Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 242 - 237

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"Bro, only you think I’m dumb. If I wasn’t short on cash, I would have aimed straight for haute couture.

You have no idea, just by showing up at Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks, I’ve somehow become the most mysterious Eastern face in the fashion world today.

Lots of people have been asking about me, and their inquiries have even reached your old flame.

Allegro said she’d be my first customer if I went into haute couture," Yan Yan retorted with a sense of pride in response to being called stupid by her cousin, eager to regain some ground.

"Do you lack money?" Yan Ling’s focus was different from Yan Yan’s.

"No, not at all." Yan Yan quickly replied, to prevent Yan Ling from offering her spending money like he used to when they were children.

"Then go for it if you’re not lacking money," Yan Ling responded to Yan Yan.

"Huh? You mean haute couture?" Yan Yan was surprised.

She had only mentioned that in order to lead into the rest of her thoughts.

"When I was studying for my MBA, Allegro often persuaded two other classmates to join her at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week to buy clothes.

She goes every year and buys several pieces each time.

Haute couture only has two seasons a year, and apparently, you have to wait a few months to get each garment.

So most of the time, Allegro ends up buying Ready-to-Wear because she’s always shopping.

Allegro has a huge network in the haute couture community—she knows tons of American and European socialites.

If she says she wants to buy your clothes, that means your designs have a market.

Talk to her, see if you can get her involved in haute couture," Yan Ling suggested.

"Are you kidding me? The barrier to entry for haute couture is so high, plus it’s hardly a money-making venture," Yan Yan didn’t think she could start from such a lofty beginning.

"You just said Allegro is on a business trip to France today, right?

I’ll give her a call and see if she’s interested.

If she is, then you head to Paris tomorrow to find out exactly what the barriers are.

I’ll buy a ticket and meet you there.

The three of us can sit down and seriously study the feasibility," Yan Ling became decisive when it came to dreams related to the brand.

In Yan Ling’s opinion, with so many fashion weeks nowadays, even if Yan Yan stood out at one of them, it would no longer have the same impact as it did in the sixties and seventies of the previous century.

Just like that, haute couture, which was never even part of Yan Yan’s dreams, entered the stage of feasibility study.

On July 3, 2012, Yan Yan attended Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week for the first time and sat front row at the Chanel Haute Couture show.

Yan Yan’s seat had nothing to do with her mystical background that had people talking; she had bought her way in with cold, hard cash two days prior.

On July 1 and 2, Yan Yan bought 12 sets of haute couture daywear from Versace and Dior, plus Chanel, Valentino, Armani, and Jean Paul Gaultier on the 3rd and 4th, making a total of 32 sets of haute couture daywear for the season.

Daywear is the cheapest in haute couture.

But Yan Yan’s move once again caused a stir in the fashion world.

It’s common for people to splurge on haute couture evening gowns for important events.

But daywear is just for daily life, for going to work or dining out.

This face, never seen before at Haute Couture Fashion Week, spent one or two million euros on haute couture, and all on daywear.

Spending one or two million euros on a season of evening gowns is not unheard of, but someone like Yan Yan who would spend that on daywear is rare even among the exclusive haute couture clientele.

More surprising was that this new, unknown face was clearly not just "one of the Persian Gulf Nobles."

Thus, the curiosity about Yan Yan soared once again, particularly among the circle of regular haute couture clients.

Yan Yan followed a principle she’d always upheld: not a word spoken, no interviews accepted.

This was an alternative marketing strategy agreed upon by Allegro and Yan Ling, to maintain Yan Yan’s current mystique.

Yan Yan was only responsible for design and seeking out skilled artisans; Allegro and Yan Ling handled all the business aspects.

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note 1:

[Xiao Mo’s Class – Fashion Primer]

One could probably find the entry for Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture on Baidu Baike, but that entry is actually a bit outdated, and both standards and brands are not the latest.

In the spring of 2017, there were a total of 19 official members at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.

official members: Chanel; Christian Dior; Givenchy; Jean Paul Gaultier; Adeline André; Alexandre Vauthier; Alexis Mabille; Franck Sorbier; Giambattista Valli; Julien Fournié; Maison Margiela; Schiaparelli; Stéphane Rolland; Yiqing Yin freeweɓnøvel.com

foreign members: Armani Privé; Atelier Versace; Elie Saab; Valentino; Viktor and Rolf

Such a number, compared to the early years of the 21st century, is already a significant increase, but it is exceedingly rare given the vast current fashion industry and countless fashion brands. After all, there was a time in the mid-20th century when haute couture was at its most vibrant.

People who pay close attention to fashion might find Xiao Mo’s list a bit unusual.

Guo Pei, designer for most of the "haute couture dresses" at the Spring Festival Gala, one of China’s top ten designers, and head of Rose Workshop, was invited to Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week starting in 2016, and quickly rose to prominence.

Indeed, Guo Pei attended the official Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, but she is not an official member; she participated as a guest member.

For a homegrown Chinese fashion designer, Guo Pei’s achievements are extraordinary.