Femme Empire

Pencil on paper

"Finally!"

Excitement flowed through my veins. Emir and Clementine had agreed for a virtual show before the actual fashion show for the fall-winter collection. It had been the hardest thing to get them to say yes. While I wanted the entire show to be a part of the Metaverse, they had their suspicions about it and wanted to give it a trial run before implementing it fully.

For the past month, we had been working together with a Metaverse expert and programmer to build a virtual runway show. It was intense and exciting. After the designs had been finalizes, sadly with no output from Emir, we had converted them into a wearable fantasy. It had been a tedious process starting from a wild idea of futuristic fashion, to building virtual textures in the form of real clothing, to making VR mannequins to mirror to putting the show together along with music selection and backgrounds.

Our team was finally ready to produce it's first virtual fashion show to be live-streamed on its website. Anyone in the world could watch. It was a historic moment for the brand which for the first time made it's haute cotoure collections available to the world.

Our eyes we're glued on the huge screen at the office.

"In 1,2,3 and go....."

Jonas, our technician gave the thumbs up.

The background on the screen darkened as heavy bass music created an eerie atmosphere.

One single spot-light shone on the screen.

We held our breaths. The scene changed to the middle of the desert.

Arabian music rose out of the depths of a sandstorm, as sinuous as a serpent.

A hooded black model raised her eyes. Her face was covered with a red cloth. She wore a violent red gown, shimmering with crystals, torn if in strategic places to reveal a hint of thigh.

The next model appeared just after, an olive-skinned bedouin with a loose kaftan, wide-pants, long hair waving wildly in the storm.

Flinty assassins, seductresses, queens and women in formal wear walked through the sand storm on the screen.

The music rose to a crescendo, coiling around us like a snake, hypnotizing us, lulling our senses.

It was magical.

Thirty models walked in various shades of history, colonialism and of days long gone. I could smell the sands, I swear. It was so realistic.

When the last girl had walked and the credits rolled, detailing each outfit, there was a strange ache in my heart. What were the possibilities of such a world and how tremendously could it change fashion?

We could be anywhere we could create anything.

"2 million views in an hour. Jesus! ", Jonas exclaimed. " You guys are famous."

I couldn't get over the slight smile playing on Emir's lips.

___________

"Well done, Ms. Bianchi. It seems we have a substantial increase in orders this year from our commercial collections.", Emir said dryly as the day came to a close at the office.

I was still riding the wave of the high of our massive success.

"It seems we are back in vogue and every major magazines issue wants to cover you as their Le Dame Grande.", he informed me while checking emails on his IPAD.

I just smiled. I had missed this. Having something to call mine. I had missed brainstorming, missed rebellion, missed the smell of creation.

"Congratulations, Sana! You are back in business.", he said softly leaning forward.