Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 303 - 298: The Truth of Being Devoured

Customers of Haute Couture can be very low-key, but some prefer to be chased by the media.

Those who are high-profile make it their first order of business to put on Yan Yan’s gifted shoes before the media reporters outside leave, strutting through the crowd of journalists in the "yet-to-be-released" shoes, drawing a wave of attention and burning through a wave of film.

Then there are those who have a larger fan base and aren’t too interested in mainstream media, who post photos of themselves in the new shoes on social media.

Including the journalists who left with VR glasses, this time, Yan Yan sought as much media exposure as possible.

This is done not only to prepare for the market promotion of the Y·Y brand shoes.

It’s also to advertise the new patented material they’ve invested in.

On July 7, 2015, after Yan Yan’s second official Haute Couture show concluded, Yan Yan and her team entered a dominating mode on the media.

Yan Yan unsurprisingly dominated the pages of all the major fashion media.

Yan Ling, who already had star treatment in the business sections, upgraded her status to that of a superstar.

Not only that, the Robot Brothers and Master Yi took the headlines in the technology section without hesitation.

Allegro, of course, was also the object of much media pursuit.

When Maison Yan II and Y·Y are looked at separately, each is a small legend in its own field, but combined, their energy multiplies many times over.

This is not a mere combination of two companies but an integration of an entire fashion industry chain.

The ambition of the founders common to both brands was "clearly revealed".

After stepping into the spotlight, the background of Y·Y’s creative director was jointly exposed by fashion and finance journalists.

Despite their digging, fashion journalists could not discover the rumored mysterious background of Yan Yan.

It turned out that Yan Yan and her brother Yan Ling were "self-made," without an especially unique background.

The one with the most profound family background in the team was not the two major shareholders, Yan Ling and Yan Yan, but Allegro, who ranked third.

Financial journalists dug up the investment relations Yan Yan had previously in Ian’s private equity.

The "mystery" of the dinner involving Yan Ling, Qi Yi, and the mysterious woman, which had drawn attention two months before, was also solved.

However, there were numerous interpretations of this puzzle.

Some had correctly explained the relationship between Qi Yi and Yan Yan, but few believed this truth since the "not well-known" Qi Yi could not be linked to Yan Yan’s "mysterious background".

Most people preferred to believe incorrect reports, which said that the support for Yan Yan came from private equity magnate Ian.

Ian’s family background was indeed "mysterious".

This is the nature of mass communication, where the truth is often devoured by a multitude of incorrect reports.

.........

After arriving in New York, Yan Yan’s mealtimes were incessantly filled with various exclusive interviews arranged by Allegro.

Siblings from a small, crumbling city’s factory, a Haute Couture studio in Paris, French aristocracy, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley Stanford—elements that seemed unrelated came together, creating an unexpected fusion.

This phenomenal "event" has fermented to the point where it’s no longer just a focus of interest in Europe and the United States.

Many domestic media outlets also wanted to interview the members of this team.

Maison Yan II and Y·Y, both brands were majority-owned by the Yan siblings.

The specific distribution of shares between the siblings was not disclosed to the public.

Public records showed that Yan Yan owned 80% of Maison Yan II, while Yan Ling held 80% of Y·Y.

This meant that Yan Ling’s shares in Maison Yan II were held in proxy by Yan Yan, and Yan Yan’s shares in Y·Y were held in proxy by Yan Ling.

As such, until the siblings officially announced the relationship between the two brands, it was tough for anyone to trace the connection between them.

Following the boundless starry sky launch, Yan Ling, during interviews, would joke that he was working for Yan Yan, who often claimed to be just a minor shareholder.

In most companies, the boundaries between the boss and the "employees" are clear-cut.

But with Maison Yan II and Y·Y, it was peculiar how the major shareholders were tripping over themselves to claim they weren’t.

What’s even more peculiar is that both Yan Ling and Yan Yan sincerely meant what they said.

Up until now, the siblings had never once discussed the specifics of their share distribution.

In the early days of their venture, most of Yan Yan’s money went into insurance and the fund market, and she contributed more effort than capital.

Yan Ling wasn’t a designer; in the beginning, both Maison Yan II and Y·Y were established, with Yan Ling’s focus still on a shoe factory back home.

Yan Yan was responsible for focusing on design, while Yan Ling worked hard to make money to support Yan Yan’s design work.

They both did their utmost to realize their shared dream.

Later on, the development trajectory of the studios changed entirely from what the siblings had initially planned.

Two different "major shareholders" were used for the two studios, and it wasn’t as the media understood—intentionally kept a secret.

The only criterion was convenience.

Yan Yan, based in Paris, registered Maison Yan II in her name, and given Yan Ling’s familiarity with New York, Y·Y listed him as the major shareholder.

It was as simple and arbitrary as that.

When the companies were small, the Yan siblings didn’t ponder the issue of share distribution.

As the companies grew, even less time was available to consider this matter.

Such behavior was particularly unlike Yan Ling, who had ventured from McKinsey.

Siblings eager to claim company ownership were common, but cousins vying to not be the major shareholders were indeed a rarity in this world.

Both Yan Ling and Yan Yan shared the same idea: after achieving their goals, one would manage the company, and the other would live freely.

And on this point, neither would yield to the other.

A "world-class studio" that numerous designers dreamt of, a Wall Street legend that many entrepreneurs sought but could not achieve—both were simultaneously dismissed by the Yan siblings.

Regarding who would manage the company in the future, no one showed the slightest initiative.

Over the past three years, the Yan siblings had been too busy to "keep their human shape", and they both found it hard to understand how the previous generation could diligently do the same thing for a lifetime.

These two peculiar "entrepreneurial siblings" had an unspoken agreement: as long as they didn’t confirm the company shares, the person to have the final say would be themselves.

While the Yan siblings continued to deceive themselves, the media, after finishing their routine reporting, began to gossip and speculate about future "court battles".

Even so, the Yan siblings chose to let things take their course, answering only questions directly related to the brand and design during interviews.

The more varied the rumors about Maison Yan II and Y·Y, the longer the hot topic would last.