When the model Cristelle picked started to walk the runway, a low murmur suddenly generated among the crowd.
When the walk was over, Cristelle began to introduce her design and concept.
Fritzi suddenly interrupted, “Stop, hold on a minute.”
Cristelle was puzzled when an assistant went backstage to invite Izzy to go on the stage.
Izzy already knew what was happening. This was just a part of her perfect plan. She pretended to be surprised as she saw Cristelle’s design, “Cristelle, how come your design is the same as mine? Did you copy my work? How could you steal my concept like that?”
Cristelle’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t understand what the heck was happening right now. The cameras snapped, and flashlights hurt her eyes. All the journalists were excited at the sudden drama.
Compared with Izzy’s well-rehearsed anger, the look on Cristelle’s face seemed quite pathetic, “Izzy, what- what do you mean? What are you even talking about? How could I ever steal your concept?”
Izzy asked her model to come back on the stage again. The designs of their dresses, apart from the sleeves, were exactly the same.
Izzy’s sleeves were long, while Cristelle’s were short. That was the only difference. But Cristelle’s sleeves were clearly looking better.
Izzy was stunned. In Cristelle’s original sketch, the dress was clearly sleeveless. Izzy added the long sleeves to differentiate her design and enhance her style’s elegance. She didn’t expect Cristelle to add a pair of short sleeves.
More than that, Cristelle didn’t choose expensive fabric as Izzy did, but the tailoring was flawless, bringing out the concept of the competition more clearly.
“You guys’ designs look too similar, and one of you certainly copied the other. For the one who copied, I’m giving you a chance to admit your mistake. Otherwise, I will ensure you will never work in this industry again!” Fritzi had years of experience. She could tell what was going on with just one look.
She thus sent her last warning.
The atmosphere was extremely tense. Cristelle could only hear the snapping sounds of the shutters.
Even the host of the competition looked helpless, his gaze falling on them both pleadingly. If the thief refused to admit her mistake, the competition wouldn’t be able to continue.
“Cristelle, don’t be stubborn. Quickly admit to your mistake, or you’ll lose everything,” Izzy said as if she really cared about Cristelle.
“This woman is really something. I already said that she couldn’t come up with any ideas in this short amount of time. And now, she even boldly copied Izzy’s design. How shameless!”
“Yep. What a thief!”
“How could she be so ungrateful when Izzy treated her so well? You really can’t judge a book by its cover!”
“Yeah! We should kick her out of our department after this immediately!”
“That’s right. I don’t want to work with a thief.”
Team B started to criticize Cristelle in their seats. Juliette was the only one who knew Cristelle was innocent. And she had been battling herself the whole time.
Juliette was rather close to Izzy. If Izzy got a promotion, she would also benefit from that. She would probably take Izzy’s current position even.
However, Izzy turned out to be a nasty person, and Juliette didn’t even know if she should trust this friend of hers anymore. But speaking up for Cristelle was also against her nature. Juliette didn’t know what to do anymore. So she kept silent and pretended that she didn’t know anything.
“Izzy, I really didn’t copy your design. If you did not copy my design, then there must be some misunderstanding. We should talk and try to work this out.”
Cristelle understood immediately when she saw Izzy’s design. How could their designs be so similar?
Izzy must have copied hers!
But she didn’t want to make it too ugly for Izzy. This competition was big. If Izzy were known for copying other people’s works, her career as a designer would be over. That would be cruel.
“Cristelle, stop lying! You are a new designer. How could you come up with such a brilliant idea? Everyone knows what you’re capable of in this company as the leader of Team B. I almost won last year’s competition, and I’m more experienced than you. Cristelle, stop lying and admit your mistake. It’s still not too late,” Izzy thought Cristelle was a marshmallow. She wouldn’t fight back no matter how hard other people squeezed her. Besides, none of their colleagues liked her, and she wouldn’t get any support from the crowd. If she insisted that the design was hers, Cristelle wouldn’t win this argument.
Izzy showed no intention of owning her own mistakes and shamelessly tried to make Cristelle the scapegoat.
Cristelle didn’t want to be merciful anymore. She walked forth and pointed at their works as she spoke to the judge, “The theme of our competition is ‘Office Lady’, but you used silk as the fabric of your dress. It does look elegant, but you can’t put it on during the workday. It’s basic knowledge. As a professional designer, you claimed yourself to be, making stupid mistakes like this is a bit funny. Don’t you think so, Izzy?”
Izzy faltered and then let out a sarcastic smile, “Did you just say my dress can’t be put on? It’s funny. Then why is my model wearing it right now?”
Cristelle shook her head, “I was trying to say that a dress like this can only be worn once. We’re not designing a one-time prom gown. The dress needed to be simple yet elegant for most office ladies. Silk is expensive, and it turns to shrink when it’s washed the wrong way. Choosing silk as the dress material is not a smart move. That’s why I rule out fabrics like this in the first place. Making mistakes like this doesn’t look natural to me, Izzy. Is this dress really your design?”
Izzy went a bit pale, but she was still arguing, “Fine… I did make a mistake when it came to choosing the material. But it didn’t change the fact that you copied my work. I didn’t expect you to be so foul, Cristelle. How could you just lie in front of everyone? Are you not ashamed?”