Rebirth of the Fashion King

Chapter 61 Seminar

The next day.

Chanel headquarters creative studio meeting room.

Karl Lagerfeld sat at the head of the conference table, with a glass of zero-calorie Coke on his right and a stack of white paper and a pencil on his left.

His fingers tapped lightly on the table, a slow, deliberate rhythm, clearly waiting for something. Virginie Viard sat to his left.

A leather-bound planner lay open in front of me, the open page filled with pencil writing, some lines crossed out, some marked with asterisks.

She wore a dark blue knitted cardigan, her hair was casually clipped back with a shark clip, and she held a ballpoint pen in her right hand, the end of the pen resting on her chin.

Lady Madeline, the high-class tailor, sat opposite Virginia. There was nothing in front of her, her hands were folded on the table, she sat upright, and her hair was tied up in a tight bun.

Pattern maker Pascal sat next to Madeleine. His hands were broad, his fingers long—the kind of person naturally suited to be a pattern maker; the strength of his hands could stretch fabric taut onto a mannequin.

Pascal was looking at his phone, his brow furrowed, probably reading an email from the fabric supplier.

Patrice Legro sat on the side of the table closest to the window.

Director of the Chanel Jewelry Creative Studio.

In reality, this designer worked at Van Cleef & Arpels, a subsidiary of Richemont Group, for 11 years, and earlier at Cartier for 6 years. He is a top French high jewelry craftsman and a graduate of the École Polytechnique de Bourget and the National Gemological Institute of France.

In February 2009, Karl Lagerfeld personally recruited her to officially appoint her as the director of the Chanel High Jewelry Creative Studio, giving her full authority over the design of all Chanel High Jewelry and Fine Jewelry collections, making her Karl's most important core designer in the jewelry line.

"How much was cut from this year's budget?" Karl Lagerfeld asked Virginia.

"Fifteen percent is mainly from the marketing department's activity budget; the workshop hasn't touched a single penny."

"Don't touch it." The Empress Dowager nodded.

"Especially in times like these, we cannot compromise on our craftsmanship. While others are cutting costs, we are focusing on quality. When the market recovers, the gap will widen."

"Has the budget for the October ready-to-wear show been approved?"

"Approved, same as before," Virginie said.

  

"The venue at the Grand Palace has been booked for the first Tuesday."

"Same as in previous years."

"Um."

The old lady nodded, her gaze sweeping across the conference room doorway.

"Young people are just impatient; they really think they can create a whole season's worth of content on their own."

That's what they said, but there was no blame in their tone.

Virginia glanced at him but didn't say anything. Though her words were harsh, she valued Li Xun more than anyone else.

"What if he messes it up?" Ms. Madeline asked.

"If it's messed up, I'll take over; I was going to do it anyway."

"Then why don't you let him try?"

The old lady smiled and said, "Young people always need to be given a chance, otherwise they will never grow up."

"By the way, where is he?" the old lady asked, her voice not loud.

"On the way." Virginia looked up at the clock on the wall.

He said on the phone that he left work fifteen minutes ago.

Madeline tilted her head slightly, looking at Virginia: "What is Rhine going to show us this time? Is it really a big show plan?"

"That's right, today is the scheduled review day."

Pascalle flipped his phone face down on the table: "How long has he been holed up in his office all by himself?"

"At least three weeks, and they haven't contacted me at all."

"He never contacted me."

Patrice looked up from the jewelry tray: "He didn't contact anyone?"

Virginia replied, "No, he closed his office door, put up a 'Do Not Disturb' sign, and then he didn't come out. His assistant's seat remained empty, and he even unplugged the phone line."

Karl Lagerfeld picked up his Coke, took a sip, and put the glass back on the table.

"They're here."

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, the sound of leather shoes clicking on the marble floor, the pace quick.

Then came two knocks on the door, clean and swift.

"Come in," Carl said.

The door opened.

Li Xun stood at the door.

He was holding a thick stack of sketch sheets in his left hand, at least thirty sheets in total, some with the edges of the sheets sticking out and covered in lines. In his right hand, he was carrying a black canvas tube.

This hairstyle is a bit "explosive," but Li Xun's eyes are very bright, a clarity unique to those who have been highly focused for a long time.

"Am I late?" He checked the time; no.

"No," Virginia said with a smile, glancing at the clock.

"We've moved up the schedule."

Li Xun walked into the conference room and placed the sketch paper on the conference table. He also placed the drawing tube next to it, then pulled out the chair opposite Virginia and sat down.

The Empress Dowager looked at him.

The eyes behind the sunglasses scanned rapidly: Li Xun's eye bags, the pencil dust on his fingers, the graphite stain on the cuff of his cardigan. These were all familiar signs, the physiological marks of a designer working frantically.

"You weren't sleeping."

"I slept for a while," Li Xun shook his head.

"How many."

"About three hours last night."

"What about the day before yesterday?"

Li Xun thought for a moment: "Maybe four hours."

Madeline took a soft breath, and Pascal pushed the phone aside.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Li Xun's voice was calm, "I have prepared a plan for the 2010 Autumn/Winter ready-to-wear fashion show."

"We know," Virginie said.

"Before the presentation, I need to explain a few things in advance." Li Xun spread out the sketch paper in front of him, pressing his finger on the corner of the top sheet.

"First, I haven't communicated this plan to anyone, including Mr. Carl and Ms. Virginia, so if you have any questions, you can communicate with me directly."

Secondly, I only completed the sketches for 36 of the 72 outfits, and those were just the first drafts. I also only drew the first concept art for the derivative accessory series.

Third, four 2D drawings were created for the runway show, but no 3D model was made; these will need to be produced at a model workshop later.

Everyone in the conference room was processing the information.

Thirty-six looks, four runway prints, and concept images for a derivative accessory series.

Li Xun sat alone in his office and took out these things. And he didn't ask anyone for advice.

This means that he did not discuss the silhouette direction with Carl, nor the fabric selection with Virginie, nor the feasibility of the process with Madeline, nor the pattern structure with Pascal.

There was nothing there.

"Let's begin."

Li Xun stood up and laid the first draft paper flat in the center of the conference table.

The others don't need to adjust their seats because the table is large enough to accommodate four pattern makers spreading out the entire coat's fabric pieces at the same time.

The first picture.

Overall concept of the show.

The pencil lines are very heavy, and some areas have been traced repeatedly, showing that the pressure of the hand was constantly changing while drawing.

The drawing shows a huge sphere in the center, fifteen meters in diameter, with intersecting lines of latitude and longitude on its surface. The sphere is not suspended in the air; it sits on a black painted steel base, inside which is marked "Mechanical device - rotation speed to be determined".

The surface of the sphere is covered with irregularly shaped markings.

Next to each marker was the city name in very small print: Paris, New York, Tokyo.

Shanghai, London, Moscow, Dubai, Hong Kong, Beijing —

The handwriting is tight, but each letter is clearly legible, and the total number of markings is estimated to be more than thirty.

There was no traditional catwalk, nor was there a distinction between the front and back.

The audience is placed within a complete circular narrative, with models emerging from beneath the sphere, circling around it, disappearing behind the sphere, reappearing, and disappearing again.

Everyone can see it, but no perspective is absolute.

"Let's start with the show. The theme is 'The World'."

"There was no traditional runway; instead, a giant globe was placed in the center of the show, and models walked a circular path around it."

The audience seating was arranged to surround the entire show venue, with every seat offering an equal view.

Karl stared at the blueprints, his brow furrowed.

Virginia leaned forward slightly and smiled.

Ms. Madeline and Pascale exchanged a glance.

Patrice Leguéreau sat up straight.

"Globe".

"Yes, Ms. Virginia, it's 15 meters in diameter, inspired by the hand-drawn globes used by 19th-century explorers. The latitude and longitude lines are inlaid with metal wire, and the continental outlines are simplified."

He flipped to the next picture.

This is an elevation view of the globe.

"The surface is marked with the coordinates of all Chanel boutiques worldwide in metal embossing, a total of 235 markers, each marked with a double C."

"6

He made a dot on the drawing with a pencil.

"The base is a black painted steel structure with built-in mechanical devices, allowing the entire sphere to rotate slowly."

"What about the light?" Virginia asked.

"The illumination is divided into three stages." Li Xun flipped to the third image, which showed three curves with time axis and brightness value marked on them.

"When the show started, the entire venue was dark, and warm light emanated from inside the sphere, illuminating only the boutique's markers. When the audience entered, they saw 235 glowing double Cs in the darkness, like constellations."

"As the music begins, the sphere starts to rotate, and the lights gradually brighten. When the first outfit appears, the sphere's brightness reaches 30%, making the lines of latitude and longitude and the outline of the continents clearly visible."

"In the middle section, the brightness is maintained at 60%, with the focus on the circular path the model walks."

"At the end of the show, after the final outfit was completed, the sphere was fully illuminated, and all the markers flashed simultaneously for three seconds. Then all the lights came on, and the curtain fell."

After Li Xun finished speaking, he stopped and looked at Virginia Wiard.

"Why a globe?"

"Because the core of my season is the brand's global footprint," Li Xun explained.

"Since the financial crisis, the industry has been shrinking, others have been closing stores, while we are opening stores. Using the world as a theme, the message is very clear: no matter what the economy is like, Chanel is still expanding and remains unshakable."

Li Xun changed the subject.

"Moreover, this plan is suitable for the Grand Palace."

"How so?" Virginia looked up from the blueprints and smiled at Li Xun.

"The glass dome of the Grand Palace is like a celestial sphere with an Earth placed below, creating a harmonious balance between the two.

The audience sits in the middle, looking up at the glass dome and down at the rotating Earth, creating a strong sense of space.

The old lady remained silent, her gaze still fixed on the blueprints.

Virginia glanced at him, then looked at Li Xun.

"A colossal object, a mechanical device. A mix of classicism and modernism, you seem to have a pretty good grasp of Mr. Karl's tastes."

Li Xun smiled but didn't say anything.

after a while.

The atmosphere in the meeting room became lively.

"My God, Rhine, did you really do this all by yourself?"

-

"I would believe you if you said it was designed by Mr. Carl."

"Such an unexpected solution could only be come up with by Mr. Carl, Rhine. I'm saying you've learned something new from Mr. Carl."

"ChaneI's future is incredibly bright—"

"Cough cough."

The Empress Dowager, who had remained silent until now, finally couldn't help but interrupt.

"Let's put the fashion show aside for now and talk about the clothes."

Li Xun nodded, pushed the runway drawings aside, revealing the clothing design sketches underneath.

There are 36 sheets in total, with two sets of designs drawn on each sheet.

"72 outfits, eight series," Li Xun said. "We've finished drawing half of them so far. The remaining 36 outfits will probably take some more time, provided we can get them approved today."

Li Xun picked up the sketch and pointed at it.

"Knitwear is an easily overlooked category in Chanel's ready-to-wear line, but the heavy cable knitwear produced by the Barrie workshop is the brand's most everyday luxury. This outfit is all black, using texture contrast to create layers, contrasting the matte knitwear with the shimmering tweed, and the softness of the knitwear with the stiffness of the leather boots."

He pointed to the bag.

"This planet-themed evening bag is the key signature piece of this season. Its black and gold color scheme runs through most of the looks in the collection."

Karl Lagerfeld stared at the blueprints, his fingers tracing patterns on his chin.

"Where did they get the idea to have a slit neckline revealing a metal chain?"

"You did a similar design in the 2007 Métiers d'Art collection, which I simplified and applied to knitwear."

O

"Well simplified."

He handed the blueprints to Virginie.

Virginia took it and looked at it carefully.

"Can Barrie's cable knit achieve this thickness?" she asked.

"Yes, I spoke with the technical director in Scotland. They use 12-count wool yarn, woven in two strands—"

That can achieve this effect.

"What about the cost?"

"6

"It's 10 percent more expensive than regular knitwear, but cheaper than tweed."

Virginia nodded and passed the drawings to Ms. Madeline.

Madeline looked at it and then handed it to Pascal, who stared at the shoulder line for a while.

"The shoulder shape is slightly lowered; it's not the standard proportion for a fashion illustration."

Li Xun nodded.

"That's right, I did it on purpose. The whole body should have a relaxed and lazy feel. If the shoulder line is too straight, it will look too stiff."

"It should be possible to achieve this in terms of design."

"Yes," Pascal said.

"Move the shoulder seam forward by 0.5 cm and deepen the armhole by 1 cm to achieve this effect, but be careful about the ease of the sleeve cap, otherwise the sleeve will twist."

"I've got it." Li Xun smiled and snapped his fingers.

"This is the second collection, tweed."

A classic tweed suit, but with many variations, including a long coat with rounded shoulders and wide sleeves, paired with wide-leg shorts in the same fabric.

A short jacket with kimono sleeves, paired with a pleated midi skirt with irregular piping.

A sleeveless tweed dress with a round neck, gathered at the waist, and flared at the hem.

The colors range from black, dark gray, and navy blue to burgundy, dark green, and camel, totaling twelve shades.

"The tweed is all woven by the Lesage workshop," Li Xun said.

"Each color of tweed is made from a blend of at least eight different yarns: wool, cashmere, mohair, silk, metallic yarn, sequins, cotton yarn, and viscose fiber."

He pointed to one of the pictures, which showed a dark gray tweed coat.

"This coat is made of tweed with silver-gray metallic threads and transparent sequins. It's not very noticeable under normal light, but it will shimmer a little under the runway lights."

.

"It echoes the lights on the 'Earth' in the show."

"Carl said."

"Yes, the details of the entire collection must echo the concept of the show. The clothing is an extension of the show's narrative, not an independent entity."