straightened his clothes and slowly walked towards the hotel’s main entrance.

With each step Jaesung took, the sharp sound of his shoe heels, ‘clack, clack,’ echoed behind him.

The black suit was without a single wrinkle, and the white dress shirt was so white it seemed almost luminous.

After Karl passed away,

Jaesung wore a white dress shirt and a black suit every single day without fail, paired with leather shoes polished to a glossy sheen.

He considered it the most consistent and discreet way to mourn.

As Jaesung entered the hotel lobby, a young man in his 20s, dressed rather shabbily, addressed him.

“President, you’re here?”

It was none other than ‘Nam Gwangmin.’ Nam Gwangmin looked much more emaciated than before.

Perhaps he was so engrossed in his work that he skipped meals; his cheeks were sunken, and his cheekbones were more prominent.

Was that all?

His hair, which had grown long haphazardly, looked messy and unkempt, and his clothes were covered in dust and mildew, resembling work clothes.

Jaesung lightly patted Nam Gwangmin’s shoulder and asked in a low voice.

“Have you had breakfast?”

“No, not yet…….”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been up all night?”

“Yes. It’s the final stretch of preparation, so I can’t help it.”

After speaking, Nam Gwangmin scratched the back of his head awkwardly and added, “But I slept a little, taking turns with the other team members.”

“I feel sorry for making so many unreasonable demands.”

Nam Gwangmin waved his hands and hurriedly continued. “Ah! No, it’s okay. I’m actually more proud.”

“How close are you to finishing the preparations?”

“Yes. As I said, it’s really in the final stages now.”

In fact, the work of Janel’s VMD [Visual Merchandising] team, including Nam Gwangmin, should have been finished long ago.

The reason for the delay? It was entirely Jaesung’s doing.

After receiving approval from Chairman Bertheimer, he immediately called Nam Gwangmin and explained the ‘secret theme’ of this season’s collection: secret mourning.

It was a simple yet challenging task that he couldn’t help but anticipate.

First, he asked to display exhibits related to Karl throughout the venue and various symbolic objects that could idolize his achievements.

Second, he requested that Karl Lagerfeld’s memorial song, which England had directly produced, be played throughout the collection.

Lastly, the final requirement was ‘Dress Code.’ Those who knew about Karl Lagerfeld’s death, which was an absolute secret, were to be allowed to visit the venue wearing black suits and black boutonnieres [flower lapel pins].

The work they had done so far was virtually in vain, but Nam Gwangmin did not show any displeasure or even utter a single complaint.

He simply replied, “It will be a much more meaningful task,” and expressed his burning will.

As Jaesung was lost in thought, silently following Nam Gwangmin, who was leading the way,

Nam Gwangmin, having reached the banquet hall door, opened it forcefully and said quietly, “Seeing is believing.”

The large door made a bizarre frictional noise, ‘creak-‘ as it swung open.

Jaesung couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight of the banquet hall’s interior visible through the open doorway.

As Jaesung looked around the venue with a dazed expression, Nam Gwangmin urged him to comment with a look of anticipation, like an elementary school student who had successfully completed his homework.

“President, what do you think?”

Jaesung replied in a low voice, “Excellent……?” and then began to examine the banquet hall again carefully.

The banquet hall seemed to have undergone many changes thanks to Nam Gwangmin’s touch.

First of all, at the end of the spacious banquet hall, a semi-circular staircase was being built, with carpenters busily working on the construction.

A dozen middle-aged carpenters wearing denim overalls were diligently hammering away, each with several steel nails in their mouths.

It was still just a bare frame, but it seemed that if it reached completion, it would create a plausible picture.

Noticing that Jaesung’s gaze was on the semi-circular staircase, Nam Gwangmin began to rattle off explanations.

“That semi-circular staircase is the starting point of this collection’s runway stage. Since the space behind the staircase is directly connected to the backstage, the models waiting in the waiting room will appear in front of the railing and then walk down the stairs on both sides.”

“It will be useful for the finale stage as well, won’t it? If they line up along the stairs, I think at least dozens of people can stand there…….”

“You have a good eye, as expected. Your guess is correct. The finale stage is configured exactly as you said. Janel’s greatest strength is its ample capital, isn’t it? We designed the stage equipment without sparing any expense. Every time it explodes! Bang! Bang! Cheers will erupt. We’ve also ordered a lot of sculptures by famous artists. We’re planning to display them at a height of about 1.5m from the ceiling.”

Jaesung nodded a few times, looked at the light bulbs on the ceiling, and asked again. “It looks like you’ve changed the light bulbs too? I think they were a little more yellowish, but they’ve all been replaced with incandescent lights?”

Perhaps because the light bulbs had been changed, the chandeliers installed at regular intervals on the ceiling seemed to shine much brighter than before.

Nam Gwangmin replied, “That’s right!” and began to excitedly explain his planning intentions.

“In fact, the core keyword of this collection’s DP [Display Presentation] is ‘Janel Heaven.'”

“Janel Heaven?”

“Yes. The ultimate goal is to express the ‘heaven’ that the premium brand Janel imagines. First of all, we are in the process of changing the overall interior to a white tone. We plan to change the wallpaper to white before midnight today. On the day of the show, we plan to replace all the red carpets on the floor with white ones.”

Jaesung let out a subtle sigh of anticipation, and Nam Gwangmin held up three fingers and continued. “There are only three colors that our team wants to use to compose this show.”

“Hmm, how are you planning to configure it?”

“First of all, the first is ‘white.’ It’s the color that will be the basis of this show. The color of the fluorescent lights, wallpaper, floor carpet, and some other props… I’m thinking of processing most of them in white.”

“What’s next?”

“The second is gray. Um, but instead of a common gray, I think it’s better to express it as ‘Silver White.’ It’s actually a role that highlights the other two colors.”

“What’s the last color?”

“It’s gold. It’s not for the purpose of using it for interior design, but we made some of the props to display in the showroom in gold. Come to think of it, it looks like it’s about time for them to arrive…….”

Nam Gwangmin trailed off and added in a low voice, looking at the entrance of the hotel banquet hall. “They’ve arrived just in time.”

What was coming in through the wide-open banquet hall door were several ‘statues.’

First of all, the first statue was, even at a glance, modeled after Coco Chanel, the founder of the premium brand Janel. Her body shape and build, even her height, seemed to be perfectly replicated from black and white photos.

The second statue seemed to be modeled after Karl Lagerfeld, the director who left the deepest mark on Janel’s history.

It was a statue wearing high boots, a long coat, and even sunglasses, one of the items representing Karl Lagerfeld, which Karl used to enjoy wearing.

Then, the last third statue was a hand-shaped statue that seemed to be at least 2M tall.

But, how should I explain it……? Wouldn’t it be appropriate to say that it felt like the hand-shaped statue of Homigot in Pohang [a famous sculpture in South Korea] had been gold-plated?

As Jaesung stared at the statues being transported into the banquet hall with his mouth wide open, Nam Gwangmin added various explanations in a slightly trembling tone.

“Coco Chanel’s statue and Karl Lagerfeld’s statue were also made with perfect proportions. The hand-shaped statue is based on the hand statue of Karl Lagerfeld displayed in ‘Janel’s Hall of Fame’ inside Janel House, and it was made in a larger size.”

After speaking, Nam Gwangmin crossed his arms and asked again, looking far away. “Wouldn’t this be a discreet and pretty good memorial……?”

“Yes. It seems like it.”

Nam Gwangmin turned his head and added, staring intently into Jaesung’s eyes. “Once the DP is completed, it will be a completely different feeling. You can forget about the scenery of the banquet hall you saw today.”

His trembling voice was strangely familiar.

A voice full of deep conviction. Also, a voice with a faint madness. Where had Jaesung heard that voice before?

Ah! He had heard it several times from artists he was close to, from some artists who are praised by the public as geniuses.

* * *

Time flowed even more fiercely, and it was already the day of the Janel collection show. Jaesung had to spend the whole night in the Janel House’s office without being able to sleep.

Was it because he was nervous? No. It wasn’t nervousness. It was because of a subtle emotion that he couldn’t define or regulate.

“I’m going to return home as soon as the collection is over. After that, I’m naturally going to devote myself to Wallflower.”

-What about Gwangmin? Gwangmin is coming with you, right?

“Of course. By the time the collection is over and we return home, he’ll probably be a star VMD, right?”

-It’s already a mess. In Korea, VMD is the least popular occupation in the fashion industry, right? All kinds of media are packaging him as the first Asian Janel VMD, and the atmosphere is a mess. Even now, there are a lot of lecture offers.”

Jaesung, who heard Director Song’s banter, looked at the clock on the wall and said quietly. “Director, I’ll hang up for now and call you again after the collection is over. I think I should move soon.”

-Huh? No. It’s okay. I’ll be able to check the results in the article in less than a minute, so what. Take a good rest today, take care of the rest of your schedule, and give me a call tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. I’ll call you again.”

Jaesung, who finished the short conversation, let out a sigh, “Hoo…….”

After picking up the receiver on the desk in the office and asking for the car to be on standby, he looked in the full-length mirror and straightened his clothes once again.

In accordance with the prescribed dress code, he was wearing a white dress shirt, a black tie, and a black suit.

A black artificial flower was placed in the boutonniere, and a white chrysanthemum was placed in the chest pocket.

Jaesung took out the chrysanthemum and gently placed it on the desk in the office.

No, to be exact, he placed it right in front of the frame on the desk. In the frame the size of a hand span, there was a black and white photo of Karl Lagerfeld.

“Karl, I’ll be back.”

After saying that, Jaesung offered a silent prayer and began to walk away.