Spice [NaNoWriMo 2023 Winner]

Pointe

Yuuri was bent over his work table with a pencil in one hand, a ruler in the other and several other tools gathered around him. He had talked to Yakov and Lilia about sponsoring Yuri and while both were hesitant about it, Yuuri had an idea in his head and needed to pry it out before he worked himself up about it.

Yuri explained that he had gotten most of his clothes from second hand shops, and while there was nothing wrong with it, he seemed put off. Yuri never had anything that was just for him when he was younger, everything was either second hand or gifted. The boy had his own clothes now, his career giving him the cash he needed to thrive, but Yuuri wanted to give him something that was his.

"Animal print died, Yuuri," Pitchit said as he watched his friend work, a little worried as Yuuri continued to trace a pattern onto the tiger print fabric.

"Yes, it did, but not for a lot of the younger generation," Yuuri explained, "Or at least for one feisty Russian Tiger. He expresses himself with street clothes, it reminds me a lot of the street fashion back home."

"Back to Victor's charge?" Phichit asked as he leaned against the wall, "Isn't he a bit young to be one of your clients?"

"That's the problem, all of my old clients and usual customers have aged, they have a set style, a set look that hasn't changed in decades. I don't want to be trapped like every other designer, everyone is staying safe with their suits. Who wears a full suit anymore anyways? When was the last time you walked into an office and saw a man in a full suit and tie that didn't look like he wanted to rip it off himself."

"I mean...what's wrong with a good suit?" Phichit asked,

"Nothing, Phi, but what is wrong with something different?" Yuri asked as he continued to cut out small sections of the fabric and looking at his sketches, "What's wrong with a bit of attitude, a bit of flare, something colourful?"

Phichit grinned as he watched the man work, seeing the new creative spirit was something else to see. His new line was falling off the shelves, Yuuri was even wearing the blue shirt he had designed, this new drive was a thing of beauty all on its own. He could see the focus in his eyes and the spark that was making his brain work. The inspiration was the teenaged Yuri and how the little Russian prince was clawing himself up the ranks one competitor at a time. That boy was something special, his Instagram covered in pictures of Potya and Makkachin. The recent photos of his grandpa and his travels filled with zoo pictures of Tigers, Leopards and Cheetahs.

Yuuri was pulling the fabrics he was working on and tacking them together with a sigh as he held it up. He was trying to fit the bright orange and black together but it wasn't working. The shades were too intense and he seemed to be losing himself just a little as he set the project down.

"It looks too Halloween," Yuuri grumbled as he looked at the colour and turned to Phichit "Any ideas?"

"You're going for a basic tiger, is Yuri basic?" Phichit asked and Yuuri tilted his head, "Tigers come in more than one colour, dumb ass, you think tiger and go right for orange, they can be white or golden, some are even black. Yeah the basic tiger is orange and the one that survives in the wild the best, but they are not the only tigers that exist."

"Shut up with your logic," Yuuri huffed as he looked up the different species of tigers and the variations in colours on his phone. Tigers with the coloured mutations were often just bred in captivity, the beautiful golden tiger with deep cinnamon stripes was more subtle in its beauty. The contrast of black on white was stunning but there was something about them being in a cage that made him pause.

The two of them spent time going through pictures and tossing ideas at one another, both of them sending messages out to Victor and Malee to see if eyes outside of their industry could give them an idea. Victor said just to do the basic orange, Yuri was brightly coloured himself with butter blond hair and piercing green eyes. Yuuri didn't want basic anymore, Phichit was right, Yuri deserved to stand out and be seen, to show off his unique self.