Chapter 229 Final Preparations
This fashion design competition, jointly organized by the six cities of Jiangnan, was a major event across Jiang Province.
Many media outlets had been reporting on it long in advance, and public attention was already focused on this fashion contest.
Rumor had it that to ensure absolute fairness, the judges were being brought in from other provinces and cities, including some internationally renowned designers.
The first stage of the competition required each garment factory to submit their original design blueprints to the contest email. A judging panel would then select twenty winning entries.
Once selected, these twenty companies would produce finished garments based on the blueprints. In the final round, models would showcase these creations on the runway.
After the fashion show, the final winners would be chosen based on the votes from the judges and the live audience.
Due to its high profile and guaranteed fairness, many large companies with strict requirements for fashion had set their sights on this competition early on.
For example, Nan Hai Airlines, Dong Fang Airlines, as well as Haidilao and Ding Jiayi Cosmetics, were all paying close attention to this fashion competition. They intended to place orders with the winning garment factories for their required uniforms.
After all, employees' attire was a company's public image.
For service industries like airlines and Haidilao, employees' clothing could directly impact the company's performance.
Simultaneously, given the substantial order volumes, participating companies were all pulling out all the stops, determined to secure a place in this competition.
Liu Ran and Zheng Yanqiu sat in their office in the Lantian Building, waiting anxiously.
Liu Ran had already transmitted the design blueprints to the competition organizing committee's email. Preliminary screening results were expected today.
Zheng Yanqiu nervously rubbed her hands, restless.
Liu Ran and Su Ya, sitting opposite her, saw Zheng Yanqiu's nervous state and both chuckled.
Liu Ran said to Huang Lianqiu, "Boss Zheng, there's no need to be nervous. As long as this competition is truly fair, our design will surely pass the screening."
Zheng Yanqiu nodded, then couldn't help but give a thumbs-up, saying, "Indeed, President Liu, your design blueprints are truly stunning. But I'm still a bit nervous."
"This might be our garment factory's only chance to come back from the brink. If we miss this opportunity, we might only have bankruptcy to look forward to in the future."
Just then, a "drip drip drip" sound echoed.
Liu Ran immediately clicked open her email.
The email contained a congratulatory message and an invitation.
The congratulatory message stated that Liu Ran's design blueprints had made it into the top twenty.
The invitation invited "Yangyangyang Qianyi Garment Company to bring garment samples, models, and music to Qingzhou City Stadium in three days for the final round of the fashion competition."
Upon seeing this message, Liu Ran clenched her fist and stood up, nodding to Zheng Yanqiu.
Zheng Yanqiu was also incredibly excited.
She swallowed and said, "Alright, from now on, we'll go all out and cut out the Hanfu from these ten sample designs. I'll go home immediately to bring back the fabric needed for the clothes."
"Our Qianyi Garment Factory's ancient dyeing techniques must shine in this competition."
Liu Ran nodded and replied, "Absolutely. Your fabrics are indeed beautiful, radiating a healthy and natural beauty that current fabrics cannot match."
"I will immediately instruct the production department and design department to work overtime tonight. In three days, all the garment designs will be cut out."
"As for the models, I suggest we directly invite students from Qingzhou University. Our Hanfu designs lean towards a subtle elegance, and professional models might not convey the effect as well."
Zheng Yanqiu nodded, then said, "How about this, our garment factory previously had a collaboration with a modeling team. Those models are quite suitable for wearing Hanfu. Their stage presence isn't overly exaggerated."
"The most important thing when wearing Hanfu is expressiveness. It might require some knowledge of Chinese classics, so ordinary models might not be able to handle it."
"The modeling team we previously collaborated with are all Hanfu enthusiasts, and their expressiveness should be very strong."
Liu Ran nodded upon hearing this and said, "Then I'll trouble Boss Zheng. We'll divide the tasks and cooperate immediately."
Following this, the Lantian Building's lights remained on all night.
The design and production departments worked through the night, cutting according to the design blueprints.
Soon, one by one, Hanfu garments transformed from design blueprints into actual clothing.
Zheng Yanqiu also brought her modeling team to try them on.
Most professional models are required to be over 1.75 meters tall. Zheng Yanqiu's chosen models were generally around 1.6 meters, petite, with classical beauty, appearing no different from ordinary passersby on the street.
They were initially Hanfu enthusiasts, and after Hanfu became popular, they were able to make a living through their expressiveness in Hanfu, serving as endorsements for various Hanfu factories and modeling for their clothing, earning a decent income.
Liu Ran looked at them and nodded with satisfaction. Indeed, these individuals wearing Hanfu had much better expressiveness than 1.8-meter-tall female models in Hanfu.
Meanwhile, at the Liu family residence.
Liu Qing and Liu Yuanyuan sat on stools, refusing to move.
Old Mrs. Liu slammed the table and said to the two, "You two useless individuals, you can't even endure a little hardship? I sent you to Lantian Building to gather intelligence, and you didn't bring back a single piece of useful information. What good are you?"
Hearing this, Liu Qing looked up dejectedly at Old Mrs. Liu and said, "Grandma, it's not my fault at all. Lantian Building has too strict security. You don't know how annoying those security guards are."
"Yuanyuan sister and I went for so many days, and every day they assigned us to clean toilets, throw trash, clean the kitchen, and even made us wipe windows at high altitudes. One wrong move and we'd fall to our deaths."
"I feel like those security guards are doing it on purpose. They never gave us any opportunity to get close to the design department. It's infuriating! I wasted six days cleaning toilets and didn't get any information."
Old Mrs. Liu snorted and said, "Alright, alright. If you're useless yourselves, you still blame Lantian Building. The information you gathered is useless now. Tomorrow is the competition day. I wonder if Yang Long and my grandson Xu Hui are ready?"
Just then, Liu Xuhui walked in with a proud demeanor.
Old Mrs. Liu's face lit up with joy. She quickly went over and tenderly smoothed the wrinkles on Liu Xuhui's clothes.
Old Mrs. Liu asked, "Xiao Hui, how is your factory preparing? Have the clothes been made?"
Liu Xuhui said with immense pride, "Grandma, rest assured, everything is ready. Not only have we successfully made it into the top twenty, but this time I plan to shine on the competition day and take first place."
"Don't think that because my factory is invested in by Yang Long, our factory's products might not win first place on the competition day, even surpassing Yang Long's family's Red Sun Grand Garment Factory!"