The program was an important one, especially for young designers and people in the luxury fashion industry. She found her seat near the front of the hall and settled down comfortably.

s of the sponsors and fashion compa

lling through her feed. She checked her messages and replied a few clients. She opened her business page and checked the latest comments th

s became louder, people greeted one another, exchanged handshakes, took pictures and discussed business. Anne remained quietly in her seat.

adjusted, the audience slowly settled down,

opened, a few people turned around. Whis

's

him Lucas Sterling. The atmosph

figure stand out without looking like he was trying to hard. His face was expressionless, he wasn't smiling and he didn

seem bothered. His eyes moved briefly around the hall before he continued toward the reserved seat waiting for him near the f

m a brief nod

tion, or exchange unnecessary pleasantries,

the billionaire everyone seemed to know, the businessman who owned several successful comp

the growth of the fashion industry. Different designers spoke about their experiences. Some discussed luxury fashion, oth

herself, and she had built her small brand from the ground up so when the discussion turned toward the

ashion industry beyond

e panel ans

if emerging designers want to enter larger ma

eaker shoo

The way customers discover, purchase and experience f

rketing, social media influence and the importance of building recognizable brands. Then one of the speakers made a statement that caught Anne's atte

eral hands went up, a few people spoke. Then the moderator

u m

ring who he was talking t

d like to hear

d her dress, picked up the mic

ng at the problem from

ame quiet. S

lobal, but we're still designing and marketing as if we need pe

odded. Anne beca

e the luxry market. We need to create something un

applauded.

out presentation. It's about craftsmanship. It's about story behind

ct and immediately understand

uieter. Anne glanced b

lly, we have to stop thinking only about making beautiful clo

t the entire business"

rketing, the customer experience,

ke someone look good for one nigh

member you for years. For a moment, nobo

stage. As she walked back toward her seat, she noticed several people looking at her. But ther

alked about money others talked about becoming famous but Anne talked about building something. And for the first time that afternoon, Lucas leaned slightly forward in his cha