Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 245 - 240: Playing Cards Unconventionally

In January 2013, Yan Yan debuted her first fashion show as a Guest Member at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week with the launch of Maison Yan II.

The name Maison Yan II was an offhand comment Yan Yan had made to Allegro and then they couldn’t come up with a more fitting name.

Yan Yan always thought that both she and her cousin Yan Ling were a bit crazy, and the Yan family siblings each had a ’2’ in their names. If pronounced as Yan the Second, even Allegro found it amusing.

Such a ridiculous name, Yan II, was formally recognized by a trio who disliked playing by the rules.

The studio was named Maison Yan II, and as for whether others chose to pronounce it as Yan Er or Yan the Second, it was left to their preference. At present, the unified practice of the Yan siblings and Allegro was to offer no explanation or clarification.

Pronounce it however you like, your wish is our command.

Those who wanted to hear Yan Yan explain it herself, sorry—everyone knew that a certain mysterious individual had serious language issues.

The debut of a Guest Member was bound to attract some media attention, and more media desired to attend Yan Yan’s show due to the mysterious allure of Yan II’s designer.

For the media, if they encountered a newcomer that wasn’t promising, it was at most just a bit of wasted time, but what if they witnessed the birth of a genius?

For a newcomer, the reception from the media after their first public exposure was extremely important.

A good start might not guarantee half the success, but it’s certainly better than no interest at all.

Major fashion media’s choice to either champion or ignore entirely made all the difference in the world.

As a newcomer, the first task was to do everything possible to please the main media outlets, treating them well in hopes of getting some coverage.

The lucky ones would get praise from the fashion world’s powerful editors, such as causing a sensation with their debut, discovering a genius designer, or being likened to the heir of Alexander McQueen.

This way, the new face would be more than just a one-day tourist at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.

Of course, all the elements of sensation, genius, and heir meant nothing if the collection didn’t sell.

Being praised to the skies was just theoretical success if no one bought your designs.

To have Persian Gulf Nobles take a fancy, to ignite the desires of club members to purchase, building a group of "regular clients" was the most significant measure of practical success for Haute Couture.

Newcomers are eager to please media and clients alike, just as the ultra-luxury brands do.

Attracting buyers through media was a traditional tactic used by the absolute luxury brands for a long time.

However accomplished a newcomer was, they couldn’t surpass the ultra-luxury brand studios with decades or even centuries of experience working with the media.

These major brands had deep foundations and could draw international superstars to support them.

Beyond Hollywood, they could enlist the hottest stars of any target country’s market.

The first Haute Couture show Yan Yan attended featured Versace, not only inviting veteran superstar Pierce Brosnan but also China’s Fan Ye.

If you’re going to engage stars, they need to be top-tier to make a splash.

Otherwise, an unknown brand enlisting unknown stars might as well not bother.

Moreover, unknown brands would have to pay even more, with no guarantee they could secure a superstar.

At that level, superstars certainly aren’t hurting for cash and naturally partner with brands that match their status.

For all these reasons, the core team of Maison Yan II made a decision that left the fashion media titans, looking down on newcomers, in shock – Yan II’s debut show would not be open to the media.

Such a move is only dared by long-established ultra-luxury brands with a solid base of regular clients.

For a newcomer to do this was astounding.

A closed show meant inviting only Haute Couture clients and fashion buyers.

With Fashion Week’s duration allowing it to be called a "week," it wasn’t something that could be seen in just one or two days.

Given how precious the Persian Gulf Nobles were, many found attending shows tiring.

Such people might occasionally appear at Haute Couture launches, but most often, they would hire a "buyer."

Buyers were responsible for attending shows and snapping up outfits.

To dare a media blackout showed confidence in their "market reaction."

Ultra-luxury brands would only dare such a thing on occasion.

The Yan II team not only foolishly imitated this but made an even bolder decision that even major brands wouldn’t dare – they turned away buyers.

Thus, unless a tremendously esteemed client took time out of their busy schedule to attend, even the buyers that brands longed for were left outside.

Such behavior was akin to suicide.

One could sum this up in three words – "don’t want to sell."

Or more accurately, in four words – "brain waterlogged with folly."

When Yan Yan acted as a buyer or client, maintaining mystery often spurred pursuit.

Yet if she continued the same approach upon stepping onto the designer stage, it would be excessive.

Before Maison Yan II had even officially stepped onto the stage, it began to be spurned by some fashion media.

This kind of behavior was serious – exceeding boundaries in anything is not good, unless you really don’t want to sell due to a waterlogged brain.

In a team of three, if one person’s brain was waterlogged, there might be hope for recovery, but if all three were afflicted, then there was no saving them.

Yan Yan, ever the elusive figure, was unreachable, and the buyers and media who were somewhat acquainted with Allegro urged her to reconsider.

A Haute Couture studio could be mysterious, and so could the designer, but the number of dresses sold and orders received were public and transparent, with no possibility of fabrication.

Cases that could be verified weren’t solvable by merely hiding and talking to oneself.

Irregular tactics could be useful, but there also ought to be a limit.

Even if imitating the major brands to hold private launches, it wasn’t necessary to exclude genuine buyers.

But the Maison Yan II trio was determined to "commit suicide," rendering any well-intentioned advice utterly futile.

No amount of persuasion could counter the fact that Yan II’s first show simply did not want to sell.