Black Label [EN]: Chapter 207

207. Natural Premium (2)

Mark Jacobs, who had been blankly observing the scene from his seat, smirked and began to speak.

“What’s this? It feels incredibly… assertive?”

Alexander King, sitting next to him, casually swept his long hair, which reached his upper arm, behind his ear and replied.

“Hmm, it’s a ‘molt’ [a shedding or transformation, like a snake shedding its skin]. It feels like they haven’t adhered to any of the established formalities or rules that existing premium brands have built up.”

The outfit worn by Wall Flower’s first model felt too unconventional for a typical premium brand product.

An ‘Over Fit Size’ blouson jacket that seemed to exaggerate the model’s slender frame, paired with a simple Wall Flower logo t-shirt underneath.

Dark-colored jeans with leather patches on the thighs for added flair, and military-style boots.

Finally, a silver ring embedded at the edge of the deeply pressed-down ball cap.

Looking at the overall impression, it felt more like a street brand than a premium brand.

But, strangely, a sense of luxury seemed to coexist.

“It seems they’ve maintained the essence of a premium brand through the materials.”

At Mark Jacobs’ quiet remark, Alexander King exclaimed, “Ah!”

The essence of a premium brand is ‘distinctive luxury.’

Although the clothes didn’t appear to be made from the absolute highest quality materials that would impress designers…

It felt like they intentionally lowered the quality by about two or three notches.

The first reason for this choice would be to reduce costs, and the second reason would be that they judged that even with that level of material, it would be more than enough to give general customers a ‘*high-end*’ feel.

‘Excellent judgment….’

The way for a new brand debuting at Fashion Week to survive is extremely simple.

First, have a clear identity if possible.

Second, if possible, ensure there are no direct substitutes.

From that perspective, what about Wall Flower…?

They succeeded in possessing both the ‘young and free-spirited sensibility’ that no other brand at the current Paris Fashion Week is showcasing, and the ‘distinctive luxury’ that premium brands must have.

With just these qualities, one can be sure that they won’t be buried or forgotten.

“Wow.”

Alexander King, who briefly muttered, began to gaze at the second model who had just appeared on the runway with half-closed eyes.

The second model, like the first, was wearing a black ball cap pulled down low.

A noticeably unique point was that the strap adjusting the size of the hat was extended long enough to reach the lower part of the wearer’s back.

And the fact that a large silver ring was attached to the end of the strap, adding a lot of flair.

Every time the model moved, the dangling hat strap and ring swayed back and forth.

The hat design alone could be described as a typical ‘*Maximalism*’ design [an aesthetic characterized by excess and extravagance].

On the other hand, all the other clothes except for the hat seemed to be designed with a simple feel.

A black long-sleeved t-shirt with white lettering on both arms, and black jeans in the form of jogger pants that seemed to be banded, etc….

Soon, Mark Jacobs muttered quietly with hazy eyes.

“I feel like I’m looking at a plausible work painted by mixing water and oil.”

“An excellent comment.”

It was an amazing harmony created by mixing two completely opposite concepts: minimalism and maximalism.

Also, like the first model’s outfit, it felt like they had captured both freedom and differentiated luxury at the same time.

Was it because everyone in the venue could now sense the overall context of this collection prepared by Wall Flower?

The atmosphere gradually began to heat up. The commotion gradually grew, and everyone was busy chattering among themselves in low voices to exchange opinions.

Thump, thump, thump, thump-.

Along with the large bass sound flowing through the speakers, Wall Flower’s third model appeared on the runway.

The third model was a Caucasian female model with freckles that were so prominent that they could be clearly seen from the audience.

Of course, it was at a level that could be sufficiently covered and concealed with makeup, but it seemed that only minimal makeup was applied to emphasize naturalness.

From the red eye shadow drawn along the eyes, to the facial features and cheekbones that were being highlighted thanks to the light shading makeup.

She was wearing a t-shirt with the face of the famous American pop artist, ‘Michael Jackson,’ printed in dot form.

Also, thanks to the fact that the end of the t-shirt was neatly tucked into the tight-fitting black jeans worn underneath, a positive visual effect of making the lower body look much longer could be achieved.

It almost became a somewhat bland outfit, but fortunately, the clutch she was holding in her hand played a significant role as a focal point.

The clutch seemed to be made of caviar fabric [a textured leather resembling caviar] made from calf leather as the main material.

Thanks to this, it seemed to have a slightly deeper and richer color compared to leather products, including clutches and bags from other premium brands.

The highlight was the gold logo patch attached to the center of the clutch bag.

The gold logo patch, which was sure to have Wall Flower’s logo engraved on it, was greatly enhancing the luxurious feel of the entire clutch bag.

“This is really crazy….”

It was what a female critic muttered quietly when the model was about halfway through the runway.

What about Wall Flower’s season? It felt like I could perfectly express it with just one word.

‘Spirit of adventure.’

Just as she was lost in thought, pressing and releasing the tip of an innocent pen with her hand.

The famous critic ‘Phil Adore,’ who was sitting right next to her, quietly asked.

“You look preoccupied, are you okay?”

“Yes. Just….”

After hesitating for a moment, she continued in a slightly trembling tone.

“It’s not that, there’s one thing I have a hard time understanding.”

“What?”

“Phil, think about it. It’s definitely unfamiliar, but doesn’t it feel strangely familiar?”

Although it was a vague explanation, Phil Adore seemed to understand it at once.

Lee is currently presenting a new concept of art that mixes extremely opposite concepts, so much so that it can be described as extreme.

But there is no ‘rejection.’

No, far from feeling repulsive, it’s just coming across as familiar.

Clearly, Wall Flower’s collection is filled with extremely new and unfamiliar things, but why…?

Silence flowed between the two for a while.

Phil Adore, who was pondering while gently stroking his chin with eyes gleaming with curiosity, soon opened his mouth, saying, “I see.”

“Isn’t it because there are countless people who have made similar attempts, even though there are no fashion brands that have made such attempts?”

Soon, the female critic, who was also engrossed, exclaimed with a bright expression, “Ah!”

Looking back, it seemed exactly as he said. So far, no brand has made such a challenging attempt.

It may be that there were brands that made challenges, but at least it can be said that no brand has attempted it on a large-scale stage such as the world’s four major fashion weeks, or has achieved results that have been talked about significantly.

But what about the public?

Mix and match is the basics of fashion.

Moreover, it is an essential item for celebrities who live with the admiration and expectant eyes of countless people.

Sometimes, they are criticized for somewhat excessive choices, but sometimes they are highly praised for harmonizing two brands with different tendencies.

A conclusion has been reached.

Lee and Wall Flower must have come to the conclusion that they would address the public’s concerns head-on.

By showing examples of harmoniously matching various fabrics and colors to the extent that mix-matching itself is unnecessary, the time for deliberation is eliminated.

It was clear that they designed the brand with the highest priority on making people captivated by the primitive desire to “want to have it.”

Soon, Phil Adore smirked and began to continue speaking.

“Lee’s greatest strength and weakness that I have identified is that there is no framework. Famous designers each have different specialties and clear identities. On the other hand, what about Lee? No matter which brand you put him in front of, he easily achieves a certain level of performance or higher. Street, premium, minimalism, maximalism, haute couture [high fashion], prêt-à-porter [ready-to-wear], etc. There are no restrictions on the field.”

“Can that be a disadvantage?”

“It’s closer to being an advantage, but well… considering that the symbolic value is significantly reduced, it will also be a clear disadvantage. Anyway, I don’t think that’s the case anymore. Lee has contemplated his own strengths and weaknesses and has long pondered how to draw them out as pure strengths.”

After finishing speaking, Phil Adore slightly raised his head and gazed at the runway stage, quietly adding.

“Even if I were ‘Lee,’ I would have carried out aggressive marketing. Neglecting the marketing of a season that is so perfectly prepared? It should never happen.”

The collection continued smoothly without end. The models sequentially went up on the runway, showed off their scheduled walks, and repeated disappearing.

As the collection progressed, the atmosphere in the venue also began to change quite a bit.

Those who were appreciating with pure intentions began to move, considering business profits.

Some impatient buyers had already left their seats, and officials from high-end department stores were busy ordering their accompanying subordinates to find out Lee’s personal contact information.

Just as designs that cleverly mixed street brands and premium brands were being released one after another.

Clack.

At the same time as a noise that seemed to only ring when electricity short-circuited, the background music that was playing stopped altogether.

However, not a single person had the question of ‘Is there a problem?’ The models standing on the runway stopped as if they were putting on a ‘*Flash mob*’ [a sudden, organized public performance].

“It seems like Act 2 is about to begin.”

At Phil Adore’s words, the female critic sitting next to him replied, “Yes, it seems so.”

Once again, the second background music began to play. The song selected as the second background music was also a somewhat fast-tempo electronic music.

Just before the song’s development speed gained momentum after passing the intro.

– Wallflower or Wallflower

At the same time as the narration of a heavily ‘Auto-Tuned’ [a vocal effect that corrects pitch] mid-bass voice flowed out, the ‘*Flash-pot*’ [a device that creates a sudden flash of light and smoke] installed along the edge of the runway stage emitted intense light and smoke.

The moment the runway, which had been temporarily obscured by the acrid smoke, reappeared.

A magical situation unfolded where the existing models disappeared without a trace.

Just as everyone in the audience was blankly staring at the empty runway stage.

Thump, thump, thump, thump-!

In time with the fast-tempo music, the first model to decorate the highlight of Act 2 appeared on the runway stage.

Soon, Chairman Ardo, who was occupying a part of the audience with people from the LVMH Group [a French luxury conglomerate], shook his head once and spoke in a solemn tone.

“What? Brands placed on outdoor stages have no choice but to give up on performance? If that’s not a performance, then what is it?”

Just as the group executives were hanging their heads with dark expressions.

Chairman Ardo pointed to the runway stage with his chin and added.

“It’s because you’re just trying to sit down and calculate. I clearly told you? Analysis? Trends this and that? Look closely, I guarantee that this year’s fashion trend will be ‘Wall Flower.’ In the end, the winner becomes the trend.”

“Chairman, it’s still too early to predict the results….”

“You foolish friend. You can only win if you have the qualifications to win. We don’t have the qualifications to win. As soon as today’s schedule is over, get me a list of those in charge of the fashion sector. All those who have been sitting down, using their heads, talking, and wasting the group’s funds will be cleaned up.”

Because of the announcement that a major bloodbath would occur, the faces of the group members turned pale.