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self-proclaimed-chaotic-good · 6 years ago

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Persephone | John Wick x Reader (Nine)

Words: 3412

Warning: Usual JW-verse violence, minor swearing

A/N: Sorry to update so late. I’ve made an outline for the remaining chapters, but the direction of the story ended up going way off than what I planned and getting more complicated, giving me writer’s block. Why do I do this to myself?

Previously: Abram Tarasov strikes a deal that he will ally with you if you look into the rising power, Sokolov, and find out who’s responsible for it. Gavriil Sokolov is revealed to be a man who had no interest in the criminal Underworld until his father died and is resolved to building the family’s power and sought a similar goal of a new system with the help of Rozaliya Romanova, who happened to be an old friend of yours and asks to meet with you.

You took a taxi to the location Rozaliya had written in the note, paying the driver with a golden coin to take a discrete route, avoiding the main roads if possible. John wasn’t all too happy about you going alone, but it was what you wanted to do, so he gave you his bulletproof suit jacket and, surprisingly, let Cerberus follow you.

The loyal dog sat next to you, fitted with the bulletproof vest that you made for him. You had added pockets in it with emergency tools and gadgets tucked away with a matching bracelet on your wrist to activate some of the gadgets. You absentmindedly scratched behind his ear, trying to calm yourself as you neared the location.

It was the apartment from your memory, the place where Ophelia had sent you to get rid of Rozaliya, located in the upscale part of New York. It had been so long ago. To think that this Rozaliya Romanova would reach out to you first and offer aid, especially someone from a powerful family, it seemed too good to be true.

You stepped out of the taxi with Cerberus behind, gazing up at the looming building with its European influenced architecture, the penthouse having a wide balcony to overlook the city. You walked up to the bellman and flashed the rose pink star pendant. He nodded, opening the doors to you.

“Welcome back, Miss (Y/l/n),” he said.

The doors opened to a spatial lobby with marble flooring and pillars and a high ceiling with a crystal chandelier. You made your way over to the elevator where an elevator operator waited, maintaining a neutral expression as you walked in. Once the doors closed, you showed her the pendant.

She nodded, saying, “Welcome back, Miss (Y/l/n).”

She then pulled out a key ring filled with color coded skeleton keys. She took the rose gold colored key and slid a panel open. She turned the key in and pressed the red button next to it. The elevator jerked, taking the three of you to Rozaliya’s penthouse.

Your heart was racing in your chest as the elevator slowly crawled up the building. Was Rozaliya a true ally? Even if she was five years ago, she could have changed during the time you were gone. The note she sent didn’t have much details. You supposed that was on purpose so it could be discussed in person.

According to the note, Rozaliya’s father was no longer in power, so her step-mother took over. From what you’ve managed to remember, her father wasn’t a good leader, let alone a good father. He was good at what he did, but he didn’t like playing by the rules, which wasn’t a trait a High Table member should have.

The elevator opened to a long corridor with floral paintings along the walls. You and Cerberus stepped out and used your muscle memory to lead you down the corridor towards a double door.

You looked down at Cerberus for reassurance. He reached up to lick your hand, making you smile. Right. You had him with you. It was tempting to have John come with since his presence was always comforting for you, but you wanted to talk to Rozaliya one on one. You pulled his suit jacket closer around you, his scent still lingering on it, before you knocked on the double doors.

A tall blonde woman with striking blue eyes opened the doors immediately, a large bright smile on her face once she saw you. Finally seeing her face in the flesh, you weren’t sure what you should be feeling. A part of you wanted to cry since you were practically seeing a dear old friend after five years, but the other part of you wanted to be cautious and see how it plays out.

She launched herself at you, wrapping her arms around you tightly. Cerberus jumped into attention, growling at her. She pulled away and looked down at the pitbull who pushed himself in between you and Rozaliya.

“He’s new,” she said, “Hello, there.” He growled, standing his ground in front of you. “He’s very protective of you, isn’t he?”

“Very,” you said, petting Cerberus’s head to calm him down.

Rozaliya smiled. “I’m glad you could come.” You nodded, not knowing what else to say. “Well, come on in. You’re no stranger. We have a lot to catch up on.”

The familiar tea set sat in front of you on the coffee table as Rozaliya brought over a plate of cookies. Cerberus sat next to you, still in alert, almost watching her move around the apartment.

She finally sat down across from the two of you and smiled, folding her hands on her knee. “I’m glad that you’re okay now,” she said.

“You knew what happened to me?” you asked.

Rozaliya pursed her lips. “I wish I knew sooner. I knew how stubborn you were looking for the people that killed your family all on your own, and I should have just gone and send people to help you anyways. We didn’t expect Ophelia to act so soon. It had really pushed our plans back, but let’s not get to that yet. How are you?”

You sighed, tilting your head in thought. “My memory has been coming back gradually. I’ve been relearning… things. Just getting by,” you said.

She looked at you with a sad smile. “You don’t trust me,” she said, “I don’t blame you. Go on, ask me anything.”

“Why only now have you tried to contact me? Why couldn’t you do during those five years?”

“There was a lot going on during that time that I had to deal with and we knew that you weren’t in immediate danger. We never knew that John Wick was going to kill Ophelia, either.”

“And what did you have to do, exactly?”

Rozaliya sighed, recalling the memory. “There are things that my father had done that I had to fix, and it wasn’t easy. I’m still trying to fix it. Years of corruption had led things astray.”

You nodded slowly, taking in this information. Although it seemed like she was telling the truth, there was no way of telling if she was your ally yet. You would just have to hear her out for now. “Alright. What did you want to discuss?”

“I’m sure Yevgeni brought in the briefcase for you. Those documents are what you’ve collected, detailing the accounts of key figures of the Underworld that had gone against the rules or gone around the rules to get their way. Ophelia wanted that information for herself and tried to send people after them. Just because this is the Underworld, doesn’t mean it’s a lawless world. My mother and I want to fix that.” She leaned back in her chair, shifting around to get comfortable.

Cerberus scooted closer to you on the couch. You adjusted yourself, one leg tucked under you, and allowed Cerberus to lean on you. “And you kept all that information with you when I was gone?”

She nodded. “I knew where you kept them and luckily, Ophelia’s people didn’t get to them first. It had been locked away until you came back. It seemed that you came back just in time, too, which brings me to the current situation. You were looking into the Sokolovs, correct?”

“Yes… yes, I am,” you thought for a moment, then said, “You don’t happen to be involved with them are you?”

She bit her lip, adjusting herself on the chair again. “He, Gavriil Sokolov, came to me first. He wanted to use my resources and influence to either rid or take over the other territories, thinking he struck a fair deal by presenting evidence that my father was murdered for his seat at the Table.”

“And was he?”

“He was, but with good reason. As I mentioned, he wasn’t using his powers wisely, so my mother and I planned to get rid of him and take over so we could put things back in order again. Gavriil thought that I would be vengeful of my father’s death and wanting to take the seat from my mother. I only agreed so I could keep an eye on him and influence the outcomes of his plans. He wants a new order, but not in the way that we see it. If he thinks that he could take over, he wouldn’t be any better. That’s what you and John Wick are planning on doing, isn’t it? Planning a new system?”

“How much do you know about our plans?” you said, your arms wrapping around Cerberus. He must have sensed your uneasiness as he growled lowly at Rozaliya.

She smiled at how loyal he was and shrugged. “Everyone knows about what happened to John Wick up to how he practically declared war on the High Table. It would make sense for him to go and find you to help.”

“And you are on our side?”

“Of course, (Y/n). You’re my friend,” she said with such genuity it made you speechless. “You may not readily remember or even believe me, but know that I am on your side. I’ll let you decide what happens next.��

Rozaliya’s New York-based underground club, Cassieopia, wasn’t much different from Astraea, except that it was bigger and had a large stage for live performances. You held John’s hand as you weaved through the crowd until you reached the bar. John ordered two shots before leaning against the counter next to you.

“This Gavriil Sokolov is going to be here?” John asked into your ear.

“That’s what she said. She invited him over for a business discussion, but, of course, he doesn’t know we’re here,” you said, “She should be here soon as well.”

A drunk man stumbled passed, tripping over someone’s foot, his hand reaching out to the nearest thing to steady himself, which happened to be your chair. He lifted his head, his eyes scanning your body and he grinned.

“Well, hello-” he leered before John cut him off.

“Goodbye,” John snapped, pushing him away and maneuvering his body to shield you from any other clumsy drunkards that try to make a move on you.

“You’re acting like Cerberus right now,” you teased, nudging him.

He took a scan of the place, then looked at you with narrowed eyes. His hand moved to your wrist at your pulse. “It seems to me that you enjoy it,” he said lowly.

“Who doesn’t want a tall, dark, and handsome man protecting them?” you grinned, fluttering your eyelashes. John huffed, shoving the shot glass into your hand and held his up. You clinked glasses and drank at the same time.

Rozaliya cleared her throat, looking between you two with a raised eyebrow. “I know you two aren’t the partying type, so I’m sure you want to get straight to business,” she said, her hand resting on John’s arm.

Your eyes caught this immediately and John could feel your pulse picking up. “Rose, our supposed friendship will be in danger if you keep that up,” you found yourself saying. John looked away to hide a smirk. Your cheeks heated when you realized what you said.

Rozaliya removed her hand with a knowing smile. “Okay, you two, follow me.”

You hopped off the bar stool and grabbed John’s hand again, following Rozaliya through the crowd up the metal staircases to one of the private rooms. John squeezed your hand gently as the two of you entered, revealing the room to have a fish tank and a wallpaper filled with stars and galaxies.

Rozaliya sat on one of the leather couches and gestured over to to the wide fish tank at the front of the room. “There’s a door behind me that leads to a hidden room right behind that tank. It’s a one way glass, so you two can see and hear everything. Cameras are installed around this room, the bar, dancefloor, stage area, and the stairway, which you can monitor on the screens. There’s another exit that leads to the main stairwell of the building,” she said.

You walked over to the wall where Rozaliya pointed at, running your fingers along the wallpaper until you felt an indentation hidden in the Rose galaxy. You fished out the pendant from your pocket, the star slotting in perfectly. You cranked the pendant counterclockwise until you heard a click. John pushed the wall, revealing a dimly lit room, then stepped aside to allow you to enter first. The wall clicked shut behind the both of you, the lock returning back to its position.

You made your way over to the monitors, spotting a man that fit the description of Gavriil Sokolov making his way over to the private room. He was of average built with slicked back blonde hair, donning an all black suit. He had brought two guards with him with Yevgeni leading them over.

“How are you, friend?” Gavriil greeted, opening his arms for a hug.

Rozaliya smiled, giving him a short hug before sitting back down. “Drink?”

“Of course.”

Rozaliya nodded at Yevgeni to call in a waiter before turning to Gavriil. “I’ve been made aware of new developments,” she began.

Gavriil chuckled. “That thing. You are resourceful.”

“That’s why you came to me,” she said.

They both laughed it out. “It was a decision I made after much consideration. Thanks to you, the others that are second in line to be the leading crime lord of their territory came into an agreement with me.”

“Agreement?” Rozaliya cocked an eyebrow, her eyes trying to read every facial tic and microexpression on Gavriil’s face even as the waiter came in with the drink and two glasses before leaving without a word.

Gavriil sighed, leaning forward to pour two glasses. “Details. Things you shouldn’t worry too much about. Not everyone agreed, of course, but enough. Word on the street, this Persephone has been gathering up allies as well. Most of the people that disagreed or hadn’t answered had a previous history with her. Do you know of this person?”

Rozaliya hummed, taking the glass from him. If Gavriil got this much done before she found out, how many other plans had he done without her knowledge, using her name to gain influence?

“I suppose you haven’t heard of Persephone. You’ve only been in the Underworld in the past year while she’s been gone from action for almost five years. I’ve heard many things about her. She’s very skilled, very deadly. Even killed a man twice her size with a stiletto shoe.”

“A stiletto shoe?” he asked in disbelief.

“A stiletto shoe.”

John broke away from the monitor and turned to you with a raised eyebrow. “Impressive, but it’s your style. You do love to slice and stab things,” he whispered.

“Didn’t you kill someone with a fuckin’ pencil?” you whispered back, nudging his arm.

John shrugged. “Once or twice.”

Gavriil took a shot of vodka before setting the glass down. “Can you refresh my memory? Killing innocents are against the rules even in the Underworld, too, right?”

“Yes, of course. Why?”

He sighed, pouring himself another drink. “From one of my sources, they say that she’d killed countless of innocent bystanders as well,” he went on. You stiffen, wondering who exactly was his source that would tell such a thing. “They say that she just gone mad and massacre the other residents in her apartment complex. After that, she went missing.”

You shake your head, backing away from the fish tank in denial, but that night of the break-in of your apartment flashed through your mind. You knew that it was one of the Instructor’s people that you killed, but there was still a missing piece between that time and when you were holding the body of an innocent, their blood staining your hands. You weren’t sure if you had killed them, or you simply assumed that you had because you were holding them. But to say that you had killed everyone in that building? It must be a mistake. If you had, the Adjudicator would have been looking for you from that point on and not even Ophelia or Caius could evade them.

Something’s off. The plan was to have him reveal everything and then get rid of him and restore the territories back to Tarasov. You and Rozaliya were convinced that he told everything to her, given how new he was to this business life he would confide in almost every decision he made. He was, after all, using her money and influence to even achieve his goals.

“John-” You started to say, but he was already ahead of you, making his way over to the other door. “Wait.” You rushed over to him and pressed your lips firmly on his cheek. His eyes widened before pulling you closer and captured your lips roughly, pouring every unspoken word into the kiss.

He finally pulled away, running a thumb along your bottom lip. “See you in a bit,” he said before heading out through the narrow hallway behind the room that led to the stairwell.

You caught your breath and turned back to the fish tank, your nerves spiking up again once he left. You tried to focus on the mission, listening intently to the conversation.

“Back to the subject at hand,” Rozaliya said, reminding him, “I thought we agreed that we would be sharing decisions within our partnership. After all, without me, you wouldn’t be able to obtain even half of the power you gained.”

“This is true,” he admitted, “but with my new allies, I don’t think I need you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Especially when you have gone behind my back as well. I may be new to the Underworld, but I am a fast learner. You want to know what I’m planning? Justice to be dealt with on every member of the Table, every leading crime lord, and every Continental manager.” Gavriil smirked, knocking back a shot before standing. He fixed his suit and looked directly into the fishtank. “I’m sure we’ll run into each other in due time, but I really hope not.”

With that, he left with his guards, pushing passed Yevgeni. Once he was out of the room, Rozaliya told Yevgeni to start evacuating the club before making her way over to the hidden room. She walked straight towards the monitors, her blue eyes honing in on Gavriil’s retreating figure. She swore under her breath, pressing a button to eject a disc from the recorder.

“We need to get out. Now,” she said firmly, opening the other exit.

You followed close behind, hearing the ruckus of people spilling out of the club as the music stopped. Rozaliya took her high heels off and rushed up the rest of the stairs, putting them back on once the two of you had reached the ground level.

Yevgeni was already waiting for you two outside, leading you to safety away from the building. An explosion erupted, shattering the windows of the first floor. You swiveled around, looking for Gavriil and his men. The sound of screeching tires caught your attention and you moved towards the sound to see a car speeding towards the block. Three heavy armored black cars rolled up in time as the car opened fire at the evacuated crowd, shielding everyone. They shouted, ducking for cover while the rest of the security guards tried to calm them down and control the situation.

“He thinks he can mess with the Romanovas?” Rozaliya spat. “I’ll show him.”

Once the car drove off, the crowd began to disperse, guiding by the security guards. John stepped away from the window of a nearby building, turning to see his captives, Gavriil’s two bodyguards along with three other men working under him. They struggled against their ropes, blood and sweat trickling down from their foreheads and obscuring their vision.

John walked up to the three men and crouched down to their eye level. “I wonder what Nastya Romanova would do if she finds that several of her men have betrayed the family,” he said.

“I’d imagine she’d be extremely pissed off,” a female’s voice said in Russian.

John turned to see a woman with graying mousy brown hair stepped out of the shadows. John slightly lowered his head in respect. “Nastya,” he greeted.

Nastya grinned. “It’s good to see you again, John. Now, tell me who is trying to hurt my daughter.”

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#John Wick #john wick x reader #john wick imagines #Persephone #Persephone p9 #Keanu Reeves #keanu reeves imagines

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localocksmithnearme · 5 years ago

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elsbethvanparidon-blog · 8 years ago

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Rome wasn’t built in a day, yet two millennia onwards all roads still lead to the town crazy cat Caligula once called home. The same applies to building a widespread fashion dominion or, in this instance, a mode-minded Middle Kingdom. Xanadu as all that is effortlessly Vogue may appear at first sight, it is when you zoom in that the cracks and fissures are exposed. It is now with a bullseye mark view that a new army sweeps in to move the promotionally connective mountains of social media. A multiple nation army, that is.

A LaWo favorite — Cady Sun, a talented artist, writer and self-professed curious mind. Courtesy of Cady Sun for LaWo App

“Our app initiative forms two important functions, 1) an aggregator of fashion talents organized in a free visual directory and 2) a liaison between everyday people and the fashion community.” Beijing-based Todd Okimoto, co-founder of LaWo

LaWo: Connecting fashion people regardless of “social distance” or “creative walls”. Courtesy of LaWo App

Well-versed in the subjects of WeChat e-commerce and social media campaigning, consumer behaviour plus post-90s creative demeanor, LaWO App and WG Empire are two forerunners when it comes to all that fares and flares on the China Fashion battlefield. Nock, draw, loose!

Take Me With You: LaWo

In a fragmented fashion community with no formal enabling mechanisms in place to help people connect, share, help and support, Beijing-based Todd Okimoto and partner Rui Cheng from Visionaire Styling got to brainstorming and came up with the connective conceptualization that is the LaWo App — “LaWo” or “拉我” at its literal core combines “to pull, to take, to collect”and “me, myself and I”. The platform serves two main purposes, 1) help the fashion community, including China, freely connect to one another via a visual directory and 2) help everyday people improve their style, fashion and purchase decisions by leveraging professional fashion expertise.

Old-school Okimoto has a penchant for simple, pure and authentic platforms that exist in service of its users. Turning this techie idea into a user reality, the LaWo app, for example, does not force content onto users, but places display controls firmly in the hands of the users so that people can view what they like. Clean from commercial endorsement clutter, the app environment focuses solely on user content — rather than advertiser intent.

Dali Ma, one LA-based photographer featured in the LaWo App.

LaWo has made great strides forward in 2017, persistently raising the bar with eager beavers from all four corners of this globe lining up to enlist in its communal ranks — stylists, bloggers, photographers and designers alike. The inspiration to take the app to the next level according to Okimoto is “drawn from the fact that much of what I see today is commercial, even those initially ‘pure’ social platforms that have transformed into oligopolistic behemoths focused on ad monetization schemes.” After all is said and done, enabling your own posts to be shown to your own friends and followers nowadays often requires payment, a lightly ludicrous exploit(ation) when you think about it.

Now, speaking of online spending…

Given that LaWo too finds itself in the space that is cyber, a final matter remains to be contemplated, from shopping to styling… Are brick and mortar dead?

Get your social LaWo on…

EnOr scan the QR code!

A Take On Virtual Reality

China’s online shopping and consumerism patterns, one not-too-odd Todd topic: . “I recently read an article where WeChat and Taobao actually are no longer the e-commerce places to be due to the high financial barriers of getting noticed and low or negative profitability — those deep pocketed, established and/or leading fashion brands exempt. Looking to smaller-sized video platforms as well as micro-KOLs are likely to provide greater returns on investment for smaller brands and boutiques,” Okimoto elaborates. The huge individual spending patterns as reported to the West by Forbes and allies are, after all, created by a lucky few and overall revenues are dictated by population scale. Countries with smaller populations will by law of Nature require higher household-wealth distributions in order to achieve such immense online turnover proportions as China.

A China (Fashion) Consumerism consul, the LaWo co-founder knows the current constitution and as we hang on his every insightful word, one thought incessantly haunts the mind… Seeing how LaWo too finds itself in the space that is cyber, as we go from shopping to styling… Okimoto Oracle, are brick and mortar dead?

Meet Lance, a fashion photographer based in Foshan, Guangdong province, China. Have a look at an impressive portfolio in LAWO App and solicit free advice & collaboration opportunities. Courtesy of LaWo

“Brick and mortar stores are definitely not dead in China — even Alibaba is attempting forays into hard stores to complement its online presence to build a more comprehensive ‘omni-channel’. Chinese people traditionally [and continue to] frequent malls as one of their top leisure activities. New malls are popping up, focused on providing experiential and interactive activities, education services, movies, along with a wide variety of quality food choices. I expect this trend to continue and make its way to lower tier cities providing additional motivation to get out of the house and into real life.”

Amen to that.

“The post-90 Chinese artists and creatives in general are extremely different from the older generation. We are more open to fresh incomings and like to actively learn new things.” Vera Wang, founder of WG Empire

Taking A Liberal Stand: WG Empire

From Beijing, we head on over to New York City, the fashion capital where Chinese fashion blogger and entrepreneur Vera Wang recently launched her own business: WG Empire. The intention? “Bridging gaps between Chinese and American brands, as well as eliminating cultural barriers that continue to prevent foreign market penetration. WG Empire provides its clients with the necessary resources and proper localized marketing strategies to effectively introduce and sell products in the target market.” Thank you, Temper Magazine’s Assistant Editor-In-Chief Jessica Laiter in her exquisite exposé on “Fashionable Modernization”. The concept is so simple, yet the task at hand proves overwhelming — to the point where many companies are trying, but failing.

Coming in from the online consumerism angle, we take a more creative approach with Wang and her views on the growing crop of Chinese designers and artists currently seeking (but not always finding) global exposure. Whereas a number of Chinese designers still focus purely on adding Chinese traditional elements to their body of work, many simultaneously incorporate classic-cut China and follow the beat of internationally trending fashion drums. “One fine example here is that of New York Fashion Week’s China Fashion Collective show this year. It was clear from the catwalk apparitions that a number of the participating creatives had already and altogether rid themselves of China’s cultural ‘control’ and had embraced a more profitable fashion business model in the pursuit of a better, i.e. commercialized, future — for example Istituto Marangoni graduate Chi Zhang,” Wang informs Temper.

This leads us to wonder… Is this new design about global and trendy perspective or is it actually a matter of China’s young and modernized Zeitgeist?

The WG Empire Subjects

The Post-80s And -90s Take Their Place

Being a post-90 Chinese fashion blogger herself, Wang harbors some vast knowledge on the topic of generational gaps. “I think we are extremely different from the older generation,” she starts off, “First, we are more open to fresh things, we’re generally more tolerant and like to actively seek out the new and unusual. The majority of young Chinese (fashionable) people, including myself, have had the experience of studying or working overseas; we’ve encountered a lot of foreign fashion, be it American, European, Japanese or Korean! We try to learn about and catch up with global fashion trends and, at the same time, we have our own opinions and unique insights into fashion and art. We express our emotions more directly: If we like a designer, we’ll speak out in favor of him; if we really don’t like him, we’ll make that known in direct fashion as well. We may not share the ‘humility’ our predecessors possess(ed) and may be a little more on the ‘egocentric’ side, but straightforward and moving forward, we surely are!”

Truth has it that the pre- post-80 and -90 crop — in keeping up with complicating things — often insisted on either the full fusion of Chinese design philosophy or the welcoming into the wardrobe of foreign fashion trends without thinking if it would actually suit them. China’s younger generations try to combine global fashion trends with Chinese traditional elements, as well as infuse a zest if their own Zeitgeist. “China’s teens or 20-somethings can, for example, by no means get away with certain more sexy clothes currently trending among their peers in the West,” Wang explains, “And, as you very well know, the Asian body features differ from the western ones. Consequently, China’s emerging designers will take both our culture as well as our physical features into account when creating their collections and subsequently will adjust their creative ideas and actual fit. Et voilà, a new style is born!”

Taking all the above into account, where does this leave the New Made In China label?

“The New Made In China label represents a new class of creatives with aspirations set not only on changing the fashion landscape in China, but on creating a name for themselves internationally,” Okimoto on the new tag in town

Shanghai Fashion Week’s Labelhood experience, October 2017. Courtesy of LaWo App

The Temper Take

In its final charge, Temper has a thundering three-way Q&A on label-hood, identity crises and attraction. Take it on home, little emperors! [Note: We at Temper use the latter as a term of endearment, free from all 21st Century cultural connotation.]

Temper: The New Made In China label. Opinions?

Okimoto: Introducing a new label in the West requires high investment, oftentimes coming from family member financial support, think angel/seed investors. There was a recent article remarking on the number of Chinese designers who presented at this year’s NYFW, with a main takeaway being how many have been financially supported by their family members much in the same way many Chinese parents fund their children’s expensive overseas education. It seems that participating in fashion shows, often to the tune of $200k USD, to this day remains the key to unlocking doors to a club of exclusive networks and support that just might get one noticed and elevated.

Having said that, I believe that the New Made In China label represents a new class of creatives with aspirations set not only on changing the fashion landscape in China, but on creating a name for themselves in an international setting.

Wang: That New Made In China tag… Let’s put it this way: I believe there will be more and more new Chinese fashion brands popping up in the near future, but most of them will only survive (let alone “thrive”) online. With e-commerce and social media developing so rapidly in China, these have become the most effective tools for branding and selling products, especially for those Chinese fashion brands that experience many difficulties when looking for investors. Unlike their Western counterparts — which come with a rich history and culture, an industrial-scale operational system and often physical stores — Chinese fashion brands are relying heavily on online stores to grow their sales. I’ll admit that e-commerce and social media provide great opportunities for Chinese fashion brands to put themselves out there, however, once they gain more investment and support, they will do better and the New Made In China label can really take off!

“On the one hand, we bring global fashion ideas to China; on the other hand, we lead Chinese fashion and art trend among young people to some extent.” Wang on the post-80 and -90 artistic scenery

LaWo is happy to feature Julia Liang, creator of the blog Heels on the Go, based in Shanghai, China. Courtesy of LaWo App

Temper: What, in your book, is the spirit of China Fashion in the 2010s?

Okimoto: When I hear the word fashion, I think in terms of the latest trends and crazes, a barometer of sorts for design. As for design, I consider it to be the creative and formative process to develop something new. Thus, the spirit of fashion and design, in my mind, those effervescent qualities that embody both fashion and design, has all to do with the creative sparks, explorations, and trials that coalesce into the production of something new, something that has the unique ability to connect and affect people.

China Fashion in the 2010s in my mind continues to strengthen its creative spirit however still struggles to gain acceptance and fair billing on a worldwide stage. In order to gain public acceptance of new China fashion trends in the international realm will require, for one, the breaking down of long-standing negative cultural bias.

Wang: I think the personalities and philosophies of China’s 20-somethings wield a great influence on China’s newly emerging designer products; they pour their ideas into the product design. On the one hand, they bring global fashion ideas to China and spread the word; on the other hand, they (to some extent) set the trends in China’s fashion and art scenes. On the bigger scale, we, from blogger to designer, all aim to increase Chinese product quality and competitive advantage by creating products that are more stylish and suitable for Chinese people — and more attractive in the eye of the foreign beholder, as well.

Take the ‘classic’ example of famous fashion designer Lan Yu, a post-80. She combines traditional Suzhou embroidery with more Western structural designs, using her fashion formations as a tool to introduce Oriental culture to the world. Her clothing is not only welcomed with open arms in China, but is also widely appreciated by the fashion world at large. So you can definitely see how nowadays we are trying to deliver a message to world stating that we no longer copy the ideas of others, but we have our own voice! That which you purchase is no longer a cheap Made In China product, but has evolved into a unique design crafted by the hands of talented Chinese designers. The New Made In China.”

Several years ago, a number of Chinese KOLs put forward the notion that China-made products shouldn’t just focus on lowering prices, but on innovation and branding as the imperatives at hand. This is one command all creatives must follow, unquestioningly so. As they say… It takes a village to raise a designer and if you want peace, prepare for war. As long as we push forward and don’t pull back:

Fashion Invicta.

Follow LaWo on Facebook: @lawoapp and Instagram: @lawoapp

Follow WG Empire on Facebook: @WGEmpire and Instagram: @wgempire_

All images come courtesy of LaWo App and WG Empire

Featured Image: Courtesy of Makeup Artist Cindy Dee as featured on LaWo

It takes a village to raise a newborn brand. Check out LaWo and WG Empire's parenting skills! Rome wasn’t built in a day, yet two millennia onwards all roads still lead to the town crazy cat Caligula once called home.

#beijing #china #design #fashion #featured #magazine #new york #social media #technology

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