hollywood billionaire

Chapter 266 17-year-old Barbara

"That was six years ago, about the same time now."

“I just finished my first spring/summer season.”

"Paris, Barcelona, ​​New York, London, a total of 23 shows. Not the best, but absolutely dazzling."

"Coupled with the interior pages, catalogues, covers and TV commercials I took, by the end of Paris Fashion Week, I had more than [-] euros in my bank account...and another [-] or [-] euros. Not received."

"And I'm only 17 years old... I know that the money I make at this age is far less than that of Justin Bieber of the same age, but how many people can match him? At least in the modeling industry... Well , and in Hungary, I was simply a miracle. At that time, let alone the peers I knew, although my dad was doing business in Budapest, the money he earned all year round was not more than half of what I did. "

Hearing this, Han Yi nodded silently to express his understanding.Hungary's per capita GDP in 2010 was US$13217.5, which is better than its Eastern European neighbors, but compared with its neighbors to the west, it can only be described as cash-strapped.Leaving aside truly developed countries like Austria and Germany, even compared with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia, there is still a relatively obvious gap.Slovenia has the highest per capita GDP in Central Europe. Its per capita GDP in 2010 was US$23532.48, which was more than [-] US dollars higher than Hungary.

More importantly, per capita GDP does not truly reflect the living standards of the Hungarian people. In 2010, according to statistics from the Hungarian Ministry of National Economy, the average monthly salary of full-time employees in the national economy was HUF 21.9. Excluding tax benefits for families with children, the net salary was HUF 14.16.

What concept?

21.9 forints, approximately equal to 766.5 euros.

14.16 forints, approximately equal to 495.6 euros.

In 2010, the rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Budapest was 12.85 forints or 450 euros.

When Barbara was 17, her income was indeed a level that most Hungarians would never reach in their lifetime.

This is Barbara Pavin's personal luck, and it is also the tragedy of the entire country of Hungary.

This is also the fundamental reason why Central and Eastern Europe has become the main source of supply for fashion models, and why Barbara’s parents agreed that she signed a contract with a talent scout at the age of 13 and went to a foreign country.

Only by leaving can one escape from the quagmire.

As long as there is another way out, which family is willing to let their precious daughter go out alone at such a young age?
"They must be very proud."

"Don't talk about them, I'm quite proud of myself." Barbara smiled brightly and energetically, "It's hard to explain to you my mental state at that time. After four years of becoming a model, I finally started to get a glimpse of this industry. The wonderful thing about it - signed a contract with IMG at the beginning of the year, and achieved a grand slam in the four major fashion weeks at the end of the year. In September and November, I appeared on the cover of Elle Hungary twice. My dad never watches it. Fashion magazines, and even people who sneer at the concept of fashion, bought hundreds of copies of Elle and gave them away to people everywhere, and now there are still a dozen collections at home that cannot be given away.”

"Your classmates in Hungary must be particularly surprised, right?"

"Well, at that time, the Hungarian version of Facebook had just been launched, and all the young people were there. Every time I opened the homepage, I could see hundreds of friend requests, from people I knew and people I didn't know. , most of them are from my school... Parsingye Merse High School.”

"Pal...what?"

"It doesn't matter, you just know that I am the legend of our high school class." Barbara tapped her nose with her fingertips, "The whole year of 2010, and the rest...until graduation, I basically When I'm not in school, I go back just for exams or to sign some certification documents. But every time I go back, it causes a commotion. The girls in the lower grades... will come to me with magazine covers with my photos on them, or Victoria's Secret catalogs. I sign."

“You were already shooting for Victoria’s Secret at that time?”

“Victoria’s Secret’s PINK series started in 2010,” Barbara recalled. “At that time, there was no Victoria’s Secret store in the whole of Hungary. I remember that it was only last year that one was opened at the airport. For girls living in Hungary in 2010, Victoria's Secret was still an elusive American luxury product, a rare item that could only be purchased in Germany. Moreover, whether it was perfume or underwear, it easily cost tens of euros. , ordinary people simply cannot afford it.”

"If anyone can bring a VS pink shopping bag to school, they will become a hot topic, let alone shoot a catalog for this brand."

"There must be many boys in school who covet you."

"What do you think?" Barbara stroked her cheek, blinked, and threw the question back.There was really no need for her to be modest in this regard.

"Silly question." Han Yi smiled and nodded, "I guess I regret now why I didn't work harder to catch you."

"So what if I catch them at that time?" Barbara curled her lips, "Can I carry them in my pocket like Pokémon, bring them to New York, and keep them all the time?"

"I don't think they expect to be with you forever." Han Yi thought for a moment and responded, "But even if it's just a short period of time, it's something they can show off for a lifetime."

"Believe me, I know." Barbara grinned one corner of her mouth and showed Han Yi her slight dimple. "Not only men in Budapest think so, but so do men in Paris."

"Paris?" Han Yi was stunned when he heard this, and then frowned, "But at that time... weren't you only 17 years old?" The boys in Budapest High School, and the adult men Barbara met inside and outside Paris Fashion Week , are not the same concept.

"When you are cast into the halo of a model, age becomes an irrelevant indicator... In their eyes, everyone is prey, and I am the freshest, weakest, and most confused."

Having said this, Barbara raised her mug, took a big sip, and was silent for a moment before continuing.

"But I was too young at that time and couldn't see the essence of things clearly. I really thought that their pursuit of me was due to my personal charm and a symbol of my career success."

"Isn't it your personal charm?" Han Yi was a little confused about Barbara's statement. "The aura of a model is certainly attractive, but if you are hateful, I can't think of any reason for them to approach you."

"Of course they approach me because of my appearance...I'm talking about the way they treat me." Barbara spread her hands and continued, "Think about it, if my identity was different, if I was...a high school student What will they do to me, a Central European girl who dropped out of school and came to Paris to work?"

"They'll walk into the restaurant or bakery where I work and think, hey, that girl is pretty cool, how much should I tip on the bill to get her phone number? Is she a French person? A foreign girl? Maybe you don’t have to spend any money, just say a few words in French to her and it’ll be over, right?”

"What about in the real world?" Han Yi asked.

"In the real world, they would say, please, Miss Parvin, give me a chance to have dinner with you! You can choose whatever you want on Avenue Montaigne!" At this point, Barbara - Pavin himself couldn't help but laugh out loud, "I'm just kidding, but all the men who want to get close to me will try... to show me the most extravagant and upper-class things they have in front of me."

"why?"

"Maybe it's called a 'high fashion model' because of my job. I don't know." Barbara shrugged. "They would send flowers from Rene Vera to the model's apartment and tell me that they accidentally got two Tickets for "La Traviata" at the Jacquemart-André Museum, or... Their friends at the Morris Hotel specially reserved an empty table for them. If this table is booked normally, it will take a month... That’s pretty much it.”

"Geez." Han Yi snorted, "Don't they think it's cliché?"

"The reason why a method becomes cliché is because it is very effective. Think about it, you come from an ordinary family in a remote small country, stumbled into the city of lights in the center of the world, and saw many things that could only be seen in movies. Things you see on the Internet. They are just a fingertip away from you, but you can’t have them - because you have no money, and most models, most of the time, are almost penniless.”

"You want to have these things and you are going crazy. It's okay if you haven't seen them before, but after you see them, you can't get them out of your mind. You will think, I am so good-looking, so good to see A talent scout is willing to sign me and take me to another country to make a living, so why can’t I have that?”

"You told me that I need to wait - wait for what? A model's career is extremely short. If you can't make it, you will have to go back home in two or three years at most and live an ordinary life again. I don't have time to wait, I will do it now Yes. Because if you don’t want it now, you will never want it again in this life.”

"Wait, Yi, I know what you want to say." Seeing Han Yi who was hesitant to speak and repeated this several times, Barbara shook her head slightly and showed a smile that seemed to be relieved, "I just said This 'I' is not who I am, and it is just for convenience of narration. So far, I have made many wrong decisions in my life...but this is not included."

"I'm lucky and don't have to go through this. Because I wasn't rushed to New York or London to work hard as soon as I debuted. I stayed in Tokyo for three years, until I signed a global contract with IMG, and I stayed until I could rely on my job as a model. Only when I earned enough money from my career did I officially move back to Europe and move to Paris. The 'me' I refer to are the girls I have seen and heard in the past six years in Paris and New York."

"What happened to them?"

"The vast majority, after having a dream, returned to their hometowns...this is the vast majority." Barbara emphasized, "a small number will stay no matter what...they become They meet completely different people, whether the outcome is good or bad for them.”

"What about you?" "It's hard to say now, after all, the story hasn't been finished yet." Staring at the screen, Barbara whispered, "I hope my final ending will be a happy one, but really, this is not A predictable thing. The more you see it, the clearer it becomes."

"But I was not what I am now in 2010. I was full of confidence at that time. If you had asked me the same question back then, I would have told you directly, 'The life I am living now is a happy ending.'"

"From 'that girl from Hungary,' to 'the supernova who walks in a show for $[-],' to 'Miss Barbara Pavin who has a private room when she shoots the cover of Glamor magazine,' it just took a lot of time. Until half a year."

"During the autumn and winter fashion weeks, I took the subway alone to go to interviews, and I had to pay for the ticket myself. During the spring and summer fashion weeks, from New York to Paris, IMG arranged vehicles to pick me up and drop off me and two other equally popular contracted models. The company They even arranged an assistant for me in Paris, because I had too many announcements in those days and I needed someone to track the progress at all times."

"I walked to Loewe during the day and Chanel in the evening. When I got back to the hotel, I heard the news that Cartier wanted me to shoot a TV commercial. I just closed my eyes while lying on the bed, and I heard the landline in the hotel ringing. I picked up the phone. Listen, it’s Miranda Kerr.”

"Keer."

"Yes, I only know that she signed with me for the same company, but I have never met her at all... It's not like we have never met. We walked to Prada in autumn and winter together, but we didn't say a word in the dressing room. , I didn’t even dare to look at her twice. Because I felt that even though we were both models, she and I were from two different worlds. After all, she had just married Orlando Bloom at that time. In my eyes , she is already considered a Hollywood celebrity."

"To my surprise, Miranda on the phone had no airs at all. She spoke with an Australian accent that I couldn't understand in some parts. She asked me very kindly if I wanted to go out and play with all the IMG models in Paris. I mean, how could I say no to Miranda Kerr? I quickly changed my clothes, got in the business car arranged by her, and when I got to the place, I saw Le Carmen, one of the most famous bars in Paris."

"I don't want to repeat this sentence, but..." Han Yi rubbed his temples, "You were not an adult at that time."

"It's a full year before adulthood, but who is going to check my ID? This is France, not the United States, no one cares. And even if they were to check, bouncers wouldn't check Miranda Kerr and Her retinue."

"So...we walked into the bar, and the first face we saw, who do you think it was?"

"How can you guess that?"

"Dita-Vantes."

"Damn."

"Then, the second face - Craig David, the third face - Amber Rose... There was basically no one in the whole bar that I couldn't name, and I... was pretty good. The kind of person who is ignorant and ignorant.”

"I will never forget what Miranda said when she brought me to Craig and introduced me to him: 'This is our brightest newcomer at IMG, the Hungarian supermodel, Barbara Pablo. Wen'...what's wrong, why are you looking at me like this?" Noticing Han Yi's twinkling eyes on the other side of the screen, Barbara stopped talking and asked softly.

"No, it's nothing, it's just..." Han Yi grinned, "Combining Ke'er's recent news and your description, I think her enthusiasm for you should be more than just support."

"I know... No, I didn't know it at that time, but I know it now. You have to go into that circle to really understand many things." Barbara thought about her words, even though she knew that Han Yi was wearing Headphones, even though she knew that her roommate was not in the apartment at the moment, or even in this country, she still deliberately lowered her voice, "I think this is the most confusing thing about this circle, everyone is so glamorous, so that It's impossible for you to see their true colors clearly the first time you meet them. Can I tell that Miranda is a...difficult person when I first meet her? You can't tell, everyone is. I’m acting while wearing a mask, including myself sometimes.”

"You're right." Han Yi nodded, "Her excessive preference for...money has only been exposed in the past two years."

"What are you talking about? Ivan Spiegel."

"Everything. Justin Bieber, Leonardo DiCaprio, the Malaysian guy, the Australian guy... two Australian guys."

"Yeah..." Barbara drawled, "She does prefer...chasing those things. It was only two years later, after I went to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and heard other things, that I realized what she was doing that night. Why did you ask me and other girls to go to Le Carmen? Haha, shit, 17-year-old me is really not complicated at all! I am either watching anime or "Friends" to learn English. This habit has not changed until now. Fortunately, I am very good at it. Naive, so after she introduced me to Craig David, I kept talking to him about how much my sister liked his songs and asked him if he could record a video for my sister or something."

"In the end you scare people away."

"Yeah, I totally weirded him out." Barbara gave herself a thumbs up, "Soon he changed his target and took away another model from Latvia or Estonia, I can't remember. But I really didn’t care about that that night. I just stood in the corner, holding a glass of wine, watching the celebrities coming and going, with stars in my eyes.”

"It may be difficult for you to understand that feeling. I am a person who loves pop culture and I read all gossip news. The feeling that that party gave me was that all the faces that originally belonged to movies, TV series, and variety shows were all in my They came to life before me... They all came to life for me.”

"I actually... can understand it. It was the first time I attended this kind of party, and I had similar psychological activities."

Han Yi raised his eyes, thought for a while, and replied.The UTA party held at 864 Stradella Road gave him the same feeling.Angelina Jolie and Barbra Streisand shake hands with you and say hello at the same time. This almost science fiction experience is something Han Yi will never forget in his life.

"Then you should be able to guess how much my ego has grown after leaving the party."

"I feel that since I am so powerful at the age of 17, I will definitely rule the fashion industry in the future. Not only do I have to rule the fashion industry, but if there is a chance, I also need to enter Hollywood and find a famous movie star to marry. The battle and popularity must be greater than Miranda will do."

"More importantly, since I am a 'supermodel from Hungary', I have to treat myself with the same standards. Not only in work, but also in life... At that time, even though I was underage, IMG had to follow my parents' I signed a contract and transferred the money to the escrow account opened by my parents, but they trusted me and gave me all the management rights. Normally they would not interfere at all."

"That's good." Han Yi responded, "It's your own money."

"I thought it was great at the time, but now that I think about it, it's not necessarily true." Barbara smiled bitterly. "Every teenager feels that he can control his consumption desires, but how is that possible? Especially in a place like Paris. "

"Buying a lot of luxury goods?"

"Luxury goods... not really. As you can see, fashion is a work responsibility for me, not a personal interest. I'm not even that keen on shopping unless I'm waiting for a flight at the airport and I have a lot of time. To kill time. I did learn a few things through ten years of work, but there was still nothing about fashion that really excited me.”

This is indeed the case. Compared to Xu Yiru, Zhao Youzhen and Madison Beer, Barbara Pavin, who really works in the fashion industry, actually has the least number of big-name items.Unless it's a gift from a brand, she basically won't go to the store to purchase it herself.

"When I talk about consumption, I want to live a better life. I have shared the same room with five or six girls in model apartments around the world for more than four years, and I have long wanted to have a family of my own. So, after the spring and summer fashion week, within a few days, I booked an apartment in the 10th arrondissement. The security was great and it was close to my work. It only takes less than [-] minutes to walk to the Louvre. "

"Wow, that must be expensive."

"6000 euros a month."

"...It's outrageous."

"Yeah, and I was stupid enough to rent a two-bedroom apartment so that I could use the other bedroom as a dressing room... It's incredible. This is what I was thinking about when I was 17 years old." Barba He made a pistol-like gesture with his right hand and pointed it at his temple, "When renting a house in Paris, you have to pay a two-month deposit and one month's rent when you sign the contract. In other words, [-] euros just arrived to me. I spent more than a third of the money in the account."

"It's not over yet. Vogue Russia booked me to go to Saint-Tropez to shoot a set of inside pages for their November issue. It was my first time to go to the Côte d'Azur. I thought to myself, Vogue is paying for the flight anyway. , then why don’t I spend two days there? Nice, Saint-Tropez, Cannes and Monaco are all places I really want to go. So, I called my agent and asked them if they could go with me. Let’s discuss it with Moscow and ask them not to book a hotel, but just call me for the travel expenses and I’ll book it.”

"Vogue readily agreed to my request. After all, their reimbursement amount is fixed, and they give it to me and the hotel, as long as I can provide sufficient vouchers... Anyway, after getting their permission , I directly booked two days at Mesadière Castle in Saint-Tropez and two days at Hotel Negresco in Nice, and then invited a model friend who was the closest to me at the time to go with me - I would pay for the food and accommodation. She just needs to buy her own round-trip ticket."

“Before I set off, I thought everything was wonderful. Vogue would provide me with a flight ticket. I would travel with my best friends in the sunny south of France, visit beautiful scenery, taste delicious food, and maybe even have a romance or two. An encounter. A prince of Monaco, or some handsome, melancholy single fisherman in the harbor of Saint-Tropez… Yes, that’s what I thought at the time, fisherman.”

"As a result, the day before departure, when I was tossing and turning and was so excited about the trip that I couldn't sleep..."

"My friend suddenly told me that she couldn't go."

"The agency notified her at short notice that she would have to replace a sick model for a catalog shoot the next day."

"Southern France, the four-day trip can only be completed by myself."

(End of this chapter)