This director is vindictive.

Chapter 540 Foreign Bodhisattvas Bestowing Blessings on Chinese Customs? They Know Nothing!
It must be said that the influence of these high-end luxury brands is indeed powerful.

After all these years, the other party has been cultivating the market, so this big show, as soon as it was announced, ignited public opinion.

Furthermore, the other party also announced that this grand show would be broadcast live across the entire internet.

It's safe to say that for these high-end luxury brands' fashion shows, live streaming across the entire internet is, if not unprecedented, certainly very rare.

After all, they need to maintain a cool and aloof demeanor.

However, this time, they clearly discovered that maintaining aloofness wasn't working, especially since the "Hanfu Millennium Show" took a more mainstream approach and was a huge success, forcing them to lower their standards.

It must be said that luxury goods groups are indeed very powerful in terms of public opinion and brand influence.

With several high-end luxury brands announcing special events featuring Chinese elements for Qixi Festival, the news exploded on social media. This grand show, described by foreign media as a "century-long reconciliation between East and West in the fashion world," instantly sparked a nationwide frenzy.

Unlike the usual aloof and mysterious runway previews, this time the brands collectively "lowered their standards" and launched the #YourIdealChineseHydratingChallenge on platforms such as Douyin and Weibo, garnering over 50 creative videos in just 24 hours. One Hanfu enthusiast even used garbage bags to recreate a classic Balenciaga design, captioning it, "You call this apocalyptic aesthetics? We call this community garbage sorting."
Even more impressively, a tech-savvy blogger combined the Dunhuang flying apsara dress from the "Hanfu Millennium Show" with a brand's early "dragon pattern cheongsam," resulting in a surge of 800 million views. The comments section was filled with praise, with one person saying, "On the left is a divine teaching material, on the right is a foreign student's sloppy homework!"

In terms of media coverage, Vogue International has published a rare lengthy article analyzing: "From 'General Tso's Chicken' to Silk Kesi: The Evolution of Chinese Elements in Western Fashion." The article extensively quotes the craftsmanship details of the "Millennium Show of Chinese Clothing," while expressing gratitude to the "Millennium Show of Chinese Clothing" and Huayun Clothing, a disruptor in Chinese fashion, saying that Huayun Clothing's series of actions have brought global attention to Chinese elements and allowed people to experience the charm of Chinese civilization.
Harper's Bazaar, known for its sharp criticism, launched a poll on "the most anticipated elements of the Qixi Festival runway show," with options including challenging criteria such as "whether it can be washed" and "whether it has a traceability QR code." One brand's official Weibo account was forced to reply in the comments that "all fabrics in this show are machine washable," which garnered tens of thousands of likes.

But that wasn't all the other party was doing.

Several internationally renowned designers who have collaborated with high-end luxury brands have made high-profile statements on social media platforms, trying to curry favor with "Chinese netizens"!
On the one hand, it shows that China's thousands of years of brilliant civilization fascinates them and provides them with design inspiration. They already have a very perfect design idea for this special show featuring Chinese elements!

On the other hand, they also began to promote the idea that they have always attached great importance to the Chinese market and have been promoting the integration of unique Eastern art and aesthetics.

In short, we should do whatever it takes to please the Chinese audience.

It must be said that this series of offensives was quite powerful.

After all, high-end luxury brands used to be very aloof and arrogant, but suddenly they started to praise Chinese elements, which immediately touched the sensitive hearts of many netizens.

All I can say is that they are incredibly good at marketing.

What's truly admirable is that instead of showcasing "Chinese Costumes for a Thousand Years" and "Chinese Fashion" everywhere, they consistently praised these styles with a thumbs-up in various settings.

That sense of distance disappeared naturally and instantly.

For the general public, it's a source of pride, after all, look at these luxury brands, they used to be so high and mighty, but now?

They still have to come and try to please us, don't they?
Although I know it's a business necessity and a routine, I can't help it—it's always been true that deep affection can't be retained, but routines can win people's hearts!

Furthermore, this wave of promotional hype, with so many resources invested, has led to a significant change in sales data, and the previously sluggish market has begun to heat up.

However, unlike the general public who were so happy, Gao Yuanyuan was undoubtedly the most depressed.

Because her and Chen Mo's wedding promotional video for "Qipao Wedding" was also scheduled for release on Qixi Festival, it just so happened to coincide with it.

Although one is a movie and the other is a fashion show, they seem completely unrelated, but in reality, they are not like that at all.

Because Chen Mo's Huayun Wedding Attire series of wedding promotional videos inherently possess fashionable elements.

In addition, the "Hanfu Millennium Show" was actually originally a promotional campaign for this film.

Chen Mo never expected things to escalate so much.

But right now, this high-end luxury brand's collaboration with Chinese elements in a fashion show is indeed the talk of the town.

"Alright, don't be upset. Actually, this might be a good thing," Chen Mo said with a smile, trying to comfort him.

Gao Yuanyuan looked at Chen Mo with some doubt: "How could this be a good thing? 'Hanfu Millennium Show' paid such a high price to gain a little bit of fashion discourse power, and the other party just snatched it back with this move. Aren't you worried at all?"

"Heh!" Chen Mo chuckled dismissively. "It seems that way now. They've indeed started trying to please the Chinese audience, so this special show featuring Chinese elements is certainly highly anticipated," Chen Mo said.

“Yes! Is there a problem?” Gao Yuanyuan asked.

"You've attended quite a few international fashion shows. What do you think of those people? For example, those designers, those Western fashion figures?" Chen Mo didn't answer but asked in return.

As a celebrity in the entertainment industry, and having later focused on the fashion world, Gao Yuanyuan has a considerable understanding of fashion trends.

"Well, how should I put it? They're all pretty arrogant. You know, they pride themselves on freedom, so many designers are unconventional. And frankly, those Western fashion figures have never really looked down on us. The term 'fashion desert' originated from them," Gao Yuanyuan said after thinking for a moment.

In fact, this can be seen from some events.

For example, Fan Binbin's dragon robe and cheongsam, although they were widely reported, to be honest, did people really think that was fashionable?

No, they're just curious.

Only domestic netizens are excitedly speculating that it's a huge sensation and shock, while others might just see it as a clown.

Just like those award-winning films from the three major European film festivals in the early years, it can be said that almost none of them were films that had anything good to say about China.

One can understand the whole leopard from a single spot; this gives us an idea.

Chen Mo laughed and said, "That's why I said this might be a good thing! The higher the expectations now, the more fun will come later!"

"You don't actually think that just because these people say a few flattering words, they'll actually put aside their arrogance and cater to the domestic audience when they're doing the design work, do you?" Chen Mo said dismissively.

Some things cannot be changed overnight.

Chen Mo could imagine that those in power at those brands might indeed pander to domestic audiences for the sake of the market, but that didn't mean the designers would do the same.

"You mean, it will be lower than the public's expectations?" Gao Yuanyuan asked suddenly.

"To put it simply, they've been playing with concept design for many years, and often they've been playing within the rules they've set. Suddenly making their designs more mainstream might be possible for some people, but the vast majority of designers can't adapt all at once!"

"You could say they're sticking to their own artistic vision, but that's also a kind of stubborn, inflexible obstinacy!"

"To be honest, we never intended to put on airs when we put on the 'Hanfu Millennium Show.' From the very beginning, we never wanted to imitate those international big brands and play with their empty 'artistic concepts' and 'mysticism.'"

We all acknowledge that domestic designers don't have much standing in the international fashion scene and their fame can't compare to that of big-name designers.

But do you know what's the funniest thing? These designers, who always complain about how the domestic environment limits their creativity, when they heard they were going to do a Chinese style fashion show, their first reaction was to go for something bizarre!

“I saw their initial design proposals with my own eyes—some people wanted to change Hanfu into see-through clothing, calling it a ‘combination of Chinese and Western styles’; some people insisted on hanging LED tubes all over the horse-face skirt, calling it ‘cyber Chinese style’; the most outrageous one was a designer who insisted on adding a three-meter-long metal tail to the flying fish skirt, saying it was to ‘break the shackles of tradition’! Is this just a way of imitating Balenciaga’s outrageous designs?”

"I got furious at the time and slammed my fist on the table to set the rules: First, all designs must be based on the actual historical costume styles; second, modifications are allowed, but they must be understandable to ordinary people; third, anyone who makes that kind of weird thing like 'lightning rods on the head' is fired immediately!"
And the result? The clothes these people made according to the rules were actually a hundred times more sophisticated than their self-proclaimed 'creativity'!

"So, it's not that our designers are incompetent; it's that some people have been kneeling for too long and always think that the bizarre aesthetics of foreigners are superior. In fact, what ordinary people want is very simple—clothes must first be wearable by normal people, and only then can they be considered artistic!"

"If domestic designers are like this, let alone those successful foreign designers," Chen Mo said with confidence.

Those designers are naturally capable and skilled, and they are highly praised.

But precisely because of this, is it possible to expect them to suddenly compromise for the sake of the market?
"So don't have too high expectations, just treat it as a joke! If you really want to rely on these people to lower their 'noble' heads, haha!" Chen Mo said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Of course, there will be no shortage of media outlets and individuals advocating for them, but times have changed.

Especially with competing products to compare it with, the higher the expectations now, the more entertaining it will be when it's released.

Besides, what do they know about Chinese culture? They can't even read Chinese. How can you expect them to actually put their heart and soul into studying the fusion of Chinese culture and art?
Chen Mo's confidence wasn't unfounded; the facts were right in front of him!
(End of this chapter)