Rebirth of the Fashion King

In 2009, the chill of the global financial crisis swept through the luxury industry, pushing it to the brink. Christian Lacroix filed for bankruptcy, major brands slashed jobs and closed stores, and the Paris fashion world descended into turmoil. In the midst of that bitter winter, Li Xun stood at 31 Rue Cambon—a designer at Chanel, mentored by Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard, who had quietly toiled for four years within that sacred temple of fashion. No one knew that this seemingly gifted young man from the East was actually a reborn soul carrying memories of the future. In his previous life, he had only barely managed to join an independent Parisian design studio at thirty, and eventually collapsed from exhaustion at his desk. When he woke up, he found himself back in 1986, starting life over as a baby. Now, in the Paris of 2009, Lagerfeld was at his creative peak, John Galliano was staging his final madcap spectacle at Dior, Stefano Pilati was struggling to hold the line at YSL, and Martin Margiela was about to retreat from the scene. It was the twilight of the fashion gods—and the last blaze of an era’s glory.