Rebirth of the Fashion King

Virginie Viard is still marking up her accessory plans.

She didn't look up when there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in."

Li Xun pushed the door open with a fawning smile and closed it behind him.

"The weather's nice today, Ms. Virginia. ^_^ Hehe~"

Virginia looked up and saw it was him; the red marker in her hand paused for a moment.

Li Xun stared at her with that "explosive" expression for about five seconds, then put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and covered his face with his hands.

A handsome guy makes faces in front of you, and his actions are so fawning they're almost grotesque... Hmm.

"Pfft..."

Virginia Wiard couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing this, Li Xun snapped his fingers.

OK, it's half done.

……

"Madeline went to find you." She smiled and gently fanned her slightly flushed face before speaking.

"Yes."

"Is Emily in your office?"

"Yes."

Virginia rubbed her eyes, and Li Xun noticed that there were red veins in her eyes.

"You're going to plead for her?" Virginia's tone was flat, but Li Xun could hear the displeasure in it.

It wasn't the fact that Li Xun came to plead for her that displeased her; it was that she had just made a decision, and less than fifteen minutes later someone came to make her change her mind. This was not a pleasant experience for a creative studio director.

"It's not a plea," Li Xun said, sitting down in the chair opposite Virginia. "It's a suggestion."

"What suggestion?"

"She's been demoted back to junior assistant in the ready-to-wear department and is prohibited from participating in any part of the haute couture collection for a year. She has a good foundation, and the fabric reprocessing for several major collections in the ready-to-wear department needs someone with such steady hands."

Virginia looked at him.

  

"Do you know what she said in my office?"

"Madeline told me."

"She said there's a problem with your color scheme."

"She wasn't saying there was a problem with my color scheme, but that the color of the cuffs was different from the rendering. There is a difference between the two..."

Virginia narrowed her eyes slightly. She knew that Li Xun was playing word games. Color difference was a color matching issue, and Li Xun couldn't possibly be unaware of that.

Virginia paused for a moment, then said something Li Xun hadn't expected.

"You're too kind."

Li Xun was stunned for a moment.

"I'm not being kind. Emily was promoted from the ready-to-wear department. You've known her for quite some time. Didn't she work with you for a while when she first joined the department?"

Virginie did not deny that Emily was indeed with Virginie for a period of time when she was handling the haute couture show, but it was not long, about two months, before she was transferred to another project team.

My impression of her during those two months was that she was steady-handed, quick-witted, but occasionally impatient.

"I remember her kindness," Virginia said.

"So in your opinion, she was too hasty, not too stupid; she was teachable, not someone who should be thrown away."

But have you considered what the people in the workshop will think of me if I take back this decision today? If Virginia can change what she says, can't others change what they say too?

"It's different." Li Xun shook his head.

"It's not that I'm telling you not to change, it's that you yourself feel that firing her directly is too harsh, but you can't back down under those circumstances. She works in the ready-to-wear department, so I need to give you an excuse."

Virginia looked at him.

Li Xun smiled and met her gaze.

The office was silent for about ten seconds.

Then Virginia suddenly smiled, a very faint smile, her lips twitched and then closed again, but it was definitely a smile.

"No wonder Mr. Carl always said behind your back that you were a little monster."

"You can't believe everything Mr. Carl says," Li Xun said with a smile.

He also said that black is versatile.

"Black is inherently versatile."

"Alright. Send her back to the ready-to-wear department, demote her to junior assistant, and ban her from participating in haute couture collections for a year. She can handle the handover procedures in the ready-to-wear department herself; I won't interfere." She paused, looking at Li Xun.

"But there's a premise to this."

Li Xun waited until she finished speaking.

"Emily must personally go to the workshop to apologize to every artisan who participated in the production of Look 47. This is not just a formality; it is to let her know that she cut more than just fabric. If even one artisan does not accept her apology, this arrangement will be nullified."

"Okay." Li Xun stood up.

"etc."

Li Xun sat down again.

Virginia leaned back in her chair and looked at him, her tone gentle.

"With your personality... you're easily taken advantage of. Not everyone is as kind as you, Rhine."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Carl, for standing in front of me all these years, allowing me to maintain... my favorite state and appearance."

"How long can it last?"

"If I could, I'd want it to stay like this forever."

……

"Are you really not bothered by Emily questioning your abilities?"

Li Xun, who was about to leave, paused, turned around, and had a faint smile on his face.

"There won't be any more news after next year's big show."

Virginia raised her eyebrows.

"Are you so confident that your proposal will pass with Mr. Carl and me?"

Li Xun walked to the door, put his hand on the doorknob, and looked back at her.

"It's not confidence, it's knowing the answer a long time ago."

"What's the answer?"

"People will only question things that haven't been proven yet," Li Xun said.

"Once it's proven, all the voices will disappear."

Virginie's smile vanished.

"Rhine, the way you're talking makes people think you're Karl."

"I'm far inferior to Mr. Carl, but I was taught by you and him, for the past few years," Li Xun said with a smile.

"Be prepared for the upcoming project discussion. If your answer is logically flawed, I won't be lenient with you."

"When have you ever shown any mercy? I've been at Chanel for so long, and the old man has never said anything to me in the studio, only you have."

"Get out of here..."

Li Xun immediately opened the door and went out.

Then the closed door opened again, revealing only Li Xun's head.

"I owe you a huge favor, Ms. Virginia, thank you."

"That favor would be really interesting."

……

In fact, a small group of people within Chanel have quite a few complaints about Li Xun, especially between the ready-to-wear department and the haute couture workshops. The controversy surrounding him has never completely subsided.

Less than a year after joining the company, the 20-year-old was directly brought in by Karl and Virginie to participate in haute couture and ready-to-wear collections, something that had never happened before in Chanel's more than 100-year history.

Not to mention the huge success of the Himalaya series, which boosted the reputation of the leather goods department. Those young designers who had worked in the workshop for more than ten or twenty years and were also talented themselves, couldn't help but have their own thoughts when they saw Li Xun, who was even younger than them, coming and going in Karl and Virginia's offices every day.

He's always known about this. Hmm, does he really not mind at all?

Maybe a little bit.

But there will be no more news after next year.

Li Xun knew better than anyone that once his grand show was fully presented at Chanel's Spring/Summer 2010 ready-to-wear show, all the voices doubting that he was "too young," "relying on luck," or "being favored" would disappear.

That's just how the fashion industry is.

You can get in through connections, but you absolutely cannot get into a major Paris Fashion Week show through connections, especially Chanel's Paris show.

This is the ultimate destination pursued by countless fashion designers.