Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 174

As an editor who has worked in the fashion industry for fifteen years, I have seen far too many so-called "red carpet miracles".

But on May 18, 2002, at noon in Cannes, when Fan Binbin descended onto the red carpet draped in a sea of ​​flowers, I truly understood what a "timeless fashion moment" meant.

I remember it was noon on the third day after the opening of the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

I had just finished a boring brand interview and arrived at the red carpet media area outside the Lumiere Hall, chatting with my colleagues about today's movie.

I remember "The Lobster" very clearly.

This is a movie that wasn't initially well-received, but quickly became a dark horse.

At that time, I was not familiar with the film's director, Lu Jiang, who would become an international superstar. As a fashion editor, I wasn't particularly interested in movies either.

I pay more attention to fashion, and only to fashion.

But the red carpet events of the first two days were truly disappointing.

On opening night, the Hollywood stars all wore the same outfits, as if the Cannes red carpet had become a stage for showcasing American industrial power.

The second day's red carpet was an even bigger disaster. Monica Bellucci's long-awaited dress was clearly ill-fitting, or rather, Monica had let herself go and her figure had changed; she was no longer the goddess she once was.

My editor-in-chief even considered pulling the Cannes special early and replacing it with a retrospective of Milan Fashion Week.

"Is this what they call a fashion extravaganza?" she questioned me over the phone.

I couldn't answer that question until noon on the third day.

But by 11 a.m. that day, everything had changed.

The premiere of "The Lobster" was scheduled for noon, when the sun was blazing and everyone was exhausted. The midday sun was shining directly on the red carpet, a time when most celebrities would avoid—the strong light would expose all makeup flaws.

The film is a Chinese production, which means that it has virtually no place on the red carpet or in terms of fashion today.

I think almost everyone in the media at the time understood this.

So even though the red carpet had already started, my thought at the time was whether I should go for a handmade latte from Emily's after work.

But in this seemingly impossible situation, a miracle happened!
Just after 11 o'clock, an unusual commotion arose from the entrance to the red carpet.

My colleagues turned around as if under a spell, and the rapid clicking of countless cameras was so intense it made my ears ring.

I will never forget the first time I saw her—it wasn't an ordinary star's appearance, but a walking Monet's Garden!

As the host announced her name, I quickly learned that her name was Fan Binbin, and her look today also had a lovely name: Flower Fairy.

The sheer tulle cuffs and deep V-neck balance sweetness and sexiness, while hundreds of hand-embroidered three-dimensional flowers present an amazing texture in the sunlight: on the ivory white tulle lining, hand-embroidered peonies, peonies and magnolias bloom in a gradient, gradually transitioning from the realistic style on the shoulders to the impressionistic brushstrokes on the skirt.

The most ingenious part is that the designer wove special reflective threads into the petals, giving the entire dress a soft pearlescent sheen under strong light.

My colleague suddenly grabbed my arm: "Oh my god, she's glowing!"

Later I learned that the entire dress had 336 hand-sewn flowers. To make these flowers look like they were about to drip with morning dew, the designer used one of the top embroidery techniques in China—Suzhou embroidery.

This is also a technology that emerged around the same time as silk.

The use of units measured in "millennia" has given the Western fashion world a real shock!

But as a professional, I was even more amazed by her perfect command of this artwork.

While other female stars are still using exaggerated poses to attract attention, Fan Binbin has chosen an almost languid elegance.

Holding Lu Jiang's hand, she walked slowly down the red carpet, like an Eastern princess who had traveled from a thousand years ago.

When she was less than three meters away from me, she suddenly turned her head slightly.

This seemingly casual movement allowed sunlight to filter through her emerald earrings, casting shimmering dappled patterns of light on her skirt. At that moment, it dawned on me: this wasn't improvisation at all, but a meticulously choreographed visual symphony!
I don't remember much of what happened after that, because the original lazy reporters had long since disappeared from my sight.

But after the red carpet event, I vividly remember my editor-in-chief's roar—when the fashion editors rushed back to the hotel to submit their press releases, they found that all the pre-written press releases were now worthless.

That afternoon, the three major fashion magazines temporarily changed their cover stories.

French Vogue even stopped printing that issue, immediately asking its assistant to contact the designer.

The features director of ELLE magazine simply tore up the prepared cover proposal.

The communications director of LVMH Group secretly told me that they detected a 470% surge in global jewelry searches within two days of Fan Binbin's appearance.

Lawrence Xu's (Xu Jianshu) studio was inundated with calls, and it was later discovered that at least 12 top international actresses had tried to order the same style—all of whom, of course, declined.

The most interesting thing is that Dior's creative director at the time reportedly muttered to himself after watching the live broadcast, "Our early spring collection next year is doomed."

But in his new collection released six months later, the shadow of that dress could be clearly seen.

In the end, it was Chanel that regretted it. We later learned that Fan Binbin's first choice for the red carpet was Chanel's haute couture, but it was rejected. Clearly, Chanel made a mistake.
Looking back now, the significance of that day went far beyond a beautiful dress or a stunning look.

In an era when the Western fashion world's understanding of Eastern aesthetics was still limited to the "cheongsam," Fan Binbin achieved a double subversion with this piece.

She not only broke the stereotype of old-fashioned Chinese style in the West, but also reshaped the criteria for judging red carpet fashion.

She proved that Eastern aesthetics can blend so naturally into Western-style red carpets.

There's no need to deliberately pander or over-explain.

On that day's red carpet, there were no cheongsams or frog buttons, yet a completely new kind of oriental elegance was revealed everywhere.

Twenty years later, when I see those imitators backstage at the Met Gala, I always think back to that noon in 2002.

Today's designers have learned to copy floral elements, but no one can reproduce that natural and effortless charm anymore.

When newly hired journalists ask me, "What is the perfect red carpet moment?", I always show them this photo: at noon in Cannes that year, an oriental beauty walked slowly through the garden, draped in a blanket of flowers, followed by countless photographers who forgot to press the shutter, and a silence stunned by her beauty.

Perhaps this is the most precious magic of fashion—in an era where traffic reigns supreme, true legends always come from a pure belief in beauty.

That noon, Fan Binbin not only conquered the Cannes red carpet and opened a new chapter for Chinese fashion on the world stage, but also made us all believe in the existence of the goddess of flowers.
—Excerpt from Evan Elt, current editor-in-chief of Vogue France, in his 2017 Paris Fashion Week interview.

The outdoor portion of the red carpet for the premiere of "The Lobster" took a full 15 minutes to complete, despite being scheduled for 7 minutes.

At the time, Lu Jiang and Fan Binbin were unaware of how sensational the red carpet event would be.

Fan Binbin, in particular, felt the time was too short; she hadn't even warmed up the red carpet before having to go into the theater, which was quite a pity.
As the creators of "The Lobster" entered the Lumiere Hall, they were greeted with applause from the nearly 2000 audience members. But what pleased Lu Jiang even more than the near-full house was the continuous stream of new viewers.

This shows that the red carpet event was indeed a huge success.

The reason is simple: during every premiere screening at the Lumière Theatre in Cannes, there is a last-minute access lane.

In other words, some seats are reserved before each screening to benefit those who really want to see the show but don't have tickets.

All you need to do is bring your ID and queue at the last minute line before the movie starts. The Lumiere theater has more than 2000 seats, and depending on the popularity of the movie, about 10% to 25% of the seats will be reserved for people without tickets.

Generally speaking, if a movie isn't very popular and the time slot isn't ideal, like with "The Lobster" now, then more seats will be available.

Yesterday, Cannes officials predicted that not many people without tickets would be able to attend "The Lobster" this year.

But now it seems the results have far exceeded expectations.

This is indeed the case.

Long queues have formed for tickets to "The Lobster" now.

There were even people holding up signs outside cinemas asking for tickets to "The Lobster." While this is a common sight at Cannes, it usually only happens with popular films. Now, "The Lobster" has achieved this feat, making it an even bigger dark horse.

Let's return our attention to the Lumiere Hall.

The Lumiere Hall has two floors, resembling a grand theater.

The seats are just the right firmness, making them very comfortable to sit in. The legroom between the front and rear rows is also reasonable, allowing you to stretch your legs out.

The theater has a high ceiling with many spotlights hanging from it, creating a great atmosphere.

The screen is huge; in the days before IMAX existed, this screen was almost the same size as an IMAX screen.

Before Lu Jiang and the other main cast members came in, the red carpet scene outside was being broadcast live on the screen.

As Lu Jiang led Fan Binbin and the rest of the cast into the theater, everyone's attention turned to the entrance.

The seamless transition from the screen to the camera feels like a distant star suddenly sharing a room with me; it's a wonderful, almost otherworldly feeling.

Then, when the main cast and crew came to the screen, the applause continued.

The applause, which lasted for more than two minutes, turned Lu Jiang and the others from initial joy to confusion, and finally to accepting it with a sense of resignation.

After all, that's the nature of Cannes – the long applause, which has nothing to do with the film.

After the first round of applause, Lu Jiang and the others took their seats, the lights were turned off, and the movie officially began.

First, there's the opening sequence. Each film selected for Cannes has a special opening sequence, which is followed by applause. When the opening sequence ends and the Cannes logo appears, there's another round of applause.

It felt very ceremonial, like joining a compliment group.
But do you think this is the end?
It's early!
When the Dawn Films logo appeared after the Cannes Film Festival opening credits finished playing, there was another round of applause.
The people from Cannes really love to clap!
Fortunately, as the main feature began to play, things returned to normal in the theater, and everyone began to focus on enjoying the movie.

I won't go into the plot of "The Lobster".

Lu Jiang still doesn't have a complete understanding of how the movie-watching experience was.

However, the fact that very few people left during the two-hour movie shows that the effect was quite good.

Two hours passed quickly, the main feature ended, the end credits began to roll, and then the biggest applause of the Cannes premiere began.

Splash splash splash splash.
The applause of more than 2000 people resounded throughout the Lumiere Hall, and this time it lasted for more than three minutes.

Three minutes later, the applause began to subside, and the lighting technician then turned on the lights, focusing several lights on the main cast and crew, making them the center of attention in the theater.

Footage from the scene appeared on the big screen once again.

As Lu Jiang and Fan Binbin appeared on the big screen, the applause immediately rose again, followed by two minutes of enthusiastic applause.

When the applause began to subside, all the lights in the theater were turned on, and someone started whistling. The whistling sounded throughout the theater, and the person whistling was clearly a trained whistleblower.

Lu Jiang and the others stood up to express their gratitude, and applause erupted once again.

As the cast and crew stood up, many audience members also stood up. Soon, someone waved for everyone to stand and applaud, and as you can imagine, another wave of applause followed.
So Cannes is basically a super huge, real-life praise group!

Amidst such continuous applause, it was difficult for the creators to put on a stern face.

As the creators began to smile, and even shed tears of emotion due to the enthusiasm of the audience, applause rang out once again, accompanied by the audience's chanting of names.

For example, right now, Fan Binbin was moved by the atmosphere (she admitted after returning to the hotel that she was indeed a little scared), and she started wiping away tears. As a result, the whole audience was chanting "Fanbinbin! Fanbinbin!" and the atmosphere reached its peak!

Next came the usual thank-you speech, with a torrent of congratulatory words, and the director and actors bowing in all directions to express their gratitude.

The camera focused on each of the main creators, and the applause continued to be enthusiastic. When everyone finished speaking, the applause rang out again, and the main creators left the stage amidst the applause, which gradually subsided only after they had all walked out the door.

After leaving the theater, even Lu Jiang couldn't help but marvel at how Cannes' "professional control" over the "applause process" was far superior to that of the atmosphere-building team in nightclubs.

They clearly knew how to capture emotions and how to create a celebratory atmosphere for the film.

In this kind of atmosphere, you are allowed to do anything crazy for the movie, to release any emotions you have about it, and no one will think you are weird.

It's no wonder that this place is recognized worldwide as the place that most respects, serves, and loves movies.
After leaving the Lumiere Hall and leaving behind its dreamy and passionate atmosphere, Lu Jiang officially accepted a post-premiere interview with the media.

Most of the questions were routine, but some were sharp and sensitive.

For example, one reporter asked: "Your film *The Lobster* is full of surreal metaphors in its visuals and narrative, even with a touch of dark humor. This contrasts sharply with the 'suffering narratives' that are commonly seen in Chinese realist films at international film festivals. Is this style a deliberate subversion of 'Chinese film aesthetics'?"

As expected, Situ Zhaodun was right; this kind of question was bound to be asked.

In response, Lu Jiang confidently replied: "I don't think 'suffering narrative' is the only aesthetic in Chinese films. Chinese aesthetics are diverse, and Chinese filmmakers can master any style."

Does this represent a shift in the landscape of Chinese directors?

"I don't know about others, I only know myself. I was born in 1977 and grew up in the spring breeze of reform and opening up. I am considered a new generation of Chinese filmmakers. I did not experience the era of suffering in China. What I experienced was a new era of steady progress and gradual integration into the world."

Over the past two decades, China has undergone tremendous changes. As a new generation of Chinese filmmakers, we must keep pace with the times, learn from more advanced international experiences, and broaden our perspective to the broader level of human civilization, rather than being limited to China or the problems of China in the past.

This film, *The Lobster*, was inspired by this very theme. I hope to make more films in the future that focus on a perspective of all humanity. Thank you!

(End of this chapter)