The Rebirth of a Scorned Heiress

“You can pick any fabric and items of your choice. However, your usage will be among the things judged during the sewing stage, so it is advised you pick the things you actually need and nothing else” the guide explained, leaving them surprised.

“Are we having a sewing competition too?” Avon asked curiously, and the guide chuckled.

“The process will be recorded, and the outcome will be judged before it goes onto the runway,” the guide replied.

“Every team member will be judged by the expert in their field: the designer, the tailor, and the model. Any cloth that doesn’t pass the sewing stage will not be allowed on the runway, it’s to protect the reputation of the company you all are representing” the guide explained further, and Avon nodded in understanding.

“I better put on my best game; I wouldn’t want to lose to our team’s designer,” he voiced with a chuckle, and he walked into the store to pick the fabrics.

“Why is this so intense, though? I thought it was just a fashion show for fashionistas and fashion companies to get together,” Lily mumbled.

“It is supposed to be fun, but you can’t remove the competitiveness amongst the big companies; they always want to be crowned the king amongst the other big shot companies, and the only way to do stuff like that is through this friendly competition,” Light replied as they followed Avon into the storeroom.

“I have a feeling they’ll still have trouble with us for having Light on our team. Many people would say we got our results because of him,” Celina added, and Light shrugged.

“Everyone is free to bring in whoever they want; they weren’t able to bring in celebrities; was it our fault? There were no rules against bringing in someone from the entertainment industry” Avon replied and brought out a floral-patterned fabric.

It has a black background, and several coloured flowers were printed on it. “It’s too boring; let’s look for something else… A light blue background will be fine or something similar-anything but white and black,” Lily suggested, and Avon nodded.

“The texture and feel are also important; I would hate to have scratchy fabric on,” Celina chipped in while making a weird face.

As they were looking around the store, a plain red fabric caught Lily’s attention, and she moved towards it. She picked it up and examined its texture and the almost invisible pattern on its body.

“It doesn’t go well with the theme we are working on,” Avon noted as he stood beside her, holding two types of floral fabric designs.

“Oh! I was thinking of another design for the clothing. It caught my attention, and I wanted to check it out,” she explained, and Avon nodded.

“It will be good for that backless dress you designed for the open product. You can have it made in black or red. Perfect romantic date attire,” he voiced.

“I was also thinking of something similar, but that will be some other time.” She looked at the fabrics in his hands and picked the first one.

“Let’s go with the teal green for the shirt and the dress, and then pick a carton-coloured khaki for the pants. The belt colour will match the shoes,” she suggested.

“Good! I was also thinking the same, or we could pick the other colour for the dress because of the non-couples,” Avon replied.

“Both colours are good, and I like the pattern on them; we can pick the two.”

Unknown to the group, another group was in the store watching them pick out their fabrics. “Are you taking both fabrics?” Bethel asked with a polite smile, seeing how a guide was close by.

“Yes, we intend on using the two; is there a problem?” Lily asked while maintaining her cool.

“There isn’t; it’s just that the blue-patterned fabric goes well with the design I chose for this segment. Why don’t you allow us to have it, and you can pick some other fabrics?” He asked, and Avon’s eye twitched.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Since you can recommend us to pick another fabric, why don’t you? We chose it first, and that’s because it goes well with our designs too.” Avon countered with a glare.

“Come on, you already decided to use the teal green fabric; do you have to hoard the other one also? The first one is enough for whatever you need to do.” Bethel replied, his voice getting a little higher to attract attention to the scene.

Lily bit the inside of her cheeks gently, annoyed that she would have to deal with him and his problems. As she was about to say something, a guide stepped forward to intervene.

“You all can have the same fabrics; there is more of it, and there is no need for argument,” she explained calmly.

“It’s fine; he can have the fabrics. We will choose something else,” Lily replied, pulling Avon away from the scene.

“You can’t just give in to people like that all the time! He came to look for trouble with us.” Avon pouted.

“And we don’t have to give it. Besides, I just remembered that it is preferable to use a fabric with bold flower prints for the dress than to use the small flower prints!” Lily explained, and Avon pouted.

“If we give them attention, they will only come back for more. Allow our work to speak on our behalf,” she encouraged as she led him to the other side of the store.

Once they were done picking out their materials, the group registered the items and left.

*****

“Due to some technical problems, this segment will not be broadcast live, but it will be recorded and edited before uploading. The runway, however, will be broadcast live as the audience votes and purchases determine the final winners of this segment,” the host announced as the group of semesters and seamstresses walked into the studio provided to them.

The studio was divided into seven parts, and each part was covered to separate it from the rest. Each part has a cameraman assigned to it. The cubicle was assigned to them according to their team number.

“Everything you picked has been placed in your workspace. If you call out for additional materials during your working time, you will have a point deducted from your total group score,” the host continued.

“You are free to make use of your assistant, but your mark will be deducted by half to make it fair on those who did it on their own,” he added.

“You are given three hours to make the dress and three hours to make the male outfits; any extra time will result in your point being deducted. With that, let’s get to work!” The host announced this, and the group walked into their assigned workspace.

Avon spread out the chosen fabrics on the work table and decided to start with the female outfit. He brought the mannequin to the centre and began displaying the dress on it. The mannequin was made in Celina’s size, so he didn’t have to worry about the size not matching.

Once done pinning the fabric to the mannequin, he moved on to cutting the male’s attire. In the sixth cubicle, Evie pursed her lips and began cutting the fabric according to the measurements given for the model. Her eyes were focused, and her hand movements were shaky as the scissors cut through the fabric.

She was able to successfully manoeuvre through the dress, and she immediately got to sewing before getting back to cutting the fabric for the male attire. The judges watched them through the screen, each noting down the observations for each team.

“There isn’t much competition for this stage; all of these guys are equally skilled,” one of the judges commented, and the others nodded.

“I heard Fred and his group disqualify three groups on this stage; do you think there would have been some competition if they all were gathered?” Another asked.

“I bet. The girl that won the junior nationals last year is among the group that was disqualified; how could their designer have gotten them disqualified on the first stage?” The first judge mused.

“The Avon guy from the Lam group is not bad either; I love his technique and how his mannequin was built for the size of his model; however, that could also bring limitations if he’s working for a large number of clients,” the third judge chipped in.

“Considering he is working for just one at the moment, it’s okay that he used the technique. I just hope the end product is satisfactory.”

Once the clock reached the first three-hour mark, the alarm went off.

“Alright! Let’s take a break, and we will get back in thirty minutes!”