The Rebirth of a Scorned Heiress

As Lily entered the studio, her eyes were immediately drawn to the rows of cameras lining the room, trained on every corner and angle to capture the whole process of the segment.

Sitting at the high table of the inner room were four well-known, world-class, designers who would be serving as judges for the segment.

She, like the rest of the representative designers, was led to the corner of the room, where they would wait until it was their turn to present their designs.

Lily sat quietly, silently gauging her opponent by listening to the judge’s comments. The representatives were called up one after the other, and they were all asked the same set of questions before being sent back to their seats to await their results.

Soon it was Lily’s turn to step up. As she stood in front of the judges, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and smiled politely. “Good morning,” she greeted.

“Oh, hello, what is your name, and what group are you representing?” Beatrice, a female judge, asked.

“My name is Lily, and I’m representing Lam Fashion, Group Four” she introduced, and the judge noted her information before proceeding to the next questions.

“Your hint was?” Fred, another judge asked.

“Flowers, fruits, lemonade, and lots of fun,” Lily replied calmly, despite the penetrating faze she was getting from all four judges.

“Cool, and how did these words speak to you? When you think about that hint, what comes to mind?” Beatrice asked.

“Summer. Some kind of summer party was what came to mind when I saw the hint,” Lily explained.

“And what summer party would that be?” The judge proved it further.

“It’s a garden party, with the flowers as the base,” Lily answered with a smile while holding her booklet tighter to hide her rare nervousness.

“If it wasn’t a garden party, what else could the hint represent? Does anything else come to mind with that hint?” The fourth judge asked Lily to pursue her lips, trying to think about it.

“That would be summer festivals if beer was added to the hint” she replied, and the judges gave a nod.

“Among these two, which one of them did you prepare your design for?” Fred asked.

“I made a design for the garden party; however, the designs could be tweaked in a way to fit the summer festivals,” she replied.

“Oh? Is that so? I would love to see your design then.” The third judge urged, and Lily nodded as she brought out her pad and then connected it to a large screen.

“This is for the male model. We went for a semi-formal look, with a floral shirt, suspenders, and khakis. If we are tweaking it to fit a summer festival occasion, all we have to do is remove the suspender and replace it with a tank top or nothing. The long khakis will be cut short, and then a pair of sunglasses,” Lily explained while immediately creating another design, a more casual design from the existing design.

Fred gave an approving nod and smiled before noting something down. “That’s a good concept; I can see myself wearing both attires on both occasions. It’s good. Your male pass,” he announced, and Lily grinned happily while waiting for the other judges to speak.

“I’m impressed by your thoughtfulness and quick thinking. I don’t know if you’ve had the thought in your head previously, but judging from how you had to think that the hint could also be related to summer festivals, I’m guessing you didn’t know that previously and you just had to think of a way the design could work. You are amazing; your design passed,” Beatrice announced.

“Thank you,” Lily bowed.

“I have nothing more to say. They both said it all, I’m looking forward to your next designs, and I hope I won’t be too disappointed. However, for a start, you did great” the third judge announced and Lily bowed in appreciation.

“It’s a pass; let’s see the female design.” As she got the go-ahead from the last judge, Lily flipped to the next page to show a beautiful dress sketch.

“This design was created to look casual but classy and in case it would be used in a festival, instead of it being classy we can change a few things on its body to make it playful. A v-shaped neckline, a loose waistline and a long strap purse will give the perfect casual look” Lily explained.

The judges approved of her designs but only one of the two designs could be chosen. They deliberated among themselves on which design to choose.

“Go back to your set; we will get back to you,” Fred assured them and sent Lily back. Upon getting back to her seat, Lily let out a sigh of relief and relaxed her tense muscles.

She had been a little nervous while standing before the judges, thinking about how her performance would affect the whole team. She subconsciously wanted to give it her all so they could win.

“How did it go? Are the questions asked difficult?” a representative designer from team three asked while trying to strike up a conversation with Lily.

“It went well. I’m not sure what the result is at the moment, but the designs were approved,” Lily replied.

“Mine was approved too, but I was told to make some corrections on it. I’m Vivian, by the way, and you are Lily from Team 4, right?” The lady was introduced with a polite smile.

“Yes, I am. It’s nice to meet you, Vivian,” Lily smiled.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Nice to meet you too! Your team doesn’t hang around other teams, and others are beginning to think you guys are snobby and all because most of your teammates are famous,” Vivian voiced.

“Really? Was there a gathering organised that we didn’t go to? We’ve only met the other teams during shooting days like this, so I’m not sure if there are places for get-togethers” Lily replied with a frown, and Vivian chuckled.

“We mostly hang around after each segment; you guys were gone immediately after the last time. Team one is organising a get-together today; would you like to join?” Vivian asked.

Before Lily could decline, the judges came out into the open space to announce the results.

“Alright! We have come to the most important part of today’s segment. As you all know, this segment determines what will happen for the rest of this week’s stage, and I’m sure you’ve all been anticipating our thoughts and decisions,” Fred spoke up.

“Now here it comes. You all were given the same hint, and from the hint, you are to choose an attire for that event. Many of you did right, but some of you got the hint and interpretation wrong,” he continued.

“About three of you thought that the hint was the design pattern. I mean, with whatever concept you choose, it could be the design pattern, but the hint was for you to create an attire for the party.”

“In that light,” Beatrice took over. “Team Five, Team Two, and Team Seven. Your designs for the round have been declined, and your groups won’t be participating in the first stage. Your point at this stage is zero. Your designs are nice, but they don’t fit the concept of the party,” she announced, and the three teams groaned; their faces fell as they were escorted out of the studio.

“Team One, your design is incredible; you match your patterns well with the other designs, and your design speaks class; you have seven points,” the third judge announced.

“As for what you did wrong, you forgot lots of fun parts of the hint. Your designs go well with the garden party you chose; however, they look too formal, and a little tweak here and there will bring out the look you were aiming for. With that said, I’m glad to tell you, you have passed this segment, and your team can proceed to the next,” she announced, and Team One’s designer cheered with a bright smile.

“Team Three, gorgeous design, amazing concept, but your colour matching is out of it; you will have to go over the colour combos again and find colours that go well with one another. You have six points.”

“Team Four, you are currently my favourite,” Fred voiced with a smile. “Your design is simple, classy, well thought out, and overall, good-looking. You made use of every part of the hint given to you. Your attention to details is beautiful, and your quick thinking-I love it. For this round, we’ve all decided to give you a perfect score; you have ten points… Keep it up!” He announced, and Lily bowed.

“Thank you”

“As for which of your designs to use, go with your original semi-formal design, although I would still love to see the casual one on the runway, ” Beatrice added.

The other designers looked in her direction and felt a pang of jealousy. Being a judge’s favourite right from the get-go, not just any judge, but the famous Fred, hailed as the King of contemporary designs, had taken a liking to her. Vivian pulled at Lily’s dress gently and smiled at her.

“Wow! You caught the judge’s attention; how did you do it?” She whispered, trying not to draw too much attention to herself.

Lily shrugged. “I didn’t do it on my own; it’s teamwork.”

“And Team Six. I love your concept, I love your design, I love your composure, as well as your attention to detail, your unique combinations, and the bold statement your design is making. However, I feel something is missing; the design is not resonating well enough. You’ve tried, and you’ve done beautifully well, but I think it could be better if you put more effort in, more feelings maybe? For us designers, our designs are like our babes and when care isn’t given it will reflect. You have nine points,” the fourth judge announced, and the male designer from Team Six smiled.

He looked at Lily with meaningful eyes as his smile dimmed.

{You just got yourself a competitor!}