The next day, Simon stayed with the Wonder Woman crew in Naples for the morning, then flew to Milan in the afternoon.
Flaminio district, eastern outskirts of Milan.
The abandoned factory that had hosted the big show two years earlier had been purchased by Gucci.
Following the design style of the office lofts at Daenerys Studios, Sophia had gradually converted the original derelict plant into Gucci's Milan campus. By now the site already employed more than sixty staff members and included a product exhibition area as well as a far more professional-grade runway space.
Gucci's most recent several spring/summer and fall/winter major shows had all been held here on a fixed basis.
Inside the campus runway hall, Simon took a brief look at the preparations for tomorrow morning's show without disturbing Tom Ford, who was leading the team through final rehearsals. He and Sophia found seats together on one of the long benches below the T-stage.
"Angie will come to Europe by the end of the year to take over Gucci matters. She and Tom are both American, and they work together very seamlessly. That's the thing that reassures me the most."
The Angie Sophia mentioned was naturally Angela Ahrendts, president of Gucci's American division.
From the moment they first hired Angela Ahrendts, both Simon and Sophia had entertained the idea of letting her eventually run Gucci. In recent years this female executive had proven her ability time and again.
Sophia stepping back from Gucci now would free her to focus on developing Van Cleef & Arpels and expanding other Melisandre business lines.
Since this had been the plan from the beginning, Simon merely nodded to show he understood.
After mentioning the matter, Sophia changed the subject. "Also, regarding the Van Cleef & Arpels spokesperson, I'm considering a few candidates: Demi Moore, Julia Roberts, and Valeria Golino. Which one do you think would be suitable?"
Thanks to the success of Ghost, Pretty Woman, and Batman, Demi Moore, Julia Roberts, and Valeria Golino were currently three of the hottest and most in-demand leading ladies in Hollywood.
Simon didn't hear the name of Sandra, the one closest to him, and he wasn't surprised.
Though very young, Sandra wasn't striking enough in appearance, and her personal image didn't quite match a high-end jewelry and watch brand like Van Cleef & Arpels.
After thinking for a moment, Simon smiled. "You're leaning toward Demi Moore, aren't you?"
Among the three, Demi Moore who had modeled and carried a noticeably superior presence was clearly the best fit for Van Cleef & Arpels.
Sophia nodded. "Julia is a little too young, and Valeria isn't quite beautiful enough. Her look isn't outstanding either."
When casting Catwoman, Simon had deliberately avoided going after a pure vase like Michelle Pfeiffer. Instead he weighed acting ability and appearance together. Valeria Golino had won the Volpi Cup at Venice, her look was just right, and she was still very young with strong plasticity enough to handle a large portion of Catwoman's action scenes herself. That was why she got the part.
Strictly speaking, this version of Catwoman's casting resembled Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from Simon's memories.
Scarlett Johansson actually wasn't considered overwhelmingly beautiful either. And after Under the Skin, probably very few people still harbored any particular fantasies about her figure.
Marvel's casting had likewise considered factors.
In his previous life Simon had occasionally mocked the looks of many Marvel actresses. Now that he was inside the industry himself, he finally understood that Marvel's casting strategy had actually been very correct. Launching a big-lipped, frowning vase might bring short-term success, but it was very difficult to sustain an enormous cinematic universe on that kind of approach.
Simon didn't have especially strong feelings about Demi Moore, but he still said, "Since you're leaning toward Demi Moore, then go with Demi Moore. You don't need to ask me."
"But this time I invited her to walk in the Gucci show, and they said she couldn't make the time."
"Really couldn't make the time?"
"Fake."
Simon was instantly speechless.
Before Ghost, Demi Moore had been extremely eager toward Gucci. Several times in a row she deliberately dragged her husband Bruce Willis along to Gucci events.
After the successive hits of Ghost and this summer's A Few Good Men, the woman suddenly became "very busy."
With anyone else, one could still brush it off with a scheduling conflict.
But with Sophia's connections in Hollywood, a single phone call was enough to learn Demi Moore's actual schedule.
Simon asked again, "Did you mention the endorsement to her?"
Sophia nodded. "So I think there's another possibility. Moore is probably in talks with another brand, which is why she deliberately avoided this."
"Did you find out which one?"
"No."
"Then forget it. Actually I don't think Moore is suitable either."
Although she rose to fame around the same time as Julia Roberts, Demi Moore's success with Ghost felt more like a flash in the pan.
Compared with Julia, who dominated the entire nineties at her peak, Demi Moore's script-choosing judgment had always been mediocre. By the time Julia Roberts won the Oscar for Erin Brockovich, Demi Moore had already fallen to playing a supporting role in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
"In that case, Julia or Valeria?"
"Neither of them is suitable either."
As a high-end jewelry and watch brand, the Van Cleef & Arpels spokesperson should radiate even more dazzling presence. Both Julia and Valeria had sufficient fame, yet they lacked that kind of eye-catching aura.
After considering for a few moments, Simon suddenly thought of someone. "Nicole Kidman. What do you think?"
Nicole Kidman already possessed that inherently radiant quality. Thinking of Satine in Moulin Rouge from his memories, or the Grace of Monaco film she starred in, having her represent the Van Cleef & Arpels brand felt almost tailor-made.
Sophia thought for a moment, nodded, then shook her head. "Nicole's image is very good, but her fame still isn't big enough."
After her stunning debut in Pulp Fiction, Nicole Kidman's development in Hollywood over the past few years had indeed not gone as smoothly as Sandra's or Roberts'. She never lacked offers, yet because of her look and the roles she was suited for, she hadn't produced any truly standout signature works recently.
Simon had no intention of "taking responsibility to the end" for the actresses he had personally boosted. He gave them opportunities; what happened afterward depended on them.
After that absurd night with Cindy Crawford, Nicole Kidman had seized the "moment" to ask Simon if she could get the female lead in Jurassic Park. Simon refused.
She was too young for the botanist role.
Still, Simon gave her another chance: Poison Ivy in The Dark Knight Rises.
Both Batman films had launched a large group of stars. Poison Ivy, one of the Batman series' major villains, was also a role fiercely contested by many Hollywood actresses. Since Nicole didn't get her wish with Jurassic Park, landing Poison Ivy was enough to satisfy her.
However, according to the earlier schedule, in order to further perfect the envisioned special-effects techniques, The Dark Knight Rises wouldn't be released until 1994 leaving a three-year gap. Naturally Nicole couldn't just sit idle.
"Talk to Nicole. I'll handle the rest. Also, the spokesperson doesn't need to be the biggest name. I think suitability matters most."
As he spoke, Simon was already mentally considering which film he should pick to firmly establish Nicole in the A-list position.
In recent years Hollywood's pool of A-list actresses had started to show signs of saturation. Achieving this goal would require careful planning.
Sophia nodded. "I'll contact Nicole as soon as possible."
With the matter settled, they went on to discuss some related Gucci issues.
Gucci currently had no spokesperson. That was standard practice for many luxury clothing, bag, and accessory brands in this era.
Of course, conventions were made to be broken.
As the luxury market continued expanding over the next ten or twenty years and competition grew ever fiercer, luxury brands would gradually begin inviting spokespeople.
Just as in the eighties very few luxury brands invited celebrities to shows—most runway front rows were filled with magazine editors, journalists, or fashion buyers.
It was only after Gucci took the lead two years ago by inviting celebrities to its show and achieved massive success that the trend exploded.
A-listers and high society quickly realized it was mutually elevating. In the past two years they had become extremely enthusiastic about attending major shows.
Sophia had of course considered finding a spokesperson for Gucci.
But as the very first luxury brand she had built from the ground up, she remained extremely cautious. Gucci, with its full product lines, naturally carried higher requirements for a spokesperson than a brand focused solely on jewelry and watches like Van Cleef & Arpels.
At one point she had seriously considered Cindy Crawford.
Gucci's current target consumer was urban elite women, and Cindy's temperament fit perfectly.
However, this supermodel's style had become overly commercial. Not only had she shifted toward hosting last year with her own fashion program on MTV, she had also taken on the Pepsi spokesperson role.
Gucci could never allow itself to be placed on the same level as Pepsi. It was far too cheap. So Sophia completely abandoned the idea.
Afterward no other suitable candidate appeared.
The most recent consideration had been selecting regional spokespeople for different markets.
Still, thanks to Daenerys Entertainment's exposure in recent years, Gucci already enjoyed sufficient visibility. The spokesperson matter wasn't especially urgent.
After finishing the topic of spokespeople, Sophia glanced around. Seeing no one approaching, she brought up another matter. "The three groups of people I recruited them and their families have gradually immigrated to the UK, South Africa, Australia, and Canada in recent months. One group will remain in Europe. The other two should be able to head to the United States next month to start work."
Sophia was referring to the former East German Stasi agents she had recruited.
Moving all the selected individuals out of Germany served both as a benefit and as a form of collateral and surveillance.
Following the original plan, Sophia had still chosen people who had families.
The matter was extremely sensitive, so everything had been handled with the utmost care. Although East Germany had already collapsed, it was impossible to guarantee that no one with ulterior motives had slipped in.
Simon had only reviewed their files. Out of caution he had never met any of them in person. Even Sophia mostly communicated through intermediaries.
Running a private intelligence network was absolutely not as simple as people imagined.
By now large sums of money had already been spent. Simon didn't regret it, but he also didn't hold overly high expectations. If after several years of operation he could gain even a small handful of genuinely loyal people, he would already be satisfied.
Another runway rehearsal began.
The lead models naturally couldn't attend in person, but most of the others had come themselves.
Watching the aloof-looking models walk out one after another from backstage in time with the background music, Simon and Sophia naturally paused their earlier conversation.
Gucci had likewise led a transformation in fashion-show style.
In the eighties, runway shows had not yet become the icy phenomenon later generations remembered. Models walked in a more leisurely, strolling manner often in small groups, expressions casual, winks, blown kisses, and playful gestures everywhere.
Simon simply couldn't stand that complete lack of discipline. Tom Ford was likewise a perfectionist.
Thus, starting from that show two years ago, Gucci had displayed the kind of high-end aura Simon remembered, and in the past two years the style had rapidly spread.
Human pursuit of beauty knows no bounds.
Even after seeing countless beautiful women, Simon still watched with interest as each pair of long legs and tiny waists passed by on the runway. Many of the girls on the T-stage noticed Simon's presence and their eyes visibly brightened.
Sophia noticed one particularly long-legged girl throw Simon an obvious flirtatious glance as she walked past. The man beside her raised an eyebrow in return and very "tactfully" explained on his own initiative, "That's Nadja. Twenty years old this year. She was just signed by Elite. She's one of their key prospects for the next phase. They even applied for a Guinness record for longest supermodel legs on her behalf."
Simon nodded. "Very nice. Call her over later. I'd like to talk with her privately."
Sophia rolled her eyes. "Should I make myself scarce?"
"Of course. Mm, you can go take care of things now."
She very much wanted to pinch the man's waist. She raised her hand but ultimately didn't follow through.
Remembering something, Sophia said, "I almost forgot to tell you. Natasha Kinski moved out of that villa in Cannes."
"That's normal."
"You don't feel the slightest regret? You spent several million."
"Dozens of dollars for a scandalous story that can circulate for years is still a good deal."
"It wasn't dozens of dollars. It was several million dollars."
"To me, it's dozens of dollars." Simon glanced at Sophia and smiled. "You know, to me women are like cats."
"Mm, I've always felt the same. That's discrimination."
"No, it's just having no expectations."
"What do you mean?"
"That's just how cats are. Wary, indolent, solitary, distant. No matter whether you're rich or poor, healthy or sick, happy or sad, in good times or bad, they will never truly belong to you."
Sophia was momentarily stunned. She almost laughed, then suddenly looked at Simon seriously. "I think you're the one who's more like a cat."
"Maybe. So like attracts like."
"That sounds a bit pessimistic."
"Not pessimistic. Just seeing things clearly."
Simon leaned back, crossed his legs, and gazed at the radiant, blooming beauties on the T-stage. With a soft, reflective murmur he recited, "Watch him build the vermilion tower, watch him feast his guests, watch his tower collapse. This heap of green moss and jade tiles, once I slept here in reckless abandon, taking in fifty years of rise and fall…"