"How were our first-week sales for the Mitsumine collection?"
"Average... we just barely maintained last season's sales figures."
"Mhm, I figured as much."
Inside the [KaZoKu] studio, after listening to the sales report, Kokoro nodded slightly.
"It'll probably be like this for the next year or so..."
"In the low-to-mid-end market, [NozAK!]'s promotional offensive is just too strong."
The employee in charge of sales said.
"In just one short month, they've signed a large number of popular celebrities for promotion. For the younger demographic, brand recognition and fame are clearly more important than the quality of the clothes themselves."
"Mhm, that's not hard to understand... And to be fair, the quality of their clothing isn't that bad for a layman."
Even though their former lead designer was gone and their management had been completely replaced, as an established manufacturer, the designers who hadn't left, along with those poached from other brands, were enough to uphold the overall quality.
And more importantly—
"The target of their plagiarism... isn't just Tetsuya-kun."
According to her subsequent in-depth investigation of that summer special, nearly a third of all the main fashion items their brand released that season had clear creative conflicts with other smaller brands from the same period. However, because they usually made a series of adaptations during the "transplantation" process, no one could define their actions as plagiarism.
Not only that, with their control over vast media resources, they had the power to suppress any challenges from those without sufficient momentum or influence. To outsiders who knew nothing about the clothing industry, they might even mistakenly believe that [NozAK!] was the one being plagiarized.
"How is the outfit they plagiarized from Tetsuya-kun selling?"
"It's a massive bestseller. Barring any surprises, it should be the season's top-selling piece of everyday wear."
"...Even with all those weird things added to it?"
"Low cost, high comfort, for all ages and genders, and it fits the current fashion themes... Even if someone added a tiny flaw, it's not enough to cover its potential."
The sales employee looked towards the corner workstation and couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Tetsuya-kun is really amazing. To be honest, I think his designs are even more suited to the mass market than yours, Chief... As a former fashion model, your perspective is still a little too high-end."
"I can't tell if you're praising me or insulting me."
Kokoro first shot her an exasperated look, then followed her gaze towards Tetsuya's workstation.
"But you're right. That kid has a special background, so he always notices details in his designs that most people would miss. Can you imagine? A nineteen-year-old kid, already thinking about how to save costs and improve production efficiency while he's still drawing the design sketches... That's something art school graduates usually don't learn until many years later."
"That's why when everyone heard you were planning to have him start his own brand, no one objected."
The employee shrugged.
"After all, everyone knows that Tetsuya-kun definitely has the skill. If it's him, he really has a chance to challenge [NozAK!]'s position in the low-to-mid-end market with his raw talent—"
"Just the low-to-mid-end market? You're underestimating him."
Kokoro shook her head with a smile.
"I used to think he would always focus on RealClothes (everyday wear), but that high-fashion performance costume he made for Hoshino Ai has already proven that his upper limit is by no means low. The reason I want him to start his own brand isn't just to let him break through [NozAK!]'s blockade, but to give him the chance to go to a bigger stage."
"...You mean, high fashion?"
The employee looked slightly surprised.
"That's... setting aside the fact that Tetsuya-kun's designs haven't yet shown a sufficient Mode (fashion concept), he has no background and no connections. It would be very difficult for him to break into that circle, wouldn't it?"
"Who knows..."
Kokoro said, picking up the spool of luminous fiber that he had packed into a fabric box as a spare.
"In any case, I feel that performance costume has already given Tetsuya-kun what he needs."
Ambition.
Whether it was the performance costume created exclusively for Hoshino Ai, made with multiple fabrics and various sewing techniques, or the band costumes he later made for those young band members, which featured reflective road markings as a highlight, it was clear his design philosophy was no longer limited to his initial "everyday" focus, but was gradually moving towards lights and the stage.
And the outfit he was about to make for Misumi Uika was also full of new, trendy concepts rich with personal style and creativity.
This luminous fiber was one of the best examples.
When the kid first arrived at [KaZoKu], his knowledge of various fabrics was limited to textbooks and the common materials used in everyday clothing.
But now, he had begun to turn his attention to these brand-new materials that had just entered the market, and he was quick to apply them to his own work.
To have reached this point was no longer something that could be simply described by words like "striving for perfection."
Ambition.
In this series of performance costumes, Kokoro saw a very clear, strong self-assertion.
If Tetsuya could continue to create in this state, then as long as he could get an opportunity to be noticed by the high-fashion world, stepping into that circle was by no means an unattainable fantasy.
"Of course, the premise is that he has to pass the first test."
Kokoro sighed.
"For [NozAK!], May is also an extremely important promotional window. Well then, I wish you luck, Tetsuya-kun."
...
"It's done!"
At home, after finishing the sample of the cut-out outer layer, Tetsuya let out a long breath.
"Now to check the effect... I left all the luminous fiber cloth at the studio. I'll just use a light to substitute for now."
In any case, it would be exposed to extremely bright lights on the day of the performance, so testing it with a light beforehand was an essential part of the process.
Thus, driven by curiosity, Tetsuya aimed the outer garment at the light above his head.
The next second, when he saw the effect the costume produced, he was left completely dumbfounded.