Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 181 - 178: The Closed Circle

Yan Yan was adorably washing up before she started packing her luggage.

However, once she began packing, it took her four to five hours.

Even though Yan Yan’s new house had been meticulously cleaned by someone, her four massive suitcases were still no match for it.

Moreover, many of her design works needed some rearranging after being taken out of the boxes to restore them to their optimal condition.

Especially when she saw the display cabinet in the cloakroom, which was even bigger than the jewelry cabinet she had custom-made in Melbourne, Yan Yan really didn’t want her works to stay any longer in the cramped luggage space.

Over the past year, besides fashion, "Designer Yan Yan" designed even more, focusing on jewelry and shoes.

As Yan Yan packed chaotically, forgoing sleep and meals, moving items from the second floor back to the first floor, her phone rang again.

When Yan Yan saw it was Qi Yi, she answered on speakerphone.

"Why aren’t you sleeping yet?" Yan Yan playfully scolded Qi Yi for not obeying.

"Miss, look at the time, isn’t it that old habit of yours to lose track of time when you start arranging designs?" Qi Yi replied helplessly to Yan Yan’s accusation.

"Ah? It’s already eight o’clock over there; did you just wake up? It feels like I just sat down," Yan Yan had totally lost track of time.

"What have you been organizing all this time? Have you had anything to eat?" Qi Yi was helpless against Yan Yan’s newly developed "bad habit" over the past year.

"Not yet, I found that the dining table on the first floor is especially suitable for a workstation, and then the living room has been turned into a studio.

I can’t believe my cousin even prepared two full-scale male and female mannequins for me; I was so stunned that I couldn’t stop once I saw them," Yan Yan explained her sorting ordeal. (note 1)

"Really? When did you start getting interested in making ready-to-wear? I thought you preferred designing clothes and only liked to tinker with shoes," Qi Yi remembered Yan Yan’s preferences quite clearly.

"It’s mainly because the mannequins my cousin chose are of such great model.

They are said to be sizes optimized by the genius designer Alexander McQueen.

I don’t know where he got them from, but I just happened to bring some fabric.

Curiosity and spontaneity got the best of me, so I just went ahead and started making," Yan Yan wasn’t often seen acting like a typical fashion designer should.

She usually immersed herself in making shoes, disregarding sleep and meals.

This overly enthusiastic behavior today was probably because she would soon be meeting many fashion luminaries.

The only problem was, Yan Yan hadn’t yet figured out what to say to Lei Pili.

Especially after finishing the previous call with Qi Yi.

Initially, Yan Yan chose to make clothes just to avoid thinking about it.

But now, it was unavoidable; she had to tidy up her workstation, grab some food, rest a bit, and then it would be time for the dinner.

"Um... do you think Lei Pili could still like me?" Yan Yan, accustomed to self-admiration, started to hesitate.

"Undoubtedly. It’s not only women who have intuitions, and you must trust my accuracy in probability calculation," Qi Yi wasn’t unfamiliar with the way Lei Pili looked at Yan Yan back in Melbourne.

"What should I do? Should I go to tonight’s dinner or not?" With her boyfriend far away in the United States, Yan Yan didn’t want to upset Qi Yi just as she arrived in Italy.

"What kind of dinner is it?" Qi Yi asked Yan Yan.

"He didn’t have time to explain in detail really.

It seems to be a high-level delegation from China, aiming not only to sign contracts but also to promote the concept of Chinese design.

Tonight’s designers’ dinner has invited a super number of Italian luxury brand luminaries.

The director you helped me get an internship with is also on the guest list.

And it’s not just from Florence; there are many legendary designers from Milan as well. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Overall, it’s a rather amazing dinner.

I think even if I attended all Four Fashion Weeks, I might not be able to see so many luminaries at once," Yan Yan said, getting a bit excited.

"Well, this is a national-level designers’ dinner then; with such a rare opportunity, you definitely should go.

The fashion industry is a very closed circle, and if you miss this chance, you never know when the next one might be," Qi Yi had no intention of dissuading Yan Yan from going after understanding the particulars.

Qi Yi and Yan Yan have always been very supportive of each other’s careers.

If not for their dedication to their individual life values, they might have acted like the typical domineering CEOs in romantic novels, disregarding everything, abandoning all, and impulsively getting together just like that.

"Wow, grandpa, I’m quite surprised to hear ’the fashion industry is a very closed circle’ from your mouth. When did you start understanding the market so well?" Yan Yan’s interest was piqued by Qi Yi’s casually mentioned fact.

What Qi Yi said was indisputably the truth.

There might be a slight discrepancy from the general public’s perception, as various fashion icons, such as the silver-haired "Fashion Emperor" and the spry Old Buddha Karl Lagerfeld, seem to live under the media’s spotlight every day.

To outsiders, the fashion circle, just like the entertainment industry, lives in the spotlight.

But the more a circle is under the spotlight, the more closed it is, contrary to initial perceptions.

How much energy would it take to gather all the hottest entertainment stars in the world, sit them down for a meal and a chat?

Your idol lives under the spotlight every day, and you may feel like you know a lot about your idol, but grabbing a champagne and, instead of expressing your adoration, discussing your own thoughts under the same lights, such an opportunity doesn’t come by often, but the chances of this happening are indeed very low.

............

Note 1:

Three-dimensional cutting is a method of modeling and pattern making that is different from flat garment drafting. A mannequin is the most common kind of cloth-covered model used for pattern drafting.

Normally, a good stacking mannequin should match the physical characteristics of most people, somewhat akin to a one-size-fits-all concept.

Mannequins vary in material and standard sizes across different countries.

But even within the different companies, the "standard mannequins" still have some slight differences.

The pattern of the mannequin greatly determines the pattern of the clothes.

However, for top-tier custom tailoring, custom mannequins are often made based on the actual dimensions of a customer.