Although Lyon is the center of the textile industry in France, this number is still shockingly alarming.
Aside from silk products, France could barely maintain a breath due to its high-end clothing industry, but all other fabrics such as cotton, wool, and linen were being ground into dust by British products.
This evidenced the tremendous damage the Edict of Eden Treaty inflicted on the French industry.
Joseph continued to go through the data, and sure enough, it was not far off from what he had anticipated. France’s steel, glass, and porcelain industries were also a complete mess, and it seemed that in no more than a year or two, they would collapse completely.
No wonder the industrial revolution in France lagged a full half-century behind England and could never outcompete England. Although there were forces of destiny at play, the Edict of Eden Treaty definitely “played a critical role.”
He suddenly felt an immense pressure.
With some minor maneuvers, he had won France three years of tariff barriers, but after those three years, the country would face an industrial showdown.
Now, not only was there the need to solve the grain problem, but also the development of industry needed to be undertaken—all of which he had to support by himself. How could he not feel the pressure?
Furthermore, grain required money, developing industry required even more money, yet French banks had invested all their money in Britain…
Joseph sighed and looked out into the night sky, realizing that in the end, it all came down to money.
Feeling somewhat agitated, he decided to step out and take a look at the Paris nightscape, allowing his brain a rest.
The cold winds outside brushed against his face, indeed making his head feel a lot clearer. However, the sanitary conditions in Paris were far worse than the Palace of Versailles, with even the wind carrying a faint scent of urine and feces…
Thankfully, he was not like other French nobility who liked to douse themselves in hefty amounts of perfume, otherwise the mixture of the strong fragrance and excrement would have been a cruel torture for the nose.
Joseph adjusted his collar. Count Eman quickly caught up to him, draping a crimson thick woolen cloak over his shoulders.
“Oh, thank you very much.”
Joseph turned to thank him, when suddenly his attention was drawn to the tall, cold wall to the left.
Looking up and across, he realized just how long the wall was, stretching out endlessly and disappearing into the night without a visible end.
Joseph moved about ten more steps to the right to get a better angle and finally saw the lofty spire of a building behind the wall.
“What place is that?” he asked Eman, pointing at the spire.
“Your Highness, that is the Tuileries Palace.”
Joseph blinked. No wonder the building was so extravagant; it turned out to be the Old Palace.
The Tuileries Palace was King Henry III of France’s royal residence, but under the threat of the Fronde and also considering the ease of controlling the nobility, Louis XIV moved out and had the Palace of Versailles built.
Hence, from the seventeenth century onwards, the Tuileries Palace remained unoccupied. According to history, after the outbreak of the Fronde, Louis XVI was brought back to this place by the Parisians and lived here for a while.
He suddenly remembered the report from a few days ago about Paris City Hall applying to the Finance Minister for funding for the autumn and winter fashion show. Turning his head back to gaze at the Tuileries Palace, an idea gradually emerged from his mind.
As the dominant fashion industry leader in Europe, France has been holding two fashion shows each year, spring/summer and autumn/winter, since the reign of Louis XIV.
The entire fashion circle in Europe invariably looked up to Paris. Every time the fashion show ended, it would trigger a new fashion trend that swept across the whole of Europe.
From what Joseph understood, the so-called fashion shows at present were simply about setting up an exhibition hall where renowned designers would take the stage to showcase their works. Journalists and fashion industry personalities would then comment on and document the event below.
Viewed from the perspective of later generations, this was simply a waste of the spotlight, a waste of attention.
“That’s just wasting a golden opportunity to make money!”
You should know that the old palaces in France can be used for other purposes.
For example, the Louvre is currently a royal museum.
Joseph walked quickly around the Tuileries Palace on the icy pavement, nodding to himself in approval.
It had size, grandeur, and selling points.
With proper packaging, the Tuileries Palace, with such a big IP, coupled with the title of the fashion center of Paris, could easily generate a massive cash flow with just a bit of hype.
To think that it had been idle for over a hundred years, what a terrible waste!
He considered how to maximize the benefits of this hot spot, and suddenly the cold night wind didn’t seem so biting.
“‘Fashion show’ is such a bland name,” Joseph shook his head slightly, but as someone who struggled with naming things, he eventually resigned himself to borrowing a term from a previous era, “Let’s just call it ‘Paris Fashion Week’.”
Of course, when we say “Fashion Week,” it doesn’t necessarily mean it only takes place for a week. Adding something like a experience season, promotion week, or a grand song and dance festival afterwards could easily stretch it to a month.
He pointed at the Tuileries Palace and turned to ask Eman, “Count Eman, do you know how many rooms there are here?”
“This… Your Highness, I am sorry, I am not quite sure, but it must be over 2000, at least.”
“That many? Excellent!” Joseph showed his pleasure, “Let’s say 700 of the best rooms, rent them to merchants as shops, with a monthly rent of 50 to 150 livres.”
You should know, this is a royal palace, and this rent is definitely a fair price.
Joseph mused to himself: “Rent out the remaining rooms a bit cheaper at random, or use them as hotel rooms, which could easily fetch 3 to 10 livres a day.
“The rent for the main halls could be a bit higher, 1000 livres a month. Build some billboards outside the palace square and sell them to merchants.
“Hmm, we need to find a spokesperson. Speaking of the fashion industry, I have Europe’s trendsetter here, the very symbol of luxury and elegance.”
He recalled how well “Angel Water” had sold at the Palace of Versailles:
“I’ll ask the queen, she should agree to be the ambassador for the fashion week. Then we’ll pull in some publicity in the newspapers, along with the queen’s portrait, and wouldn’t the nobility from all over Europe flock to us?
“Hmm, we’ll also need to talk to some jewelers and hat makers about endorsements, things like ‘Royal Family’s exclusive supplier,’ ‘Chosen by the Queen,’ and so on. Just the queen’s endorsement fees alone could bring in hundreds of thousands of livres!”
“Regarding the specific arrangement of the venue,” Joseph looked towards Eman again, “where can I find a layout map of the Tuileries Palace?”
“Your Highness, you might need to go to the City Hall to find that.”
Joseph expressed some regret: “It looks like we’ll have to wait until tomorrow then.”
He took a deep breath. If preparations were fast enough, they could hold the fashion week by this coming February.
Before that, get in touch with Lyons’s textile merchants, have them bring their excess inventory, come to Paris for a sale, and recover a good chunk of the costs.
If the effect is good, orders are bound to come in, probably enough to sustain half a year’s production in Lyon.
And on Paris’s side, during the fashion week, a huge influx of foreigners is certain. The income from tourism-related sectors like food, shelter, transportation, and more would be substantial, truly a case of killing two birds with one stone!