A guide to survival in a heavy girl's world

"You're only... 27 years old..."

Chihaya Tetsuya's expression became even more shocked.

His imaginative design ideas, unprecedented way of presenting concepts, and the various ethnic cultures and histories involved in each pattern, his designs are not so much clothes as they are works of art that combine his genius ideas and broad knowledge.

At least for Chihaya Tetsuya now, these design drawings are something he cannot even imitate, they are works from another dimension completely.

"Isn't it incredible?"

Looking at Chihaya Tetsuya's completely frozen expression, Yamabuki Yachiyo sighed slightly.

"This is the genius designer, unsurpassed by anyone of our generation. A person with supernatural powers who can instantly guess what someone was thinking when they drew a picture just by looking at their sketch. A giant of action who would suddenly drag someone along one morning to go horseback riding on the grassland..."

Recalling his experiences during his school days, Yamabuki Yachiko shook his head with mixed emotions.

"He was invited to New York Fashion Week back when he was a student, but he stubbornly declined because he wanted to visit an African tribe and study the local culture. Can you understand? How could someone in this world refuse an invitation to New York Fashion Week for such a reason?"

"Indeed, it's hard to imagine there would be such a designer..."

Chihaya Tetsuya said in a slightly difficult tone:

"But if she's such a great designer...why would she be attending TGC instead of Tokyo Fashion Week?"

For a designer of this caliber, a top fashion event like Tokyo Fashion Week would be a more suitable stage for him to showcase his talents. [TGC], which is aimed at the general public, should not be of much interest to him...

"Don't try to understand his thoughts and decisions. For this kind of person, all his actions can be explained by simple 'happiness'."

Yamabuki Yachiyo said helplessly:

"If I had to find a reason for him, it's that he prefers TGC, which is full of the passion and dreams of young girls, to the inhumane Tokyo Fashion Week. That's all."

"..."

Hearing this answer that was completely beyond his imagination, Chihaya Tetsuya didn't know what to say for a moment.

The new designer who was just preparing to hold his first exhibition really couldn't imagine what kind of vision and courage it would take to make such a choice.

However... judging from Yamabuki Yachiyo's description, there is only one thing that may be common between the two of them -

"Is this Mr. Jean also a designer who values ​​people's emotions?"

"Well, that's right."

This time, Yamabuki Yachiyo gave a very clear answer.

"Jean deeply enjoys observing people's actions under different emotional conditions, and he also enjoys exploring their will and ideals. 'Will breeds hope, hope breeds dreams, and dreams change the world,' this is what he often says. Although I don't know what the world looks like in his eyes, it should at least be much more exciting than that of a mortal like me..."

Having said that, Yamabuki Yachiyo turned her gaze to Chihaya Tetsuya again.

"As for why he's targeting you, I think it's probably because he sees the 'personal will' that he values ​​most in your designs. Those two performance costumes... they must have been designed with deep thoughts and emotions, right?"

"Yes."

Chihaya Tetsuya nodded.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that this is the design I’ve put the most emotion into so far.”

"That's not surprising. After all, he likes clothes with stories the most."

Yamabuki Yachiyo gave an expression that said, "As expected."

"Of course, aside from this somewhat abstract concept, those he favors possess exceptional talent and skills. In short, as I mentioned on the phone earlier, being targeted by him is definitely a good thing, as it means your skill level has reached a level worthy of recognition by this genius... but beyond that, there are also certain risks."

"risk?"

Chihaya Tetsuya asked in confusion:

"What exactly do you mean?"

"'Celebrity worship.'"

Yamabuki Yachiyo uttered a word that Chihaya Tetsuya was very familiar with.

"Mr. Chihaya, let me ask you, after you saw those design drawings just now, what was the first thing that came to your mind?"

"……Amazing."

"And what are your thoughts after this?"

"I also want to try to draw such an amazing design..."

"Well, that's about it."

Yachiyo Yamabuki said:

"Many designers who spend a lot of time with Jean inevitably develop this syndrome... Because they yearn for or admire Jean's designs, they begin to subconsciously imitate his brushstrokes and ideas, eventually abandoning their own original ideas and becoming Jean's followers."

At this point, Yamabuki Yachiyo paused for a moment before continuing:

"For most designers, becoming his disciple might not be a bad thing. But I don't want you, Chihaya-san, to follow that path. In my opinion, you are undoubtedly a designer with outstanding talent. So, no matter how much you like and admire Jean's designs, don't give up your own design philosophy so easily."

"……Yes."

Chihaya Tetsuya nodded.

"Thank you very much for your advice, Miss Yamabuki."

"Nothing, this is what I should do as a partner."

Yamabuki Yachiyo shook her head slightly.

"So, these blueprints..."

"Please allow me to take them back."

Even after receiving Yamabuki Yachiyo's warning, Chihaya Tetsu still wanted to take away these designs that concealed "danger".

"I'd like to take this design back and study it more carefully, as it's such a valuable reference. Please rest assured that I will always remember what you said... and maintain my own design philosophy."

"I understand."

Yamabuki Yachiyo didn't stop him after hearing this, but after a short pause, she said:

"I'm looking forward to your performance at the joint exhibition..."

"……kindness."

Although he didn't know when that day would come, for Chihaya Tetsuya, who had always had only a vague goal of becoming a "top designer", in this challenge that originated from a spur of the moment, he officially learned the name of his ideal.

99

Chapter 99: The reluctance of the genius designer.

After returning home, Chihaya Tetsuya immediately locked himself in the room and once again concentrated on studying Jean's design drawings.

He was so focused that he didn't even hear Nagasaki Motoyo calling him to eat outside the door.

"...Tetsuya?"

Having received no response for a long time, Nagasaki Suyo opened the door with a confused look on her face. When she saw that Chihaya Tetsuya was completely immersed in the design in his hand, she immediately showed a helpless expression.

"He's really working..."

Under Nagasaki Suyo's correction, Chihaya Tetsu has completely developed the habit of eating on time. Under normal circumstances, even if Nagasaki Suyo doesn't call him out, he will leave the room early and go to the living room in advance to wait for the meal.

But today, not only did he not leave the room early, he didn't even hear his own call. For this situation, Nagasaki Suyo could only think of one possibility, that is, he was working at this time.

"Zheya, didn't we agree before? No matter how busy you are at work, you should at least have a good meal before talking."

As Nagasaki Suyo spoke, she came to Chihaya Tetsuya's side.

"So, come out and eat quickly, and then we can continue after dinner... Okay?"

When Nagasaki Suyo saw the design in front of Chihaya Tetsuya, she immediately showed a surprised expression:

"This isn't our draft paper... Are you looking at someone else's design?"

"……kindness."

Chihaya Tetsuya finally nodded slowly.

"This is the design by Mr. Jean, the organizer of the joint exhibition."

"...?"

After hearing Chihaya Tetsuya's response, the surprise on Nagasaki Suyo's face deepened a little.

(There's something a little off about Tetsuya's tone.)

Should I say he sounded tense or gloomy? In any case, it was completely different from his usual calm and indifferent tone.

Out of curiosity, Nagasaki Suyo leaned over and looked specifically at Chihaya Tetsuya's face.

As expected, Chihaya Tetsuya's expression at this moment was completely different from his usual serious expression at work. Amidst his usual seriousness, his deeply furrowed brows were filled with an emotion that Nagasaki Suyo had never seen before... a feeling similar to anxiety and unwillingness.

"What's wrong, Tetsuya?"

Nagasaki Suyo immediately asked with concern:

"Is there anything wrong with Mr. Jean's design?"

"……nothing."

Realizing that Nagasaki Suyo was worried about her, Chihaya Tetsuya reached out and rubbed his brows gently, then put down the design drawing in his hand.

“I simply realized…that I still have a lot of room for improvement as a designer.”

"Eh?"

After hearing this, Nagasaki Suyo immediately showed a puzzled expression.

"What happened? Why did Mr. Jean's design give you such an idea?"

"..."

After hearing this question, Chihaya Tetsuya's face showed a moment of hesitation, and then he smiled and shook his head.

"Nothing, it's time for dinner, right? I'll just go wash my hands and be right back. Just wait for me for a moment."

After saying that, without caring about Nagasaki Suyo's answer, Chihaya Tetsu immediately stood up and walked towards the door, leaving Nagasaki Suyo alone to look at the back that was obviously heavier than usual with an extremely confused look.

"What the hell is going on?"

……

For designers, there is a simple and absolute way to classify clothes in this world - those that can be made and those that cannot be made.

And obviously, Jean-Pierre Stanley's design belongs to the latter for Chihaya Tetsuya.

(No, I can’t do it.)

No matter how long Chihaya Tetsuya spent deconstructing and reconstructing the design as he had in the past, he could never make it fit together as perfectly as he did now.

Jean's design contains too many elements and is too complicated.

This designer, who had received an upper-class education and had traveled the world, possessed a profound knowledge base that Chihaya Tetsu could never acquire. Even if Chihaya Tetsu never stopped learning, he still couldn't bridge this huge gap in a short period of time.

This was something Chihaya Tetsuya had never experienced before. Ever since he officially entered the fashion design industry, he had hardly suffered any setbacks. Even when he dropped out of Yihua, he only felt a little regret, but no sense of failure.

The reason is actually very simple, because he was simply defeated by the opponent's shamelessness, and his design itself did not fail. Not only that, the opponent's successful award proved his strength.

After that, when he joined KaZoKu and started working formally as an apprentice, he gradually realized his talent.

Be it his solid proof-making skills and three-dimensional tailoring techniques, or his fashion interpretations that are quite puzzling to others, or even his mastery of a variety of fabrics and embroidery techniques, all prove his extraordinary talent in clothing.

He might indeed be modest, but that didn't mean he didn't have the pride that matched his talent. It was precisely for this reason that when he first saw Jean-Pierre Stanley's design, he was immediately struck by a profound shock. And then came an unprecedented anxiety—

"On the day of [TGC]...if my outfit was on the same stage as outfits of this level..."

Just thinking of that scene, his brows would unconsciously frown.

If he had just lost to Rang, he could have gotten over the loss, but the problem was that this time he would also be competing with the two girls who were models.

"If I lose... then Ai and Chuhua will also lose their spots as the finale of [TGC]."

This is what Chihaya Tetsuya finds most unacceptable.

For him, Hoshino Ai and Mikado Hatsuka are the crucial factors that have helped him get to where he is today, and they are also the most attractive models in his mind.

On this T-stage that should have been dominated by them, he didn't want them to lose to anyone because of his own reasons.

(Two months left...)

Can he really design something that surpasses Jean in just two months?

Can he really help Ai and Chuhua...win the finale spot from such an amazing designer?