Black Label [EN]: Chapter 98

Black Label 97

98. So, everyone, enjoy the show.

The first model, who would highlight the climax of the show, appeared on the runway.

“Ah….”

Gasps, both high and low, rippled through the audience.

The model, unconcerned, simply continued walking with a confident gait.

Ashlyn, who had been blankly watching the first model’s walk, murmured almost unconsciously.

“It’s dreamy. All these seemingly incompatible elements are harmonizing in a bizarre way.”

Geraldine Saglio nodded in agreement, as if echoing Ashlyn’s thoughts.

It seemed impossible to express anything other than simply ‘amazing’.

The achromatic gray-toned interior, the bluish light beams emitted by the densely installed LED lights on both sides of the runway, and finally, the trendy ‘office look’ that the model was wearing.

Everything that seemed like it could never harmonize was in a state of perfect equilibrium.

New York night.

It was as if the desolate and orderly night streets of New York were flickering before her eyes.

The design of the clothes the model was wearing also seemed to blend disparate elements.

The tight-fitting short coat with a dazzling optical art pattern printed regularly on it clung to the model’s upper body, emphasizing her chest and torso.

What about the skirt she was wearing below?

Surprisingly, it was just a fairly loose-fitting ‘H-line’ skirt that didn’t constrict the waist at all.

However, it seemed that the fit of the two clothes was not the only thing being closely compared.

Unlike the coat with its flamboyant optical pattern, the skirt leaned towards a ‘minimalist’ aesthetic, offering an endlessly simple feel.

‘…Is it a design inspired by graphic design?’

Geraldine Saglio began to type on the keyboard of the laptop she had placed on her lap.

It was truly an amazing sight. Her eyes were fixed on the runway, while her fingers moved fluently.

Tap- Tap tap-.

As memory tends to be, its ‘validity’ is quite short, isn’t it?

Even if it is preserved for a long time, it will inevitably be distorted over time.

She judged that in order to convey to readers even a little more vividly the fresh shock she was feeling while watching Lee’s show, she had to record at least a few simple keywords right now.

Soon, the second model appeared on the runway.

The first model, who had already reached the end of the runway, showed off a natural ‘hippie turn’ that felt practiced.

At that moment.

“Wow….”

The famous columnist ‘Eddie Dana’, who was in a confrontational relationship with Jaesung, inadvertently let out a short exclamation.

Then, as if conscious of the attention around her, she coughed a few times, her face flushed red.

“Ahem, hmm-.”

When looking at the front of the coat, all she thought was, ‘It’s not bad.’

However, the moment the model who had reached the end of the runway turned around and the back of the optical coat was revealed.

She couldn’t help but realize at once that the head designer for this season, ‘Lee’, had paid close attention to the detailed aspects of the product.

Originally, clothes are just assembled pieces of fabric, aren’t they?

Especially when adopting such a flamboyant pattern as now, ‘misalignment’ is bound to occur during the assembly process.

The printed flamboyant pattern cannot continue properly, and phenomena such as slight shifting or misalignment inevitably occur based on the sewing line.

But, the optical pattern coat that the model is wearing now?

There didn’t seem to be even a hint of imperfection.

The pattern was perfectly connected to the point where it was impossible to even recognize the location of the sewing line from this distance.

It was only the first product she checked, but there was something she could definitely know.

‘He’s definitely a design perfectionist….’

Designers who make clothes while paying attention to the misalignment of printed patterns are very few, let alone the quality of the fabric, materials, subsidiary materials, and lining.

It was a natural measure because the efficiency was extremely low compared to the effort and time required.

The maestro who took the reins this season, ‘Lee’, made a choice that could not even be conceived unless he was a perfectionist and a huge design fanatic.

Soon, a middle-aged buyer sitting right next to Eddie Dana smiled and asked back.

“Dana, you don’t look good, are you okay?”

“Of course.”

Eddie Dana, who pretended to be indifferent, shrugged her shoulders once and then continued.

“Do you know what is the most common mistake that rookie designers make on their debut stage?”

“No, I’m curious.”

“They tend to make bad moves to hide their anxiety without considering the introduction, development, turn, and conclusion of the show.”

When the middle-aged buyer asked, “Bad move?”, Eddie Dana shook the pamphlet in her hand lightly and replied.

“They tend to push all the main products into the beginning of the show. Think about it. The pamphlet says that we have prepared a total of 90 new products this season, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Could they really have made all 90 types of products with that level of quality? In just a few months? I’m sure it’s absolutely impossible. If all products were made with the same quality, I’ll buy all of Alexander King’s products this season. I promise with my name….”

She continued to speak with confidence, but then she trailed off and frowned.

Already, the second model had returned to the backstage, and the third and fourth models were strutting on the runway.

However, surprisingly, the quality of the products continued to maintain the same high standard.

A silence flowed between the two for a while.

Eventually, around the time the tenth model appeared on the runway, the middle-aged buyer took a sip of bottled water and said quietly.

“Dana. If you buy all of Alexander King’s new products this season, your wardrobe will be full… but it seems like it will cost at least $100,000, are you really okay with that?”

Eddie Dana hesitated to answer the question that the middle-aged buyer gave in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

In the case of products released under the tag of premium brand Alexander King, the minimum price is 600,000 won [approximately $450 USD] when calculated in Korean currency. The maximum price was bound to exceed 2 million won [approximately $1,500 USD].

At that time, Ashlyn, who was sitting not far away, continued in an endlessly bright voice.

“Sir! It’s a promise you made under the name of columnist ‘Eddie Dana’, right? I don’t think the highly respected columnist Eddie Dana would break her promise, not anyone else. Ah! Of course, that’s only if the remaining 80 or so products maintain the same quality.”

After finishing speaking, Ashlyn smiled and then immediately turned her gaze back to the runway.

Already, the thirteenth and fourteenth models were strutting on the runway.

The quality of the products still seemed to be impeccable.

No, it was just maintaining a perfect quality that was more than enough to inspire admiration.

Unlike Ashlyn, who was constantly smiling as if she was happy, Geraldine’s expression was just serious.

‘I had high expectations for Lee, but to think he would achieve this much in just one year….’

She still vividly remembered the show she had gone to Korea to see one hot summer day last year, despite the opposition from those around her.

The minimalism that the unknown designer ‘Lee’, who was leading the street brand, had newly interpreted gave her quite a shock.

Just one year after that.

No, even less than a year has passed.

The show she is watching now shows exactly what Lee has achieved during that time.

Isn’t it too much to be an achievement made in that short period of time?

However, there were some things that were not entirely satisfactory.

‘The product design and the show’s DP [display presentation] itself are great, but the show’s performance is a bit disappointing.’

Some premium brands’ season shows are accompanied by ‘performances’.

For example, ‘Chanel’ can be cited. Chanel was a brand that prepared a magnificent performance every season in which the display of the show and the concept of the season were in harmony.

Soon, Geraldine shook her head once and smiled.

‘No, this is already enough.’

It is true that she and several other influential figures in the fashion world highly value Lee’s potential, but Lee is just a rookie designer who is making his debut stage.

If we make an assessment now that we have reached about the middle of the show, the content of the show itself seems to be good enough.

It had already presented a lot of solid designs to the point of bringing a new paradigm to the fashion world.

If this momentum is maintained until the second half of the show. Also, if the show itself simply has an introduction, development, turn, and conclusion structure, it will definitely receive a generous evaluation without any special performance.

At least, he was bound to be recorded as the designer who made the most splendid and delicate debut stage among the designers currently active in the New York fashion world.

In this situation, you expect ‘performance’ too?

That might be too harsh on Lee, and she thought it was just greed.

At that time.

“What, what is it…?”

“Hmm?”

Noise suddenly started flowing from the speakers, and eventually the music stopped altogether.

In addition, to make matters worse, darkness suddenly fell in the venue.

The longfin lights that were illuminating the venue and the LED lights on both sides of the runway all went out.

Alexander King’s show this season, which seemed to be going smoothly, suddenly seemed to have hit a snag.

In the sudden darkness, and in the face of a major accident that could not be easily glossed over, the audience was showing various reactions.

First of all, Jaesung’s close associates, including his family. They were all biting their innocent lower lips, unable to hide their anxiety.

“Oh my god! A power outage during the show….”

Geraldine replied in a low voice to Ashlyn’s astonished words.

“Ashlyn, don’t be too disappointed. Lee will be able to receive a generous evaluation based on what he has shown so far.”

After finishing speaking, Geraldine even added words of comfort, saying, “It’s only been about ten minutes since the show started, right? In the meantime, Lee’s value has probably increased several times.”

Of course, it wasn’t very comforting.

Ashlyn was just covering her face with both hands and shedding tears of regret.

Also, some buyers and investors sitting in the VVIP seats could not hide their disappointment.

“A power outage due to external equipment… It’s really disappointing. If the show had finished without any problems, we could have reduced marketing costs much more. We could have expected unprecedented sales.”

“I agree. This power outage right now is a power outage that has caused at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.”

There were also those who were quietly cheering inside.

Those belonging to competing brands, and columnist Eddie Dana, who was in a confrontational relationship with Jaesung, did.

“I knew it. That’s why I avoid rookie designers’ shows. Most of them are arrogant, but they show terrible and unprepared shows. Most of them are a waste of time.”

‘LeBron’, who is in charge of managing ‘Jewelry Street’, a competitor sitting right next to Theo, is also the same.

“Theo? Shouldn’t we call a board meeting and call a law firm right now? The damage will be enormous, so we should claim damages from the VMD [Visual Merchandising] agency or equipment company as a last resort. Ah, all the board members will be gathered, so there’s no need to call them separately. It’s a blessing in disguise. Isn’t it?”

Soon, Theo shrugged his shoulders once and asked back in a somewhat nervous tone.

“Thanks for the advice, I’m so grateful I could cry?”

Now that joy and sorrow are mixed in various places in the audience, Jaesung is also standing in front of the 2nd floor hallway railing and watching the current scene.

But, what’s the reason? Jaesung’s expression just looks endlessly indifferent.

Soon, Alexander, who was standing right next to Jaesung, put his arm around Jaesung’s shoulder and opened his mouth.

“Wow, everyone’s going crazy?”

“It’s exactly the picture I expected.”

Jaesung, who gave a short answer, smiled brightly and immediately continued.

“Then shall we start the ‘real show’ now?”

“Lee, I guarantee this show will go down in history.”

“Aren’t you too excited?”

“I’m very calm right now?”

If I had to pick one thing I liked most about planning and planning this show, it was that I didn’t have to worry about the cost at all.

Thanks to this, I was able to borrow the power of ‘money’ and prepare a performance that was more than satisfactory.

Soon, Jaesung smiled and said, “Then shall we start?” and then pressed the button on the switch machine he was holding.

“Show Time, so everyone, enjoy the show.”