Rebirth of the Fashion King

Chapter 91 This is a surprise

Thirty-seven minutes after the show ended.

The VIP seating area in the Grand Palace was mostly empty, and some guests were leaving in an orderly manner under the guidance of the public relations team. The low idling sound of the limousine engines could be heard from the Champs-Élysées. The security team had set up a double-track system between the main entrance and the underground parking lot to ensure that every guest could leave via the shortest route, without being intercepted by the media or disturbed by uninvited personnel.

The reporters in the media area did not leave.

As is customary at Paris Haute Couture Week, there is a 15-minute photo break after the show, during which the media can take pictures of establishing shots, etc.

They had to reshoot behind-the-scenes footage, capture candid shots of the creative director chatting with the artists and Vic, and then clear the venue within 45 minutes, returning the Grand Palace to the venue owner.

A photo of Liu Yifei and Anna Wintour holding hands was sent back to China in real time, and many people knew that she had completely lost control of her emotions.

A photographer from WWD Women's Wear Daily removed the tripod from the quick-release plate and then put it back on, keeping the lens focused on the figure at the end of the runway who was being surrounded by the PR team.

The French Vogue reporter replaced the recorder's batteries with a new set and kept his finger on the record button, not letting go.

A cameraman from a French fashion channel carried a Sony HDW-F900R camera, the weight strap on his right shoulder leaving a red mark, but he never put the camera down.

They are waiting for an interview.

An exclusive post-show interview with Karl Lagerfeld is the most prestigious media privilege at Paris Haute Couture Week. As is customary, it is coordinated by Chanel's Global PR Director and conducted in a designated backstage area after the show. The interview typically lasts twenty minutes and is reserved for questions from only a select few top media outlets, including American Vogue, WWD, and France 24.

But everyone knows today that the outline for this interview is no longer relevant.

Because the Empress Dowager brought a 23-year-old Chinese designer onto the runway at the Grand Palace.

This matter has already caused a stir in the internal communication systems of global fashion media twice in the past period.

The first instance was seven seconds after the show ended, when WWD Women's Wear Daily's official website sent out a breaking news report: "Karl Lagerfeld and designer Rhine Li take their final bow."

The second instance occurred when the live broadcast from the French fashion channel switched to the end of the runway. The director shouted into his headset, "Who is that young man next to Lagerfeld?" This question was captured in real-time by the Asian broadcasting team and transmitted back to Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong.

Editorial offices in Beijing and Shanghai.

The third round was when Anna Wintour said something to her assistant before leaving, and that sentence spread from the guest area to the media area and then from the media area to the global fashion industry's news groups within five minutes.

Anna Wintour said, "Call Condé Nast headquarters, and they've reserved a whole page for Rhine Li in the US edition of Vogue's Editors' Choice section."

The temporary backstage interview area was set up in a separate studio in the west wing of the Grand Palais, which was originally the space where the Chanel atelier team would conduct final accessory checks before the show.

Three walls were covered by movable clothes racks, on which hung twelve of the sixty-five looks from this season's show, arranged in order of appearance, from the opening tweed daywear to the final pure white wedding dress.

Karl Lagerfeld, who was already seated, did not look at Li Xun.

He picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.

"You can speak now," he said.

Li Xun turned his head to the side.

"I've been talking the whole time."

"I understand what you just said on the runway, I know—that wasn't speaking, that was a conditioned reflex." Karl Lagerfeld tilted his sunglasses toward Li Xun.

"Now you can say whatever you want."

Li Xun remained silent for two seconds.

"You chatted with me on the runway on purpose."

"nonsense."

"You want everyone to see that you are teaching me."

"continue."

"You want everyone to see you speaking to me on equal footing in a public, globally broadcast, unedited setting—a normal exchange between two designers about design."

Karl Lagerfeld's lips twitched slightly.

The movement was extremely subtle; his sunglasses covered most of his face, and only the muscles on the outside of his mouth moved, but Li Xun saw it.

"Your open teaching courses are very expensive."

"Who do you think I'm trying to impress?"

"You're showing it to everyone. To Anna Wintour, to Bernard Arnault, to the global fashion media, to every VIP client who will be sitting in the Grand Palace next March." Li Xun's voice was very calm.

"You saved me a whole year of media hype by having a two-minute runway appearance with you. This is the greatest gift you gave me before the opening of my big show."

Karl Lagerfeld put down his coffee cup.

"When you were at Central Saint Martins, what grade did Louis Wilson give your graduation project?"

"Ninety-two points."

"Where were the eight points deducted?"

She said my design was too perfect and lacked flaws.

"You are now too," Karl Lagerfeld said.

"Just like when you're designing a piece for Chanel, you're very careful, afraid of making a mistake. Almost everything you say is correct, but none of it is what you should be saying right now."

Li Xun's pupils contracted slightly.

"A newly graduated designer, who has just been forced into the spotlight of the world's highest-level fashion stage by his boss, and bombarded for two minutes by the world's most powerful fashion media with hundreds of photos per second, sits down and the first thing he does is not panting and trembling, nor does he ask me how he performed just now — the feeling you give me is that it doesn't matter, it's no big deal."

Karl Lagerfeld's sunglasses were pointed directly at Li Xun's face.

Do you know what you should be doing right now?

Li Xun shook his head.

"You should be nervous," Karl Lagerfeld said.

"You've been pushed onto the Grand Palace catwalk, broadcast live globally, with everyone watching you. You should be nervous."

You should have a racing heart, sweaty palms, and a trembling voice; you should look like a normal, living, breathing 23-year-old.

"I----"

I know you're not like a young person.

Karl Lagerfeld interrupted him, "I knew that when you were nineteen, I spent a full forty minutes looking at your first leather goods design."

That was a complete market attack plan.

Fabric scarcity analysis, competitor price range comparison, target customer profile, and mass production feasibility assessment—every piece of data was incredibly precise. When Virginie reviewed it, she remarked, "This child's brain isn't that of a designer; it's that of a general."

"But the general cannot stand on the catwalk." Karl Lagerfeld's voice suddenly changed.

"On the catwalk, people must stand, not machines. The media doesn't need a perfect genius; they need someone with a story."

They need to see your nervousness, your clumsiness, your helplessness, so they can write a story about a brilliant designer getting nervous the first time he steps onto the Grand Palais runway—a story that works better than any press release.

Li Xun stroked his chin, as if what he said made sense.

There was a knock on the studio door three times.

Catherine from Chanel's public relations department pushed open the door and entered, with a walkie-talkie in her left ear and three question cards in her right hand.

"Sir, reporters from American Vogue, WWD, and French fashion channel are already in place."

In addition, reporters from Italian Vogue, French ELLE, the fashion section of the UK's Daily Telegraph, Japanese Soen, Korean Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar China were all present in Paris and waiting outside the media area.

"We only booked a few companies," Karl Lagerfeld said.

"Yes, sir. But you just did something on the runway that you've never done before," Catherine DuPont said professionally.

"They refuse to leave. I've had the security team set up an additional route outside the media area, but I'm not sure how long that will keep them there."

Karl Lagerfeld picked up the now completely cold coffee and drank it all in one gulp.

"Make them line up."

Catherine DuPont paused, taken aback. "All of them?"

"All of them. We'll start with three top media outlets, five minutes each, with no more than three questions. Other media will come in in batches, three to four at a time, three minutes each, with one question per outlet."

All interviews were conducted in the same area, with no editing or obscuring of the footage.

Catherine DuPont glanced at Li Xun.

"Sir, if other media outlets ask questions related to this..."

"What does it involve?"

"It involves Rhine."

Karl Lagerfeld tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest of the sofa. "Catherine, how long have you been in charge of my fashion show's PR?"

"Seven years."

"In seven years, have you ever seen me bring a designer onto the Grand Palais runway?"

"No, sir."

"So you think I brought Rhine up there to hide him?"

Catherine DuPont did not ask a second question. She stepped out of the room, pressed the call button on her intercom with her right hand, and began to coordinate the interview arrangements for the entire public relations team in fluent French, speaking at an extremely fast pace.

The old lady glanced at Li Xun, who looked somewhat bored, and continued speaking.

"When you joined Chanel, I gave you a lesson. Do you remember what that lesson was about?"

"I remember you saying that fashion is war, design is weapon, workshops are arsenals, and the runway is the battlefield."

"You've seen the real battlefield today. Next week, you'll return to the workshop to continue your designs."

But there's one difference: you've already experienced the battlefield firsthand. You know what a battlefield is like, and every design you make from now on will unconsciously take into account its performance on the battlefield.

"Is this your real purpose in bringing me up on stage today?"

"Yes."

"It's not for Bernard Arnault, Anna Wintour, or the global media; it's for myself."

The Empress Dowager stood up, smiled, and shook her head.

"Showing it to the opponent is a tactic, showing it to allies is diplomacy, and showing it to yourself is..." He pointed at Li Xun with the arm of his sunglasses.

The heart.

"The only truth is that you've stood in that position, and no one can tell you that you don't deserve it anymore, because you know you can."

The knocking came a second time.

Catherine's voice came from outside the door: "Sir, all the reporters are in position, the lights and sound equipment are set up, we can begin."

Karl Lagerfeld put his sunglasses back on his nose.

"You just asked me if two minutes of a runway finale is enough to support you for a lifetime. How long do you think it took me?"

After thinking for a moment, Li Xun replied, "A long time."

"Not too long." Karl Lagerfeld pushed open the door.

"I'm good enough where I am now."

Li Xun couldn't help but roll his eyes after hearing this. What are you pretending for? How did he manage to pull it off in front of me? Damn it, I'm so annoyed!

The interview area was located in a semi-open space outside the studio, originally an accessories sorting area before the show, covering an area of ​​about sixty square meters.

The area, measuring square meters, was temporarily divided into two functional areas: an interview area and a waiting area, using movable partition walls.

Four cameras were mounted on tripods behind the shooting distance line directly in front of the interview area—a Sony HDW camera from a French fashion channel.

The F900R was the main camera, while WWD's Nikon D3 was used for still photography. The photography team from the US edition of VOGUE was equipped with two Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III cameras: one for medium shots and the other for close-ups.

The lighting team completed color temperature calibration three minutes earlier, locking the overall lighting in the interview area at a standard 5400K cool white, with even and soft surface light and no obvious shadows, ensuring that Karl Lagerfeld's sunglasses would not affect the lens presentation due to light source reflection.

The sound team installed a Sennheiser wireless microphone under the coffee table, with a precise sound pickup range covering a two-meter radius around the sofa, clearly capturing every syllable spoken by Karl Lagerfeld.

Reporters from three leading media outlets were already seated in their interview positions.

Sarah Morris, senior editor of American Vogue, sat in the middle of the folding chair, holding a notebook wrapped in a leather cover with the Vogue logo in gold foil.

She is about 45 years old, with short chestnut hair. She is Anna Wintour's direct subordinate and has worked at Condé Nast for 12 years. She is one of the core writers of in-depth feature articles for the American edition of Vogue.

Jean-Pierre Leblanc, a reporter for WWD Women's Wear Daily, is sitting in the chair on the left.

He was about fifty years old and wore a gray linen suit jacket with a very pale blue pocket square made of linen and silk, which created a subtle contrast with the fabric of the jacket.

He worked at WWD for over twenty years, serving as the chief commentator for European haute couture; his insightful reviews are renowned in the industry.

This is the "quarterly report card of the haute couture industry".

Brands that he approves of will have good buyer orders; designs that he criticizes will definitely face cancellations from VIP customers that season.

Emmanuelle Bernard, the on-camera reporter for the French fashion channel, stood between two cameras, holding neither a notebook nor a question card, but only a silver microphone with the Chanel double C logo on it.

She is a star presenter on a French fashion channel, known for her elegant and sharp hosting style. She never beats around the bush when asking questions and is recognized in the Paris fashion circle as "one of the most difficult female journalists to deal with".

Each of her interviews was broadcast live, and more than three million viewers in France watched it simultaneously.

Behind the three reporters, in the waiting area temporarily partitioned by movable partitions, stood about twenty print and photojournalists from major fashion media outlets around the world.

They had no seats; some leaned against the partition walls, some squatted on the ground adjusting equipment, and some used handheld video cameras to film the preparations for the interview area through the gaps in the partitions.

The PR team interns were checking each person's media credentials and arranging interview batches according to their arrival order. The whole process was quiet and efficient, and no one spoke loudly.

Catherine stood in the right corner of the interview area, glanced at her watch, and then nodded to Karl Lagerfeld.

"Sir, we may begin."

Karl Lagerfeld sat down in the interview area.

Sarah Morris was the first to speak.

"Mr. Lagerfeld, thank you for granting this exclusive interview to the US edition of Vogue."

First, please allow me to express my respect to you on behalf of the global fashion media—today's Fall/Winter Haute Couture show at the Grand Palais is the simplest and most direct series of statements from Paris Haute Couture Week in the past three years.

From daywear to evening wear to wedding gowns, Ji Ping redefined the logic of haute couture design in the context of the financial crisis. My first question is: During this season's design process, were there any moments of self-doubt?

Karl Lagerfeld began.

"Self-doubt is not a professional luxury I can afford. In haute couture design, especially during an economic downturn, every decision a designer makes incurs costs."

If you use one more sequin, the workshop will spend an extra hour; if you add an extra layer of lace, the fabric cost will increase.

Every design decision you make directly impacts the workshop seamstress's working hours, fabric waste, and the client's budget.

Brand profit margin.

In such a system, self-doubt is pointless. You either need sufficient data and experience to support your judgment, or you should switch to a profession that doesn't require judgment.

"In a past interview, you said that the design of Chanel haute couture should be like building a house that will never collapse. This season's show is exactly as the name suggests, almost perfectly showcasing this architectural rigor. I just noticed that you took the bow with your student Rhine after the show."

This newcomer has been the talk of the industry lately. Who is he, and why did you choose to bring him along?

"My friend, there's no mysterious magic here," Karl Lagerfeld said, his voice deliberately drawn out.

"He is one of my sources of inspiration in my work, and the most perfect designer for Chanel."

Jean-Pierre, who was standing nearby, chimed in.

"Mr. Karl, Virginie Viard told me that he also contributed to many of the designs for this show. Could you elaborate on his specific contributions?"

Karl Lagerfeld whispered to the recorder closest to Sarah, "His job at Chanel is design; the specific details are confidential within the studio. If you want to know more, you can wait until he sits in my seat."

The audience was in an uproar.

The flash kept going off.

Although many reporters knew that the smiling Empress Dowager was just joking when she said those words, they still took it seriously.

—That's traffic, that's performance!

Karl Lagerfeld's words are their bonus for the month!

"Mr. Lagerfeld, on behalf of French fashion channel, I have a question for you. Today, you took your final bow on the Grand Palais runway with Rhine, marking the first time in your career that you've shared the final bow with another designer. What was the reason behind this decision?"

The interview area fell silent instantly.

The photographers in the waiting area who were secretly adjusting their equipment stopped what they were doing and pointed their lenses directly at Karl Lagerfeld's face.

After a few seconds, Karl Lagerfeld spoke: "This is a surprise for the fashion world, but I cannot reveal the answer now."

C

Emmanuelle didn't press the issue, not because she didn't want to, but because she knew Karl Lagerfeld too well—when he said, "I cannot reveal the answer now," anyone who pressed him would only run into a silent, polite, but absolutely unshakeable wall.

This old man knew how to maintain control of information while giving it; every answer he gave was precisely calculated.

The interview has officially ended.

The reporter packed up his equipment, and Jean-Pierre immediately sent a news alert to the WWD website via his mobile phone. Sarah Morris's recorder contained a full forty minutes of audio from the interview, and Emmanuelle Bernard's live stream signal was seamlessly switched to the French fashion channel, with the director cutting to the guest commentary in the studio.

But the real storm started online.

At 8:17 PM Paris time on July 6th, forty-six minutes after the show ended, the homepage of WWD Women's Wear Daily underwent an emergency redesign. The originally scheduled headline, an in-depth analysis of the aftermath of Christian Lacroix's bankruptcy, was temporarily replaced with a news flash in bold red.

The title is concise and direct, with all letters in capital letters: Karl Lagerfeld and Chinese designer Li Xun take their final bow together.

Subtitle: For the first time in the history of Paris Haute Couture Week, a non-creative director designer walked the runway at the Grand Palais and took his final bow alongside Karl Lagerfeld.

At the same time, the French fashion channel broadcast a video of a post-show interview. The title was personally crafted by the editor-in-chief, and the keywords were repeatedly refined by the SE0 team before being finalized as "Karl Lagerfeld's Mysterious Surprise - A Chinese Designer's Parisian Moment".

The line Emmanuelle said before the live stream ended, "After tonight, the fashion world will remember the name Rhine Li," was bolded and pinned to the top, becoming the core promotional text for the entire video.

At 8:23 PM Paris time, six minutes after WWD's news flash, the US edition of Vogue published an exclusive article by Sarah Morris on the top banner of its homepage, with a headline personally written by Anna Wintour.

After reviewing and revising the title, she removed "Breaking" and "Eclusive" from the original title, keeping only the core message: Karl Lagerfeld: "This is a surprise for the fashion world."

The accompanying photo is a medium shot taken by an Associated Press photographer, showing the two walking and talking on the runway. In the picture, Karl Lagerfeld is slightly tilting his head to speak to Li Xun, with his sunglasses angled to reveal just a third of his profile, while Li Xun is slightly tilting his ear to listen.

The composition, lighting, and mood of this photo were all just right, making it the most cited image by fashion media around the world in the next 48 hours.

Immediately following, four media outlets—ELLE France, The Daily Telegraph Fashion, The International Herald Tribune Lifestyle, and The New York Times Fashion—released their respective reports almost simultaneously within five minutes.

The Daily Telegraph’s headline followed the British news tradition of using a double entendre: “Chanel’s Surprise,” with the subtitle highlighting that this was the most unusual runway appearance in Karl Lagerfeld’s career as Chanel’s creative director.

The news began to explode simultaneously across Asia.

TV Tokyo, known for its unconventional approach, dedicated a full six minutes to a special report in its morning news entertainment segment. The headline, spelled entirely in kana, read "The Rising Star of the Chanel Empire." The host emphasized in a high-spirited tone that "Japanese designers have struggled for decades without being able to showcase their work with core brands at Paris Haute Couture Week, but this young man from China has done it."

The social section of South Korean broadcaster KBS updated its headline at 8 a.m. with a photo of Rhine Li and Karl Lagerfeld walking side by side. The title directly borrowed the unified language of the most popular post on Korean forums: "RhineLi: The power relay of design geniuses in the fashion world personally launched by Karl Lagerfeld".

In China, Harper's Bazaar's official website urgently launched a feature article written by the editor-in-chief in the early hours of the morning. The title was understated but extremely weighty: "From Beijing to the Grand Palais in Paris: Chinese designer Li Xun stands at the pinnacle of global fashion power." The article used a documentary style to trace Li Xun's rise, from his contributions to leather goods design to his fashion line, and included anonymous interviews with several industry insiders.

Groom's Fashion, Sohu Fashion, and NetEase Women's Channel all gave it the highest level of recommendation on their homepage headlines.

At 7:00 AM Beijing time, the news began to explode among ordinary netizens.

The hashtag #LiXunParisFashionWeek# was created the moment the live stream was transmitted back to China, and by 8:30 a.m., it had garnered over 20 million views.

Who exactly is Li Xun?

"I can't do anything with you. Listen up, this is Li Xun's moment, unique to the fashion world! The first Chinese designer in the history of Chanel's Grand Palais runway in Paris, at twenty-three years old! Karl Lagerfeld's second disciple, the most favored junior apprentice of his senior sister, Virginie Viard! The creator of the Himalayas! Rhine Li!!"

"I just watched the interview video on the French fashion channel. Karl Lagerfeld said it was a surprise for the fashion world. What exactly was he implying?"

"Upstairs, isn't the hint obvious enough? This is an attempt to promote him to a higher position!"

"Could it be that Sisi is really being kept by him?"

"Awesome."

"Actually, I can accept Li Xun keeping me as a sugar daddy, but why are all the sugar daddies I keep ugly? Waaaaah————"

"Hey beautiful upstairs, my phone number is 136. I'm eight-pack abs and 1.86 meters tall —"

>