hollywood billionaire

Chapter 265 The Story Writer
"When was that?"

"2010."

No need to think about it, this is a moment in time that Barbara Pavin will never forget.

"After staying in Japan for a few years, I gradually began to attract attention from Europe and the United States. First from my hometown, I shot two interior pages of Elle Hungary in 2008, and then in 2009 for New Yorker, One Spo, John Bull's commercial...ah, yes, shooting the New Yorker commercial was also my first time in the United States and my first time in New York."

"How did it feel?"

"It's cold! I went there in February, and it was much colder than Budapest. Did you know that the day I arrived in New York, it happened to snow - the only time it snowed in the whole month!"

"Good luck."

"Isn't that right? I even wore a coat specially to go there, but I was so cold that I couldn't speak."

"A coat alone is of no use, especially when it snows and it's cold and damp. Snow boots, a plush hat, and gloves are all needed to withstand the weather."

"How did I know this at that time? Although it was cold, I felt good about myself. I felt that I was young and could withstand the cold, so there wouldn't be any big problems. After the filming, I walked around the streets and visited Central Park and Times Square. I wanted to have a one-time trip. I visited all the tourist attractions in New York because I don’t know how long it will take before I can come back.”

"As a result... when I returned, I had a fever as soon as I got on the plane. I had the worst cold and stayed at home for almost half a month."

"I can feel the same." Han Yi responded with sympathetic eyes, "I had a similar illness in college, and I missed the final exam... The first impression was so bad, and later I had to move to New York for work. When I came to stay, I must have been very reluctant."

"The first impression...can't be considered bad, in fact it's quite good." Barbara thought for a while, "The shooting was successful and I had a lot of fun...and it was because of this trip to New York that IMG came to I extended an invitation to sign.”

"Oh, is it?"

"For the New Yorker shoot, all the other models except me were from IMG. They went with their agent, so they noticed me on set."

"It's a good move. Whether in Europe or the United States, IMG's fashion resources should be much more than the Icon Model Management you signed with before."

"That's true, but I actually didn't leave Icon. The contract I signed with IMG was a global sub-contract except for the local market of Hungary. Icon is still my parent company."

"Can you still do this?"

"This is the case in the modeling industry. Generally, a parent company will be signed in the home country, and then the parent company will distribute the contracts in each region."

"As for the two companies...how will they be divided?"

"The overall share is 20%. Generally speaking, the parent company will split the money half and half with the subcontracting brokerage company. But sometimes, for example, when the subcontracting company has very rich and powerful resources, the parent company may also give 20%. On top of that, 10% will be added as their share.”

"Is this the case with you?"

"Not anymore. Now IMG gets 10%, Icon gets 5%... In order for me to renew my contract, they are willing to give up anything." Barbara smiled freely, "But in the beginning, yes, after signing IMG , together they can share 30% of my income.”

“It’s a little too much for a pure agency.”

"I didn't think about this at the time. I just wanted to sign a contract with IMG. After all, they are one of the largest entertainment agencies in the world. Just having this opportunity is enough to make me ecstatic, even if I give them half of it. , I even took 30% myself. At that time, I... no, even now, I would definitely agree in that case. Because signing with IMG means that I truly have a world-class agency. , can help me step onto the most popular core stage in the fashion industry.”

"fashion Week?"

"Yeah." Barbara responded heavily, "February 2010, Milan Fashion Week, Prada. My first T stage show."

"The first show is Prada, amazing."

"It's nothing spectacular. They have more than 100 looks to show this season, and models are in high demand."

"But at least it shows that you are in line with the aesthetics of first-tier brands."

"I don't know, maybe... you won't search again, right?" Looking at Han Yi who suddenly stiffened on the screen, Barbara laughed dumbly.

"This look of yours..."Girl with a Pearl Earring"?"

"Yes, they designed it based on that."

"It looks great, better than the one in the painting." Han Yi switched the screen back, "No wonder Prada took a look at it. After this, the number of invitations to fashion shows should have started to skyrocket, right?"

"The autumn and winter of that year were okay. Milan left this one, London left...Damir Doma, Paris, I remember four games, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Nina Ricci and Giles Deacon. Oh, no, six games , and Cacharel and Loewe.”

Barbara Pavin drawled, recalling her debut performance in the four major fashion weeks in her first year.

"There are more in spring and summer, four or five times more than half a year ago. I didn't go to Milan this time, but I have more trips to New York. Milly, Jeremy Scott, Karen Walker... London has Jaeger, Christopher Kane, and Topshop. As for Paris, That season in Paris was the highlight of my fashion week career. Chanel’s ready-to-wear, Chanel’s haute couture, Vivienne Westwood’s gold label series, Loewe, Zuhai Murat, Alexander Forti, etc. During fashion week, I can be seen in all the hottest shows.”

"I still remember Chanel's ready-to-wear show at the Grand Palais in Paris. The venue was incredibly large, with a real stage and live music. It was so beautiful."

"Looking back now, my busiest fashion week schedule was the spring and summer of that year. Since then, I have never been so busy that I couldn't even close my eyes."

"Why?" Han Yi was a little surprised, "Shouldn't there be more and more?"

"Because the money for catwalk shows is small, idiot. The pay is low, the time is long, there are many things to do, and it is very tiring." Barbara patiently explained the secrets of the fashion industry to Han Yi, "A catwalk show for a big brand is usually US$1000, but there are In order to get a chance to show their faces, there are even newcomers who are willing to leave for free."

"Is that the Prada scene?"

"That's not the case. After all, I can be considered an old man who has been in the industry for three years. Although I haven't been to the fashion week, I won't get any money." Barbara Pavin shook her head, "But the first show is inevitable. There was a discount...$500. After it was over, they gave me a bunch of samples, haha."

"Less than I... imagined." Han Yi's reaction was quite honest, "I thought it would be at least three to four thousand US dollars per game."

"If there are really that many, the number of girls in the world who are models is estimated to be ten times more." Barbara pursed her lips helplessly, "$1000 is already very high. Some independent brands have a budget of only 200 for each model. dollars, not a penny more.”

"Are famous models like this too?" Han Yi frowned slightly, "Kate Moss can only take so much? No way."

"Of course Kate Moss would not. A well-known model can charge US$2500 to US$3000. It is normal for a so-called super model to charge US$20000 for a show. As for Kate, she is the leader who defines an era. , I’m not sure how much she can get, but she’s definitely not an ordinary model like us…”

"Wait, ordinary model." Han Yi stopped Barbara from being too exaggerated in self-effacing. "Your current price for a fashion week show... You don't need to tell me the specific number, just tell me whether it has reached Five digits?”

"I...hehe." Barbara curled up her neck, rolled her eyes, and showed a delicate smile, but did not answer Han Yi's question directly.Of course, she didn't need to answer directly, this look could explain everything.

L'Oréal has been a global spokesperson for four consecutive years since 2012. Is it even necessary to say whether you can earn five figures for a catwalk show?

"I understand, ordinary model." Han Yi winked and joked.

"The price the agency gave me is so high, but it doesn't mean that the brand has to accept it." Barbara defended herself seriously, "The frequency of models' catwalks plummets as prices increase. For example, Laura Tong..." "Who?"

"The number one world-class supermodel when I debuted. When she first became popular, she participated in fashion shows much more frequently than me. She could attend more than 60 shows in one Paris Fashion Week."

"More than 60 games?!"

"Yes, every brand in 2007 wanted to invite her. If you don't let her appear in your show, it means that your brand will only produce the kind of outdated and outdated products. It was so exaggerated at that time. Barbara raised her index finger, "But guess, how much money can she earn during one Paris Fashion Week?"

"Guess what?"

"what ever."

"one million?"

"30, less than."

"That is to say, the average show is less than five thousand US dollars." Han Yi calculated in his mind for a few seconds, "The number one world-class supermodel, this is what she earns?"

"She didn't rank first in 2007...but don't you think $30 is a small amount? She is simply a myth in our fashion circle. When models talk about her, there is no third emotion except envy and jealousy." Barbara's eyes widened, and her voice couldn't help but raise a bit, "The average model can earn four to five thousand US dollars during a fashion week if she is lucky. Earning four to five thousand US dollars a week sounds like a lot, right? But one day There are 52 weeks in total in the year, and the four major fashion weeks combined only last eight weeks, and very few models can visit all four cities."

“What about other fashion weeks?”

"The price is lower. You can't compete with those local girls. What they are willing to do for $100, you have to buy a plane ticket and fly there... It's impossible." Barbara sighed softly, "For most people, you have to buy a ticket and fly there..." For most girls, fashion modeling is not a career that can support people at all. 90% of them refuse to work anymore after one or two fashion weeks after signing an agency contract.”

"Considering the hardships you endure to maintain your figure, this salary...especially considering its instability, is really not worth it." Han Yi agreed.

"In the final analysis, it's because the profession of modeling... is very selective, but not selective." Barbara smiled self-deprecatingly, "You have to be good-looking and tall, and it sounds like you can defeat a lot of people. A large number of people, but the number of people in this world who meet both requirements at the same time is at least a hundred and a thousand times greater than the demand of the fashion industry.”

"So...how can a model make herself stand out?" Han Yi asked sincerely. He had always been interested in an industry that he was not familiar with and belonged to the same large entertainment sector.After all, every segment has the potential to become his next investment target, "For example, you, how did you achieve your current popularity?"

"It still needs to be tied to a brand." Barbara thought carefully for a moment before slowly replying, "Going on catwalks, shooting interior pages, catalogs, and magazine covers are actually a kind of foreshadowing and a kind of attraction. The method of brand vision. Only when the brand is willing to sign a contract with you and let you become their exclusive spokesperson, can your income level, industry status and bargaining power see a qualitative leap. Laura... is with Calvin- It was only after Klein signed an exclusive endorsement contract that her annual income truly exceeded the million level. Also starting from that year, the number of her catwalk shows dropped sharply. In Milan, Paris and London combined, she only walked for seven or eight brands. , New York... There is no doubt that there is only one CK family."

"When did you start to see a sharp decrease in the number of catwalk shows?"

"In 2012," Barbara blurted out, "I walked five games that year, and then I took a two-year break."

"You haven't gone through a single event in two years?"

"uh-huh."

"Ah, yes, no wonder..." Han Yi patted his head and connected this year with a big show, "Victoria's Secret, you made your debut in 2012."

“That was really the first year.”

"Angels are indeed a privileged group of people."

"Well... it can be said that the money they gave is really... a lot. Victoria's Secret may be the big brand with the most generous prices. If the price hadn't been raised high enough, there wouldn't be so many supermodels willing to wear it. Underwear for their catwalk. That year, Victoria's Secret wanted to promote their innovative spirit of 'body positivity', so they cast me on the catwalk. Not only that, after the fashion show, they signed me up for a two-year shoot. According to the contract, except that I am not officially declared an angel, I basically enjoy the same treatment as Candice and Lily. I... I won’t go into details, but I earn a lot anyway.”

"But...this is not the fundamental reason why I completely disappeared from the fashion week stage."

"What's the root cause?"

“L’Oréal’s global endorsement deal.”

"what."

"Not only the price this brand offered me, but also the halo they gave me... It can be said that without L'Oreal, Victoria's Secret would not have chosen me. There are so many 'size inclusive' plus-size models , I’m not the most eye-catching one.”

"No matter how many times I hear it, I can't get used to you being called a 'plus-size model' or a 'size-inclusive' person."

"Well, this is the reality of the fashion industry. Accept it with me, sir." Barbara shrugged indifferently. "At this stage, I no longer care. Because I know very well that in just a few years, I What I have in one year is several times more than what many people can ask for in a lifetime... dozens of times. I am not the oppressed majority in this industry, on the contrary, I am the luckiest handful... "

"Hey Yi."

Speaking of this, Barbara suddenly called Han Yi.

"What's wrong, Barbie?"

"Where have you been now?"

"I'm not sure... help me take a look." Han Yi turned on the rear camera again and pointed at what he thought was the most distinctive landscape - the six rows of blue and white stripes on his left. There are parasols that seem to block out the sky and the sun, as well as various kinds of adults and adults with seriously out-of-shape figures lying on deck chairs under the umbrellas, soundly asleep.

"Ah, Ruhl Plage." Barbara Pavin instantly recognized one of the most famous landmarks on Nice's pebble beach. "You walk so fast."

"We chatted for a long time." Han Yi glanced back. Unknowingly, he had passed the "I Love Nice" photo check-in point, and even walked down the embankment, walking on the cobblestones along the crowded Promenade des Anglais. I walked along the beach for a long time.

"Then you should be... only three or four streets away from the Negresco that changed my life... Look to the right, isn't it very close?"

"Indeed." Han Yi glanced at the buildings on the right. The white exterior walls of the Negresco Hotel, the brown-red and green dome, the gilded "LE NEGRESCO" signboard shining in the dazzling sunlight, and the building The French flag flying high has transformed from a small dot that could only be distinguished by looking far away to the most eye-catching palace on the Côte d'Azur.

"What do you mean when you say it changes your life?"

“My relationship with L’Oréal started from here.”

"What, have you met L'Oreal in person?" Han Yi joked casually.

"Yes." Barbara's extremely simple reply was obviously beyond Han Yi's expectation.

"I met her in person...a person just like you."

"Someone like me?"

"Well...a person who writes stories."

“She writes not just her own story, but other people’s stories.”

(End of this chapter)