**Chapter 320: The Fashion Wave**

Nicholas Flynn once again unwrapped a piece of nicotine gum and tossed it into his mouth, chewing quickly in an attempt to ease his anxiety and regain composure.

However, it wasn't easy.

Generally, movie promotion is mainly concentrated before the premiere. For instance, if "The Princess Diaries" is released in the first week of August, the promotion would start in June:

Magazine promotions focus on the June and July issues. If they wait until the August issue, it's actually a bit late. Interviews with newspapers, radio stations, and television would be concentrated in July and must take place before the premiere.

The reason is that after twenty years of development, the North American movie market has become increasingly standardized, and box office trends have become relatively predictable.

The opening box office is often the highest.

From the second weekend onward, the box office starts to decline in a diminishing pattern, influenced by certain ratios and word-of-mouth, until the movie goes offline.

Many factors affect the subsequent box office drop, but the most obvious ones are two: promotional effectiveness and word-of-mouth. Overall, a relatively fixed curve has formed, making box office numbers predictable.

Because of this, the profit-sharing between movie companies and theaters also follows a corresponding pattern, usually in a tiered structure of the first three weeks, the first twelve weeks, and after twelve weeks. The closer to the beginning, the higher the profit share for the movie company, and the further along, the higher the share for the theater.

Of course, there are exceptions.

Movies like "Titanic," where the opening box office was far below expectations, even nearly flopping, but continued to show strong momentum for the next twenty-three weeks, are anomalies.

Similarly, movies like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," where the opening box office was just average, but the subsequent box office curve inexplicably rose, are rare.

However, overall, the market rules have formed a stable pattern.

So, promotion must be launched before the premiere, with all energy and focus on boosting the opening weekend box office, starting preparations early.

For the media, they have also become accustomed to this promotional model.

For example, right now.

In August, the promotion for summer movies has already been fully arranged in advance. September, being the off-season, sees a significant drop in promotional efforts and intensity, allowing entertainment reporters to catch their breath.

However, "The Princess Diaries" is an exception—

A second wave of promotion was launched suddenly.

For a moment, it was unclear whether Disney had confidence in the movie or lacked it. Such a reckless and hurried strategy was baffling.

The problem was that magazine slots and radio time for August had long been filled. No one had any room for additional interviews or reports. Even if Disney stepped in, the situation was still tricky; after all, the competition in the summer season was always fierce.

If they pushed it to September, there would be slots and space available, but it wouldn't help "The Princess Diaries" box office. Instead, it would be the time for magazines to interview the summer season's victors, and Disney wouldn't benefit from those pages.

Actually, some media outlets did want to take the opportunity to build a relationship with Disney and interview Anson in the process, which would be a nice opportunity. But time was tight. The promotion had to happen before the second weekend box office of "The Princess Diaries" came out, and they also had to ensure quality. Wasn't this asking the impossible?

What if it turned out badly?

After much back-and-forth, Nicholas took the risk.

The editor-in-chief of "The New York Times" wasn't sure either. Since the newspaper is published daily, they could shift the layout and schedule, and a feature column or in-depth interview would fit the paper's style and wouldn't be too abrupt. But the main point was:

Was it worth the risk?

The editor-in-chief repeatedly questioned Nicholas, making Nicholas himself unsure. But gritting his teeth and making a firm decision, he still agreed.

But now, with the moment upon him, Nicholas started hesitating again.

He thought he must be crazy. Indeed, impulsiveness is the devil.

Nicholas had only one reason for accepting this last-minute assignment:

Anson.

After the premiere of "The Princess Diaries," Anson once again became the talk of the town—

The fashion frenzy.

Thinking back, every one of Anson's appearances was closely tied to fashion. In 2000 and 2001, fashion was still considered a "female" domain. Although men needed to wear suits, the monotonous nature of these outfits lacked any real innovation.

The only exception?

David Beckham.

It might sound absurd, but the only person at that time who could connect fashion with men was a soccer player. But that was the reality.

To be precise, people were interested in David Beckham, not for his fashion sense per se, but for how this handsome athlete, under the influence of Victoria Beckham, evolved into a fashion icon, making waves beyond the football field.

Every outfit, every hairstyle, David Beckham always became the center of attention.

But here's the thing: while people paid attention to Beckham, they didn't necessarily see it as a trend or fashion movement. It was more of a topic for casual conversation.

Anson, however, was different.

His style seemed bold without being reckless, unconventional yet still within bounds, simple yet embodying the essence of fashion. He truly defined a new sense of style.

Simply put, when people saw the Beckhams, they talked about them and were curious but didn't want to imitate them—often with a hint of mockery. But when people saw Anson, they were amazed and curious, admiring his style so much that they couldn't resist wanting to imitate him, to replicate his fashion choices.

That's the difference.

Just like at the premiere's red carpet.

A simple yet distinctive shirt on Anson radiated a unique aura, so much so that the entire fashion industry was abuzz, with all the top fashion magazines immediately focusing their attention on him.

Rumor had it that after the premiere, Anson's agent received an overwhelming number of calls from magazines wanting to book photo shoots for November and December, all hoping to feature Anson again.

Moreover, everyone in the fashion and film industries had the same question: What brand was that shirt? Even if they wouldn't wear the exact same piece, what about something from the same collection? Could they also wear something designed by that designer?

This sudden attention thrust Dior and Hedi Slimane into the spotlight.

Nicholas thought this was incredibly fascinating. He could sense a brewing storm of change, and he wanted to delve deeper into it.

However, there was a problem—

Nicholas himself didn't know how to approach the story.

Everything happened so quickly, and Nicholas hadn't had time to organize his thoughts.

But now, it was too late to regret it; he would just have to take things one step at a time.

In the distance, a figure approached, riding a BMW motorcycle, dressed in a black leather jacket and a striped shirt. Although sunglasses obscured his eyes, the silhouette and the effortless aura of confidence instantly caught Nicholas's attention.

Nicholas didn't even have time to think; he instinctively raised his camera and clicked the shutter—

A reflex. An instinct.