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Chapter 75 You really understand men.

Hugh Hefner's office had been completely transformed by Ernst into a temporary director's room and planning department. The oil paintings that originally hung on the walls had been replaced by whiteboards that had been nailed on temporarily, and several boxes of unopened photography equipment were piled up in the corner. The original classic and grand style had now become a cluttered storeroom.

"What is this?" Ernst's voice broke the silence in the room. He was holding the corner of a design sketch, his brows furrowed. "The latest design. If we put models in this lingerie, it will definitely attract the audience's attention."

Ernst looked down at the sketch he had drawn with a marker in his hand. The simple, bright yellow bra didn't even have the most basic shaping curves; it looked like two pieces of triangular fabric that had been barely sewn together.

The leopard-print shorts she paired with the outfit had several crooked white floral trims sewn around the cuffs, making it look like curtain scraps were sewn directly onto the pant legs.

He suddenly understood why Playboy's lingerie brand, despite its advantageous platform, had always struggled to achieve great success, or rather, had never reached the heights it should have attained.

It's too mainstream, too much of a follower of trends.

This design might be acceptable on a department store's promotional shelf, but as a Playboy product, it's practically a desecration of the brand's image.

"Even my grandma felt it wasn't good enough for her when she went to the beach." Ernst made no attempt to hide his sharp tongue, crumpling the drawings into a ball and throwing them directly onto the table.

The designers were very unhappy with Ernst's disparaging remarks, but they knew he was their big boss and didn't dare to give him the cold shoulder, so they could only patiently explain.

"But this is the most popular style right now."

In the 90s, the popular style of underwear was mismatched tops and bottoms, and the style was not like underwear, but rather cool outerwear for home wear.

Ernst did not object to the style; he was dissatisfied with the pattern.

"I want lingerie, not conservative beachwear. Is this for my boyfriend? I'd rather believe it's everyday wear for when I'm meeting visitors."

"Not only does it lack any curves, but the lace seems more like a fig leaf added to cover up the rough workmanship."

The designers fell silent. Some stared down at their shoes, while others pretended to study the view outside the window. A silent resistance filled the air.

Seeing this, Ernst grabbed the sketchbook on the table, picked up a pencil, and quickly sketched on the paper.

Ten minutes later, he slammed the sketchbook onto the table with a "thud".

"Design it according to this style."

The designers who had gathered around glanced at it were met with a chorus of gasps. Many of them even had their pupils suddenly contract and instinctively swallowed.

The bra in the design features a half-cup style with irregularly wavy lace edges that perfectly support the curves of the chest. The lower body consists of a thong and garter belt, connected on the side by a ribbon as thin as a hair. The key areas are only covered by a few pieces of openwork pattern, making it seem as if they might reveal glimpses of the body at any moment as the wearer moves.

"Oh my god, isn't that too sexy?"

Even the chief designer, Muel, who had previously been ridiculed by Ernst, had to admit that Ernst's designs were indeed astounding. Those seemingly bold elements were cleverly combined to create a fatal attraction.

If a woman were to stand in front of you wearing such lingerie, probably no man could remain calm.

"But this is a TV program. It's impossible for someone to appear on TV wearing underwear like that. Children can't watch it at all."

Ernst was so angry he laughed, and gave the other person a look as if they were an alien.

"I designed underwear, not children's sleepwear. Since when did adult product design have to compromise based on whether children can see it? If it can't be broadcast on public channels, does that mean I can't be on pay channels either?"

"Target audience..."

Ernst immediately raised his hand to interrupt them, "That's not something you should be thinking about. You are designers, and I only have one requirement for you: that you design lingerie that makes men want to pounce on you the moment they see it."

How did Victoria's Secret succeed? There are only two reasons.

The first point is marketing; the entire Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is the most successful example of marketing.

By constantly hyping up models, lingerie, various announcements, programs, media promotions, marketing articles, etc., they attract old perverts all over the world in an eye-catching way and style.

Then, through these old perverts, they influence those women.

However, this is also the easiest thing to replicate. As long as you have money and connections, anyone can imitate it.

The second point, and Victoria's Secret's brilliance, lies in its price positioning.

In comparison, Victoria's Secret lingerie takes a more affordable approach, which has blocked many copycats from making a comeback.

Those priced higher than Victoria's Secret products don't sell, while those priced lower either have their profit margins squeezed to almost nothing, or they have to cut corners to reduce costs.

At the same price, who would buy a no-name brand instead of the well-known Victoria's Secret?

However, there is one thing Ernst appreciates most: despite being an affordable bra, it gives people the feeling of a luxury item.

If you don't know the brand, just hearing the name gives you a sense of sophistication.

On the one hand, Victoria's Secret did indeed launch those products that can be called luxury goods; on the other hand, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, this super long show that was created to represent global fashion, gave people a false impression.

Fashion shows have always been associated with luxury brands; when have you ever heard of affordable brands holding fashion shows?

Victoria's Secret broke this rule, and many affordable brands followed suit.

"A woman dies twice in her life: once physically and once beautifully."

"Our goal is to prolong a woman's second death, to extend her lifespan."

This is not only Ernst's positioning of Playboy lingerie, but also a redefinition of Playboy's entire range of women's products.

"Seven days. I'm only giving you seven days. After seven days, come up with no fewer than twenty lingerie designs that satisfy me. If you do it, you'll get a promotion and a raise; if you don't, you're all fired."

Time was of the essence, and Ernst knew the nature of these self-proclaimed artists.

If you're quick, you get inspiration; if you're slow, you just blame all the problems on the fact that art takes time.

If you don't push these people, the moment you turn your back on them, they'll be off having a wild party.

Leaving his office, Ernst encountered Hugh Hefner, who was being helped by two women, in the hallway.

At this moment, the old man was curiously standing outside a room, observing the staff who were busy inside.

Upon seeing Ernst, Hugh Hefner cracked a joke, clearly in a good mood.

"I'm starting to regret lending you this estate. I hope my Playboy estate won't be completely ruined after the show ends."

Ernst was somewhat embarrassed, after all, he was indeed carrying out a major renovation of someone else's estate.

For example, the room where Hugh Hefner is standing right now used to be the other side's main conference room.

But now? Ernst has ordered this room to be converted into four bedrooms for the models to live in.

Following Ernst's standards, Craig found over a hundred models in America who met his requirements.

Despite the numerous bedrooms at Playboy Manor, it's not big enough to accommodate all these people.

Double room. Don't talk to me about privacy or anything like that; these models don't deserve it.

It's fair to say that apart from Hugh Hefner's master bedroom, there are very few rooms in the entire estate that haven't changed. The meeting room was renovated, the billiard room was demolished, and spaces had to be partitioned off for the cinema and game room, just to make it barely enough to live in.

With the arrival of the construction team, the entire manor has been transformed into a massive construction site.

"Don't worry, we'll restore it to its original state exactly as it was. It'll be much more convenient once the Model House is set up this season."

Before the first season had even been filmed, Ernst had already begun planning for the second season.

He had someone buy a piece of land next to Playboy Mansion so that he could build a dedicated model home that could be connected to Playboy Mansion and share its external facilities.

Fortunately, this area is considered the suburbs. While there isn't much land available, there is still enough land to build a large villa.

If there isn't enough space, you can talk to Hugh Hefner and buy some from his estate.

"It's very novel, and your festival makes me look forward to it more and more."

Pointing to the filming equipment being set up in the room, she asked, "Are you going to film them sleeping?"

"Why not?" Ernst gave a knowing look. "If you were the audience, wouldn't you want to see these models sleeping in sexy lingerie?"

Hugh Hefner paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, pointing at Ernst with his left hand, "You know men very well."