Chapter 155: Do You Understand Fashion?

squatting on the right side of the stage, his eyes coldly staring at the camera, breathing slightly."Ah!!!"The audience erupted in screams, the atmosphere was hot with excitement and a touch of madnes......and more.

After finishing the discussion about the few days' live streaming plan, Lee Seung Hwan took a sip of water, glanced at the memo in front of him, and finally said something very important: "Jingyuan, the company has received an invitation letter from GUCCI, inviting you to participate in the Milan Fashion Week to be held on October 23rd next month. The opening show is the 2016 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collection."

His tone of voice rose, clearly filled with excitement.

"Ah, Qingjia"

"Oh!"

When the news broke, Ji-yeong didn't react much. Several members and his assistant beside him couldn't help but gasp in surprise, all looking at Seung Hwan with astonishment before finally focusing their attention on Ji-yeong.

Perhaps due to numerous reasons, maybe because the peninsula's market itself is not large, or perhaps because peninsula stars lack international recognition, most of the fashion resources available to entertainment industry stars on the peninsula are incredibly scarce. The resources they receive are very limited. This can be seen from the recent award ceremonies and red carpet walks: most female artists opt for black and white outfits, and their dresses are mostly last season's. There's no hope for current or super-current collections, and some even show up in plain HM outfits.

Fashion is inherently linked to celebrities and stars. Many people deeply desire it but lack the connections or opportunities to pursue it. It's not just about the top-tier luxury brands and the four major fashion weeks; even local Seoul-based fashion brands and fashion weeks are incredibly competitive.

Within the small peninsula's star circle, excellent fashion resources are only available to a few actors who stand at the top.

Although staff and members knew that luxury brand GUCCI had some connection with the company, seemingly interested in one of their youngest members, most people didn't really care. They felt there was no hope of getting the title.

However, the brand has now sent an invitation to Chi Jingyuan to watch the show, which further deepens their intention to cooperate.

Several people who have always been interested in the fashion world and focused their development in that area, like Kim Jong-in and Woo Shi-hun, now looked at Ji Kyeong-won with strange eyes.

It's hard enough to even get on the cover of a magazine like that. We were so happy just to land an endorsement deal for a Seoul fashion brand, and you're already doing GUCCI campaigns and walking in Milan Fashion Week

I'm so freaking mad......

> I want to go too.

Although they didn't speak, Ji Jingyuan probably sensed the meaning from their eyes.

He blinked a few times, didn't react much, just nodded and replied, "I know, brother."

"Well, that's all for today. Go back and prepare for the special stage in a few days... Jingyuan, stay behind for a moment. There are some things I need to tell you."

Lee Seong-hwan nodded, and after delivering the news, he didn't say much in front of others. He was very tactful and directly announced the meeting's adjournment, then left Ji Kyung-won behind alone.

He knows that this resource from GUCCI is very desirable and could easily cause envy among other team members, so he doesn't think it's appropriate to make it public knowledge.

Originally, **'s plan for EXO focused on Jin Jong-in in the fashion realm, with Wu Shixun also playing a role. With typical fashion resources, the company would likely have given these two individuals priority. However, this time, ** had no choice but to accept Gucci's direct request for Ji Chang-wook. To be chosen by a brand of this caliber was beyond their expectations, leaving them with only gratitude and surprise.

As most people in the conference room left, Lee Seung Hwan beckoned Ji Kyung Won closer. He then took out a stack of documents and handed them to him, saying, "Milan Fashion Week starts on September 23rd, and GUCCI is leading the way this time. So our plan is to depart two days early on the 21st. The company will build a dedicated team for you, and we'll fly there to get things ready. Then, we'll see if there are any other brand opportunities besides GUCCI…"

Chi Jingyuan took the materials and looked at them, saying simultaneously, "This time it's a women's wear show, right I remember that the men's wear week in June 2016 has already ended."

"Yes, but for us it's all pretty much the same. Just remember to prepare a bit this time."

"Good."

"I did a quick scan, then shrugged and gave a wry smile: 'Bro, you know me. I'm not really into fashion. I don't pay much attention to Fashion Week...' "

"Hahaha." Thinking of Chi Jingyuan's usual private clothes, with all sorts of tags featuring anime and co-branding elements on his clothing, Li Chenghuan couldn't help but laugh out loud. He patted him heavily on the shoulder: "Actually, I don't really understand it either, but there's no way around it. This is how the process works for getting a title, and besides, the brands value you and chose to feature your name."

"By the way, I heard through some channels that Gucci's most optimistic about you this time is their newly appointed creative director earlier this year. This designer wants to make the Gucci brand more youthful, and it is said that he also likes to add some anime elements to his works. I don't know if he values this aspect of you."

“Based on what I understand, this creative director's position is now very secure and highly valued by the shareholders. Moreover, GUCCI has been keeping an eye on us for a year or two already. Looking at this, the possibility of us getting the title next is very high, and it will definitely be within a large area…”

While claiming ignorance, Lee Seong-hwan actually spoke eloquently about it, clearly having done a lot of research beforehand. His excitement was palpable, as if he were expecting to announce Park Geon-yeong as their brand ambassador any moment.

"Got it, bro. I'll look into it when I get back."

Without any hesitation, Chi Jingyuan nodded and smiled.

Although he's not very interested in fashion and sometimes doesn't understand what many designers are trying to express through their clothes, he has attended several fashion weeks at the Peninsula and basically just daydreamed and doodled. He also felt that the female idols sitting across from him were more attractive than the clothes.

But no matter what, work and hobbies should still be separated. And the title of GUCCI is actually a very rare resource for him. Seeing Kim Jong-in and them all envious like that, he still has to try his best to grasp it.

…………

While EXO members are busy practicing for their upcoming special stages, other members' variety shows have been airing one after another. For example, Park Chanyeol's "Law of the Jungle," Kim Jongdae's "King of Masked Singer," and musical performances have all become hot topics recently after their broadcasts.

Being popular has its perks. Everything seems to go smoothly for them. While some members might not have the same level of fame and popularity as pool-leader Ji-sung, they're still part of a top boy group. Their presence on variety shows adds significant weight, even if they appear solo. The heat they bring surpasses that of many second or third-tier groups.

Media outlets have already proclaimed, "2015's K-pop scene belongs to EXO," demonstrating their current status.

While the official audio release of Ji Jingyuan's "Rooftop Room" has already passed a week, it continues to firmly hold the top spots on several music charts and unsurprisingly claimed this week's Melon Chart crown. It is undoubtedly the song with the best digital performance at this year's Song Festival.

Following closely behind on the music chart is IU's , with equally impressive results. The mesmerizing track breaks away from her previous style, leaving listeners wanting more. Then there's the song collaboration with Hyukoh, and besides that, a few other collaborative tracks have started to fall off the charts after the initial heat of the Gaon Music Awards died down.

Because "Rooftop" was unexpectedly successful, both the melody and lyrics were loved by many people, leading to many viewers being unsatisfied with the fact that there had only been one live performance of the song since its release. Many viewers left comments online urging ** Entertainment to let Park Ji-won perform more live stages so they could get their fill.

It's a pity that this request is unlikely to be met. ** isn't stupid, of course they know what the audience wants to see, but they only intend to have Ji-sung perform at the concert.

Want to watch No problem, just buy a ticket and enter.

Besides that, it's unlikely they will participate in singing competitions anymore. However, this song should have a chance to be performed at special stages like the year-end music battles.

Meanwhile, after a week of promotions and a slightly eased schedule, Taeyeon immediately jumped back into recording for her solo album.

……

What are you doing

On the evening of the 29th, it was still in **'s recording studio, but at this time all the staff were still preparing before work officially began. After finishing a day of schedule, Kim Taeyeon was sitting on the sofa nibbling on takeout bought by her manager to pad her stomach. As she ate, she saw Ji Sung-won next to her taking selfies with his phone and couldn't help but ask curiously.

Take a photo and post it on Instagram to announce the live streaming event in two days.

Chi Jingyuan took a selfie, checked it slightly, added a random caption, and after checking for any sensitive words, uploaded it directly to his ins.

There are still two days left until the live event of No. 1, and the company has asked them to promote it on their own SNSs. He only just remembered what they said a few days ago, Ji-seong.

"Huh"

Kim Tae-yeon puffed out her cheeks and glanced at the dimly lit recording studio, as well as the obvious shadow shrouding Ji-seong. Her voice was muffled, almost speechless as she looked at him: "Is this how you take selfies You can take pictures in this light"

"Just take a few shots, this way it's more natural. It's so boring to always have to find the perfect angle and lighting for every photo."

Chi Jingyuan didn't mind this at all, clicking send and giving a smirk with a twitch of his lips: "Besides, I think my meals also really like this style."

That's because they like you, so no matter what you post, they'll say good things...

She turned her head away dismissively and started eating, letting out a light hum that clearly indicated her understanding of the situation.

Kim Taeyeon really loves playing on SNS. She likes to express herself and also likes to communicate with fans. Her ins account was opened in 2013 and she has been managing it ever since. She often uploads some photos from her daily life, she manages it very carefully, far more than someone like Park Kyung-won who just posts things every few days.

To this day, this unnie is still number one among all female KPOP idols in terms of SNS followers. She reigns supreme on the female idol chart with 5.5 million INS followers, trailing behind G-Dragon (GD), who has a large following, and EXO's Chanyeol, whose popularity surged this year and saw his follower count skyrocket. She is far ahead of even Ji Chang-wook, whose number of followers has long since surpassed ten million.

She and Chi Jingyuan had been following each other for a long time, and she was always very jealous of the fact that this lazy person didn't seem to put any effort into managing their fanbase, yet their followers were still increasing rapidly.

As she was eating, she suddenly remembered the key point that Chi Jingyuan had just said: "Right, you're talking about the Vlive app's live broadcast, right... We also received this kind of work when we were young. I'm quite interested in it. Before it went online, I've already had a lot of ideas these past two days. I feel like many things can be communicated through live broadcasts and interaction with fans, just thinking about it feels good."

Her eyes sparkled, she already seemed to be thinking about how she would livestream later.

"Sure, I'll follow you then and support your livestream."

Ji Jingyuan went on INS to take a look at the comments that had just been sent and were already starting to flood the screen. Then he walked over to grab a bottle of drink, opened it and took two sips before casually asking: "Nuna, did you guys get first place on Music Bank today"

Of course.

"So you've taken all of them this week Five already"

"Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it"

"Well... amazing."

Chi Jingyuan paused for a moment, but still followed her lead, smiling and complimenting her.

After defeating fellow girl groups in "party," Girls' Generation, although "youthink" didn't perform as well this comeback with their regular album, "lionheart" has been doing pretty well. It's been climbing the charts these past few days and has already gotten 5 wins on music shows this week. With their current pre-orders of 60,000 and album sales at 130,000, they are standing out in this girl group battle and upholding their title as the first girl group.

Although, some data has been completely cut in half compared to their peak.

But after all, she has been debuting for eight years. To be able to maintain such a first-line level of quality and popularity after so long, among girl groups on the peninsula where the flowering period is generally not long, is actually quite impressive.

Since she wasn't that hungry to begin with, she only ate a few bites quickly after dinner. Kim Taeyeon wiped her mouth and was about to start working, but at this time, Ji Kyung-won sat beside her with his phone: "Noona, the flow process and general plot of the title song 'I' MV, as well as the storyboard, are almost done..."

The preparation work for the album MV begins when the arrangement is complete. After the recording and mixing stages are finished, the official shooting will begin.

This time, for Taeyeon's solo album, they will only be shooting a music video for the title track "I". Although there's only one song with a MV, the company has given her plenty of resources. Especially in terms of clothing and styling, they had designer dy specially design and style it, and even gave a budget to film overseas for location and filming.

Upon hearing about her MV, Kim Taeyeon immediately perked up. She had just finished dinner and was lazily slouching, but in an instant, she straightened up and listened intently.

“As you've heard in the meeting before the plot, you play a waiter who is often bullied by his boss. He feels helpless and directionless, doing busy and repetitive tasks every day. After becoming unbearable, he decides to quit his job and head for distant places. Through his relentless pursuit of freedom and a happy life, he finally meets a more ideal and beautiful version of himself.”

As the main operator, Chi Jingyuan knows everything about this solo album like the back of his hand. The MV content confirmed through meetings is no exception:

“The plot is actually quite simple. Besides using accompaniment and melody to set the mood, it mainly uses beautiful natural scenery to showcase your personal beauty and charm, as well as the theme of the song... As for the shooting location, we chose based on photos brought back by our scout team and their feedback..."

"Where!"

Kim Taeyeon sits upright, eyes wide open, her face full of anticipation.

The restaurant where the plot was filmed is in Auckland, New Zealand. The main scenery was filmed at Bayleys Beach on Muriwai Island, a forty-minute drive from the city center.

As he spoke, Ji Jingyuan pulled out a few photos and videos from his phone and showed them to Kim Taeyeon beside him. The latter's head immediately leaned over, eager to glue her eyes to the screen.

"This is a pretty famous photo and photography spot in Auckland."

Qi Jingyuan showed her photos and videos while giving a brief introduction: "Baisha Beach is a black sand beach with a wide view. Walking barefoot on it leaves clear footprints. At sunrise and sunset, the entire sky and earth are dyed in warm gold. The extending water surface and the waves crashing produce a hazy glow...

This wasn't taken by Chi Jingyuan, it was taken by an ** staff member and passed on. The photographer is obviously very skilled, capturing the entire beach and sea surface in a dazzlingly beautiful way, truly breathtaking.

"Oh my goodness, it's so beautiful."

At first glance, she fell for him. Her fingers swiped back and forth on Chi Jingyuan's phone, engrossed in the photos, wishing she could fly there tomorrow.

When Jiyeong saw Kim Taeyeon's movements, he quickly snatched his phone back after explaining, for fear that she might accidentally swipe too much and uncover some more private photos.

Maybe next time, just use your work phone for these things.

"I also checked it online, it's really pretty. You can check it out online when you have time."

Seeing her like this, Chi Jingyuan also smiled and nodded. Although the location for the shot had already been decided, this sister, unless she strongly objected, couldn't change anything. However, it was still perfect to get the lead actress's approval and recognition.

He paused for a moment, then asked, “Do you have any other thoughts or suggestions about filming the MV, Taeyeon”

"Um..."

Hearing this, Kim Taeyeon hesitated for a second, blinked at him twice, and tentatively said, "This MV is the first MV I shot for my solo debut. It has very special significance and is very commemorative. I think... could I let my family also appear in the shooting"

"Family Who"

"Hi, I'm Kim Ji-yong. You met me at the company last time."

Just making an appearance

That's fine, just show your face.

"It's simple enough to just make a brief appearance, there's no problem with that."

For this idea that the sister put forward, Ji Jingyuan didn't think much about it and agreed.

It doesn't matter if the sister feels it's meaningful to have family participate as witnesses, or if she wants her boyfriend to take this opportunity to show his face. Either way, it's just a cameo appearance and a small thing.

"Heh heh." Seeing Ji Jingyuan agree so decisively, Kim Taeyeon also playfully patted him and laughed.

"Speaking of shooting time... Didn't you guys have to perform at DMCFesta on September 12th when you were younger" Ji Kyeong-won looked at the memo in his phone, thought for a moment, and then asked.

DMC Festival, short for DMC Super Celebration, is a large-scale celebration event that MBC will be holding in the Euljiro area of Seoul. The event will run from September 5th to September 13th for eight days. Every day, in addition to street festivals and exchange summits, there will be performances by well-known artists, idol groups, and even rookie singers. This year marks the first edition.

EXO had a stage performance when they opened on the 5th, and Girls' Generation besides the 5th, he remembered there was also a final performance on the 12th.

"Inside, on the 12th there was a special stage." Kim Taeyeon nodded, then with a little glance she added, "I remember Red Velvet was there too."

"The filming team will fly over to prepare on the 11th, and we will depart for Auckland on the morning of the 13th. The estimated shooting time is two to three days."

Ignoring this sister's sarcastic hints, Chi Jingyuan directly made a decision:

"Your solo debut company is currently tentatively scheduled for early October. The time isn't very generous, so the progress might be a bit rushed when the time comes... Oh, and don't forget to tell your oppa."

"Alao!"

(End of the chapter)gained their composure and bowed deeply, greeting them: "Seniors, Annyeonghaseyo."Suddenly, the EXO they had just been discussing appeared before them. The nine members, already styled and made up, lo...