Shortly after the meeting ended, Liu Yutong took Zhang Dalong, Yu Xin, and several key members from Weibo and Wanhui Youxuan to the Magic City, preparing to attend the upcoming annual internet industry summit.
Before that, however, she had to go to Bai Shisui's place to watch a fashion show. The venue was set in an art park in the Magic City.
Bai Shisui was a member of the Yunshan Club. She had studied in the West for many years before founding her own designer brand, Suiyan.
Her design style was quite unique, blending modern elements with traditional Eastern charm.
However, in the current domestic market, it was incredibly difficult for independent designer brands to truly break into the mainstream. Usually, they had to squeeze into the official schedules or fringe shows of international fashion weeks, hoping to catch the eyes of international buyers and media. Then, they would use this overseas recognition to boost their domestic popularity.
Bai Shisui's show this time was also a warm-up for her upcoming overseas trip.
The show was held in a large hall within the park. The atmosphere was perfectly set, though the scale was somewhat small. Aside from a few fashion editors, buyers, and friends from the industry, the audience consisted mostly of outsiders like Liu Yutong and her team, who were not particularly familiar with fashion.
Sitting in the front row, Liu Yutong quietly watched the entire presentation.
After the show, in the backstage area, Bai Shisui pulled Liu Yutong aside. Although her face showed the excitement of having just displayed her work, it was overshadowed by anxiety.
"Sister Yutong, what do you think?"
"To be honest, I have no confidence about going to Paris next. There are too many shows over there. A new face like us is likely just going along for the ride, barely making a splash. And even if we get some press coverage there, translating that into influence back home is very slow."
Liu Yutong touched a white suit jacket displayed nearby, which was embroidered with delicate intertwining branch patterns, looking thoughtful.
"Shisui, have you ever thought that we don't necessarily have to play by the rules they've set?"
"Going abroad for a fashion show essentially means going to someone else's home turf, following their rules, and begging for their approval. Why can't we build our own stage, create a new set of rules, and expand our influence on our own terms? We could even turn the tables and make them pay attention to us."
"Build our own stage?"
Bai Shisui was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head. "That's too difficult. The foundation and influence of domestic fashion design simply can't compare to foreign countries..."
"Do you have Weibo?" Liu Yutong suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.
"Huh? I do have an account registered, but I haven't used it much. Isn't everyone just playing farm games on it?" Bai Shisui was a bit confused.
Liu Yutong smiled. "The farm games are just the beginning. Weibo will soon cease to be just a gaming platform. It will become the largest, most real-time, and most interactive public opinion platform in the country."
"What your Suiyan brand lacks isn't design, but an amplifier that can instantly push your design philosophy, the beauty of your work, and you as a designer to tens of millions, and eventually hundreds of millions, of users."
"We can absolutely put on a different kind of show—a super launch event that completely integrates online and offline experiences."
Both Bai Shisui and Zhang Dalong, who was listening nearby, perked up.
"First is the timing. I think we can set it around the Spring Festival. During that time, the public has both the desire to consume and the leisure time to pay attention to new things. It also avoids the schedule of the four major international fashion weeks, allowing us to become the center of attention."
"Second is the format of the launch. I don't think we should limit ourselves to this kind of offline runway show watched by a few dozen or a few hundred people. We should do a live debut across the entire Weibo platform."
At this point, Liu Yutong looked at Zhang Dalong. "Are there any technical issues?"
Zhang Dalong shook his head. "No problem. That's actually very easy to do."
"Good."
Liu Yutong nodded and continued, "But that's not enough. A live stream can't be one-way; we need to set up interactive segments. For example, we can start a trending topic on Weibo before the show even begins. We can release partial design sketches, fabric details, and stories behind the inspiration to attract users to guess and discuss. On the day of the show, we can set up a voting feature on the live stream interface, letting the audience choose their most anticipated look, the best outfit combination, and so on in real-time. The selected styles or outfits could come with priority booking rights or special discounts after the launch."
Bai Shisui's eyes lit up. This idea sounded so innovative!
She seemed to understand a bit more about Sister Yutong's purpose in creating Weibo.
This kind of model didn't seem limited to just clothing; couldn't it be applied to other products as well?
"Then there's the matrix of celebrities and key opinion leaders."
"We're already making progress in this area. Some artists signed under Xueqian Studio have already registered on Weibo. When the time comes, we can invite them to watch the show simultaneously and post their comments on Weibo. Every word they say will become a node for secondary dissemination..."
"And the final step is about how to elevate the brand's prestige by incorporating charitable elements. For example, we could select the most highly praised or most talked-about piece from the show and hold a charity auction on Weibo. The proceeds would be donated to a reputable arts education fund, or our own Wanlong Charity Foundation. The entire auction process would be public on Weibo, and we could invite celebrities or entrepreneurs to help promote the bidding. This won't just sustain the hype; it will also inject a sense of social responsibility into the Suiyan brand, shaping a high-end image that completely distinguishes it from fast-fashion brands that simply chase trends."
"..."
Liu Yutong shared many of her ideas in great detail.
Zhang Dalong's heart was racing as he listened. He had originally been pondering the direction for profitability after Weibo's user growth, but he never expected the eldest miss to outline such a clear path for commercial monetization in just a few words. If Bai Shisui's Suiyan brand could grow and strengthen by leveraging the Weibo platform, couldn't other top-tier brands do the same?
When that time came, the advertising revenue and commercial partnerships from this sector alone would be a massive sum.
Sure enough, the eldest miss's brain worked differently. Even her casual suggestions revealed her unique, forward-thinking business acumen.
The eldest miss wasn't just giving her friend ideas; she was also guiding him. She was telling him how to lay out Weibo's next explosive growth point, how to expand from gaming and social networking into fashion consumption and even content e-commerce, and ultimately, how to perfect Weibo's ecosystem.
"Sister Yutong, this seems to require a lot of resource coordination. Won't it be too much trouble for you?" Although excited, Bai Shisui also felt the pressure.
Since all of this seemed to rely on Liu Yutong, she inevitably felt a bit guilty.
Liu Yutong smiled and said, "How could it be a trouble? Helping you is also exploring broader possibilities for our Weibo. It's killing two birds with one stone—a win-win situation."
"Sister Yutong, you're the best. I declare that from now on, I'm going to cling to your coattails and never let go."
Bai Shisui truly hadn't expected that a problem which had troubled her for so long could be solved by Liu Yutong in just a few words.
She also sighed inwardly: how could the gap between people's brains be so huge?
She didn't dwell on it, though. As long as she could latch onto this powerful backer, everything would be fine.
Since Bai Shisui had to head back to her office, they parted ways for the time being, making plans to meet up for dinner later that evening.
...........
