Feel the Way You Feel, My Love
Natalie’s creation was to be modeled during the seventh round, so she had some time to spare. She took
a break, got a glass of hot milk, and sat down on the bench along the corridor for a rest.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out from behind her. “Why are you here by yourself?”
Natalie instantly sat up straight and turned around in disbelief.
Shane was standing there smiling and looking at her lovingly. She quickly put down her glass of milk,
stood up, and threw herself into his arms. “Why are you here? I thought you said you wouldn’t be
coming this weekend,” she asked.
Shane hugged her and whispered, “I wanted to give you a surprise.”
“You’re such a jerk!” She hit him on his back and chided, but the joy in his eyes grew.
“Stop hitting me. Doesn’t your hand hurt?” He gently eased her hand from his back and massaged it.
“No. What about you? I may have hit you too hard. Does it hurt?” Natalie asked with concern too.
Shane leaned down and kissed her hand, assuring, “No, it doesn’t hurt.”
Natalie pulled Shane to the bench and urged, “Come, sit down.” Then she asked, “When did you arrive?”
“Only just. I came straight from the airport,” he replied while caressing her stomach.
She leaned back and let him stroke her stomach to his heart’s content.
Although she was only three months pregnant and the bulge on her stomach wasn’t too obvious, he
could still feel the slight bulge when he caressed her.
By the feel of it, Shane could tell that the little fellow had grown quite a fair bit.
“So you haven’t been to the villa to see Connor and Sharon yet, right?” Natalie said.
“No. I didn’t have time to do so. Other than to visit you and the kids, this trip was also at the invitation of
the Design Association. They invited the management of many international luxury brands here for a
meeting,” Shane revealed.
Natalie blinked her eyes in disbelief and exclaimed, “Oh! They spared no expenses in hosting this
meeting! What is it about?”
“It has to do with your current competition on designs for people with special needs. Based on statistics
from the world population census, people with special needs, including the handicapped, make up ten
percent of the total population. That is a few hundred million people, so it’s a really huge niche market,”
Shane elaborated.
Natalie lifted her head and confessed, “I somehow had a feeling that the Design Association could be
getting involved in this. You just confirmed my suspicion.”
“The Design Association needs to bring in money, so they would not miss out on such a huge potential
market,” Shane conceded as he stroked her hair.
Natalie nodded in agreement, saying, “The fact that they invited all of you here means they’re already
working on this segment of the market. There’ll be great changes within the international fashion scene
soon, and the mainstream designs and designers will no longer monopolize the scene.”
“I reckon so. However, I think most designers would still focus on the general population, and those who
choose to design for people with special needs would specialize in that. It would be two different
segments, as not many would be able to do well in both at the same time. Moreover, it would be difficult
and unfair to group both segments together for competitions and judge them with the same set of
standards,” Shane added.
“That’s not a bad idea actually. I know not all designers would be keen to interact with and design for
people with special needs. If the two segments don’t overlap, those who are not keen will not be able to
impose their values and opinions on others,” Natalie shared her views. She had met many designers
who thought they were a class above others and would only design for the rich and famous. These
people would turn their noses up on the special needs population.
As such, they would be reluctant to accept the special needs segment as being part of their fashion
scene. If the two segments were judged and managed separately, it would be easier for all to co-exist
harmoniously.
“Other than fashion design, they’ll spark a revolution in jewelry design, and the design of accessories
such as shoes and caps. This will be the trend that no one can stop,” Shane predicted.
Natalie nodded again and concurred, “That’s for sure! Clothes and accessories go hand in hand and
must complement one another. If only the clothes were adapted and changed, but the rest of the
accessories remained status quo, it wouldn’t look good.”
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