[Hana] Clothes Make the Mannequin

Work today involved sending Hana to a particularly popular boutique; one that felt a little too high class for her, but they did give her some spending carats to help with fostering better connections (thanks unnamed company!) Though she wasn’t sure if she was even allowed to purchase anything, considering this was first and foremost a tour around the place. Stifling a yawn, she followed what she figured was a bun secretary who was busy babbling about the history of the place (not like there was much history to begin with? Everything looked pretty shiny new). Other buns were busy working - they were either making designs on those big drawing boards or presenting them. It was when they got to the sewing room itself that she saw prototypes being made - shirts, jackets, pants, you name it.

And in the center of it all, a very huggable-looking bun. One that seemed to exude soft large pillow energy, though for all she knew, it was possible that he looked like a cinnamon roll but was actually not on the inside. The bun secretary called out to him (to which Hana learned his name was Peter), and he responded with a gentle smile.

“Oh? A visitor?”

The bun secretary seemed eager to drop Hana off here, from what she noticed. Well, that was fine, she would like to take a break from the walking and actually stay and admire what was in here rather than just see things at a glance. It didn’t take long before the bun secretary passed the figurative leash to Peter and then promptly left, with something “urgent” that she had to do.

“So what brings you here, miss?” it seemed that the clothing designer was used to being a babysitter. 

“Mostly here to meet the owner of Cottontail Couture…for business purposes, if you don’t mind me being frank.”

“Ah, well, that would be me, then.”

“Wait, really?” Hana supposed she shouldn’t have been so surprised. “Oh, nice to meet you! Sorry I wasn’t able to properly introduce myself…I’m Hana, by the way.”

“A pleasure. Now you mentioned something about ‘business’, was it?” he used an air quote with his free hand while holding a pin on the other. He had been trying to figure out the placement of certain pieces of colorful cloth and such on a mannequin.

“Not gonna lie, it feels more like we’re just getting our hoof in the door. Potential collaboration in the future, perhaps, though if you’re asking me, my company is a tiny fish compared to your brand.”

Peter let out a small laugh, “You’re not exactly selling your company to me well, then.”

Hana shrugged, “They’ll send someone better next time, to be sure. I’m just here because I was the only one free to go.”

“I’ll take your word for it then, only because I actually had a chat with your boss before you got here. Maybe try a little more next time if you want to keep your job, yeah?”

Hana pouted a little, not really expecting a scolding. So much for being a cinnamon roll on the inside. “Well,” she looked around, noticing that there was a workstation that seemed very empty of buns but full of materials and designs. “Want to teach me how you design stuff?”

Peter raised a brow. “Is this your idea of trying?” there was no ill will in his voice; he simply sounded curious. “I suppose I can show you a bit of my process, if it will make sense to you, that is.”

“Heh, I’m actually a fast learner, believe it or not!”

“You’ll have to show me for me to believe it.”

Hana couldn’t quite place his tone - not exactly condescending, but not a pushover for certain. She supposed it was something he had to learn to become popular, and it was something that the sloth bun could never see herself doing. It wasn’t like she was aiming to work harder and be more successful, she just wanted more carats to her name, for relaxing purposes.

In any case, the two buns huddled on the empty workstation, with Peter taking a look at what another one of his workers left behind and explained what they were up to (something like, this was the theme they were planning on doing this month, and we were looking for so and so elements to bring together a unified line). Even if it was summer, it didn’t mean that they were developing only swimsuits - there were some other summer wear here as well, simple shirts and sleeveless outfits and short shorts. Hana wasn’t exactly the type to accentuate her body shape, so she preferred loose clothes.

So even if there weren’t a lot of material on hand, she thought about a summer dress, describing a plain off-white with little lace and a baby blue ribbon. She would try to draw it, but she wasn’t exactly a great artist (also she had no idea what were the necessary measurements and notes she would need to write for a fashion designer). Peter filled up those gaps easily enough, and noted that they did have a dress somewhere in the bin that was pretty close to what Hana had mentioned.

It didn’t take long before they could get a rough idea of what Hana wanted on a mannequin, and all it needed (or so the sloth bun thought) was a nice straw hat to go with it. You just wanted a simple summer look, huh? Peter had asked, and noted that it was a bit too unoriginal to market with his line.

“Well, I just noted what I like, and some brands work with that simplistic thing real well, don’t they? Like Buniqlo? Or Buji?”

“Buniqlo is a whole other beast.” but he didn’t look disappointed, or so Hana hoped. “This seems like it would fit you. How about giving it a try in the fitting room over there?”

“You have a fitting room in your office?”

“Sometimes it’s best to try what you design for yourself, right?”

He was right, of course, he was the one who started this fashion line from the ground up. The dress was a little too loose on her chest, but otherwise she definitely liked how it flowed and moved with her light twirling. The ribbon, at least, tied the whole look really well, and it was too bad that there was no straw hat in the room to accessorize with. Still, she’d like to think that the star motes sparkling near her face did something. “Ah, I would buy this if it were in a store! I need more dresses in my life…”

Peter let out a small laugh, “Well, if you’re hoping that I’ll give you that for free, I’m not. Besides, it’s not exactly something I want someone to wear outside with how unfinished it looks.”

Hana pouted, “It was worth a try…”

“I can give you a little discount coupon for being bold though.”

“Yes!”

All in all, Hana felt like it was a rather productive tour (she was, in reality, aiming for something that she could take home as a freebie). She went home with a thin strip of paper in her bag and a rather smug look, though that feeling only lasted for a couple of moments before getting scolded by her boss the next day.