Chapter 44
I’m translating the chapter now and keeping the HTML structure aligned with the source: prose in `
`, scene breaks and in-universe special content in styled `
` blocks only.CHAPTER_TITLE: LVMH Prize (2)
After Maison&Objet closed, Seung-hyun packed up his things in a hurry and returned to a hotel in central Paris.
The business cards and expressions of interest already showered on him were so many that they filled his suitcase to the brim.
“How many of these will actually turn into contracts, I wonder?”
On the surface, it looked like he was standing at the edge of a huge success. But even at previous exhibitions, only a handful of leads had ever turned into real agreements.
Most of the time, they exchanged samples and then the whole thing fell apart over one demand after another and an endless string of obstacles.
“So Loro Piana wants to meet tomorrow?”
Director Hwang Seok-jae kept tapping briskly at his laptop while asking Seung-hyun questions in between bursts of work.
“Yes. You can head back to Korea first, Director.”
“Understood. By the way, this is really something. Antoine Arnault, of all people...”
“Did you take an interest in fashion too? You seem to know Antoine Arnault.”
“Not really. It’s just that this investment has made me pay more attention to LVMH. Once you understand the scale of their assets, you can’t help but notice them. I’m the one who deals with numbers, after all. I can estimate their revenue, assets, and influence. In effect, one family controls the global luxury market, and the eldest son of that family is the one who called you in. That alone is impressive.”
“Hmm...”
Seung-hyun looked toward the pale beige coat hanging in one corner of the hotel room.
He had snapped at the time because he was irritated, but somehow he had ended up leaving with the coat for real.
That one coat was worth nineteen million won?
When he had checked the price tag and taken it with him, he had wondered if he had asked for it for no reason. But now, after hearing Hwang’s words, it somehow felt worth it again.
“What is it? Is it making you uncomfortable?”
“I just don’t know why they’re calling me. What am I supposed to say at a newcomer designer competition?”
“They may have seen something you don’t know you have and are expecting that. Don’t carry too much of a burden.”
With a knowing grin that said, basically, if it works out, great, and if not, well, that’s that, Director Hwang kept organizing the list of buyers.
Seung-hyun smiled faintly at the sight of him.
*
A small boutique hotel in central Paris, a room tucked away on the sixth floor.
Kim In-hyuk was organizing the pile of belongings he had brought in preparation for the upcoming LVMH Prize semifinal.
Lookbook samples were spread across the desk, and the laptop screen was playing interview clips of past winners.
“This should be enough for the presentation script, right...?”
And yet the unease would not go away.
He had passed the documents and interviews and come this far, but the other designers who had advanced with him were already being praised by major magazines as the “next generation stars.”
Kim In-hyuk, who had come from East Asia, was still less well known, and he kept having to hear the same response over and over: “Who?”
“Pretty soon, they’ll know who I am.”
Leaning back in his chair, In-hyuk stared at the ceiling.
- Korean fashion designer bursts onto the scene like a comet.
- Who is Kim In-hyuk, the standout at the LVMH Prize?
- Designer Kim In-hyuk’s collaboration with global idol Cherry Rush.
He imagined what things would look like after this competition ended.
Even now, news that a Korean was participating in the LVMH Prize was being reported one story after another, especially by fashion journals.
Just making it into the semifinal, one of twenty-odd contestants, was enough to generate articles. So if he made it onto the final list, where only eight would remain?
There was no reason this could not become reality.
“I can do this. I can.”
He repeated it to himself and closed his eyes.
The afternoon of the next day, somewhere in central Paris, in a temporary showroom.
Kim In-hyuk had hung the outfit he would use for the LVMH Prize semifinal on one side of the showroom and was checking the mini presentation board for the judges.
Because the judges in this round were the type to ask about every garment in meticulous detail, he couldn’t afford to describe a single point carelessly, whether it was the fit, the length, or the details.
“First, I need to emphasize the sustainability angle well. Ah, and I can’t forget the part about reinterpreting the classic.”
As he kept refining each piece, his thoughts deepened and the tension grew hot in his chest.
“Kim, the judges will enter the showroom in ten minutes!”
An assistant called to him from outside.
“Okay. Let’s wrap it up.”
Kim In-hyuk hurriedly straightened the jacket one last time and put his phone on airplane mode.
“Moving out!”
He forced himself to calm his pounding heart and followed the assistant.
About twenty designers were gathered in the large space.
Kim In-hyuk, now one of them, took his place in a corner.
And then,
“We’ll be holding an impromptu styling challenge.”
The host from LVMH announced the special mission for this round.
From that moment on, it was as if war had broken out, and the contestants rushed into motion, hands flying.
The mission was to create an entirely new look within just thirty minutes using the garments and accessories provided, then explain the intent of the styling to the judges from their individual booths.
“Ah... they really do throw these things at us at the last second.”
As Kim In-hyuk quickly checked the boxes piled in one corner of the booth, his stomach burned when it became clear that the collection he had prepared in advance had no chance of matching the provided pieces.
This impromptu mission, the final gate of the semifinal, had become an important variable that tested the creativity and responsiveness of the fashion world.
“Let’s put this together fast... right, instead of pants, we’ll use this skirt, and that necklace...”
Holding his head, he gave the fitting model one instruction after another.
Time kept passing, and sweat gathered between his brows.
Completeness, and a philosophy and individuality of his own...
He kept recalling the advice he had received from Korea’s top designers before coming here as he worked.
Even then, he kept glancing at the work of the designers around him.
For some reason, he was beginning to feel that this might actually be doable, and In-hyuk’s face slowly brightened.
*
In the waiting room for judges, or rather in an open lounge with large monitors set up, Seung-hyun was unexpectedly waiting there with Antoine Arnault.
To be honest, Seung-hyun still didn’t understand why he was there.
He had come out of his hotel in the morning and found Antoine Arnault waiting in a large sedan.
Without even knowing where they were going, Seung-hyun had been forced to chat about all sorts of random things the entire ride here.
What surprised him a little, though, was Antoine’s view of luxury fashion.
He had assumed the eldest son of a conglomerate family would be full of nothing but thoughts of pleasure and leisure, but from the moment they met until they arrived here, every word out of Antoine’s mouth had been about what fashion meant to him.
Seeing that passion for fashion, Seung-hyun began to wonder if the slight tension between them yesterday had simply been a way of gauging the other man.
“The participants are carrying out the mission here, and it’s being broadcast live. Everyone’s going to be scrambling.”
Antoine was definitely friendlier than he had been yesterday.
He pointed at the monitors hanging on the wall and flipped through one screen after another, each showing the contestants hustling about.
Seung-hyun kept his expression composed as he looked at the strange scene before him.
“That’s fascinating. Usually designers prepare their own lines in advance, but to give them a spontaneous mission like this...”
“Improv is really about one thing: seeing instinct. Something beyond what you can learn, some animal-like... hidden sense. You can’t know that in advance. Not until you actually work together. That’s why they make it show itself directly like this.”
“But why exactly did you bring me here?”
Antoine grinned, then immediately began introducing Seung-hyun to several people who had gathered nearby.
“This is Jung Seung-hyun, the CEO of Haesol Textile, the person I’ve been finding rather interesting lately. The GyeolBit bedding that drew attention at Maison&Objet recently is his work.”
The people he introduced were the judges for today’s competition, so they were famous fashion editors, and some were creative directors for luxury brands.
Because the introduction came from Antoine and not just anyone, all of them tried hard to make a good impression on this unfamiliar East Asian man.
“Oh! That GyeolBit bedding was really impressive.”
“If you personally made a work like that, I’m sure you’ll have something impressive to say during today’s judging as well.”
“Judging? Evaluation?”
What in the world did making bedding have to do with judging designers?
When Seung-hyun looked at Antoine in confusion, the other man leaned in and whispered to him.
“Don’t worry. You won’t be asked to judge outright.”
That only made Seung-hyun more confused.
This wasn’t some kindergarten field trip, so why had he been brought here in the first place?
But Antoine only made matters worse by pointing playfully at a man on the monitor.
“See him? The red-haired one there. What kind of impression does he give you?”
“Well...”
Looking closely at the screen, Seung-hyun quickly took in the texture of the fabric, the color, and the details.
It was impossible to feel the actual hand through a screen, but with his instinct and eyes honed from handling countless fabrics, he could make a rough guess.
“He’s deconstructing denim fabric and transforming it almost like a skirt, and the sharp silhouette seems to be the key feature. But if he washes the color too aggressively, the silhouette could disappear. With just a little more restraint, it would feel much more luxurious.”
He answered because he had been asked, but...
Antoine and the people around him nodded, and some even took notes.
Antoine nodded as well and praised him.
“If you saw it on site, the fabric’s texture would really come alive, but even just looking at a monitor, you’re taking it in well.”
Seung-hyun was sure of it.
He hadn’t asked because he didn’t know.
He had simply wanted to know what Seung-hyun thought.
And now Seung-hyun was beginning to wonder why Antoine cared about his opinion in the first place.
Was there something he wanted from him?
Then, a strange voice reached them a little late.
“Excuse me.”
A woman with long blond hair and distinct, finely carved features.
By now, Seung-hyun knew exactly who she was.
It was Delphine Arnault, Antoine Arnault’s sister and the CEO of Christian Dior.
“Oh? I heard you were wandering around with an East Asian man all of a sudden and wondered who it was...”
Antoine immediately gestured toward Seung-hyun.
“This is Jung Seung-hyun, CEO of Haesol Textile. He’s the one behind the GyeolBit bedding art fabric that made a splash at Maison&Objet. I invited him as a special observer while watching the judging process.”
“Jung Seung-hyun... It’s a pleasure. I’m Delphine Arnault.”
“Likewise.”
Just as she seemed about to continue the conversation with Seung-hyun,
“Shall we head out now?”
Antoine took Seung-hyun and left the area at once.
Seung-hyun stared at him, bewildered, and Antoine laughed.
“When the due diligence report on your company’s investment eligibility was submitted, I wasn’t the only one who marked it as ineligible. There was one more.”
“The one just now...?”
“That’s right. Delphine also judged that investing in an unnamed fabric company from East Asia would be a waste of money.”
“...You had a similar opinion?”
He turned his head awkwardly and cleared his throat.
“Ahem, I wouldn’t say it was quite that far.”
As if...
As Seung-hyun turned away with a blank expression, Antoine quickly added more to the story.
“Anyway, we both opposed it, but with Father’s decision, the investment went through, and the whole thing turned a bit funny. But then you and your company, the very people who made us look foolish, showed up in Paris...”
“But why exactly are you keeping me at your side?”
“That? What else? To make a good impression on my father. Ah, and one more thing. Delphine doesn’t know that I decided your company’s investment was ineligible, does she? Let’s keep that between us. I even gave you a present, so that should be fine, right?”
Just as Seung-hyun’s face twisted, Antoine tapped his shoulder and led him along.
“Since we’re here anyway, we should at least watch the kids play. You were giving pretty good evaluations earlier, so go over and add a word or two.”
“I’d rather not...”
“Don’t refuse. The representative of the company we invested in appearing at an event like this to evaluate new designers. That itself is both honorable and a way to build the story. The rise of your brand, the one that made GyeolBit fabric, is ultimately the rise of the GyeolBit brand’s value.”
He’s not wrong, but for some reason I still feel resistant.
It probably had something to do with the look he had given Seung-hyun when they first met, that gaze loaded with prejudice toward East Asians.
But then,
“Huh?”
When roughly twenty semifinalists came into view at a glance, one East Asian stood out.
And he looked terribly familiar...
Just then, a judge at the scene stopped in front of him and asked, “You’re from Korea. Kim In-hyuk. Your brand is... Indigo Sustainable?”
“That’s right. I run a brand called Indigo Sustainable, and for this mission...”
At the moment he was about to pour out everything he had prepared, someone entered In-hyuk’s field of vision.
!!!!!
“The mission is...”
The instant he spotted Seung-hyun standing beside Antoine Arnault, In-hyuk’s mind went white, blank as a sheet of paper.