World Aflame

Vespucciland and brand reigned at the fashion shows. The Wilmington, Delaware based company set the tone for other fashion houses. Its head designer, Trill von Caseman had dreamed up the idea of the fashion line in his basement. He wanted to create a label that featured high end clothing and accessories that could compete with the French and Italian designers. Caseman’s 38-year-old frame held within it the fire to innovate, to concoct, to invent. A T-shirt cost $800. Dress shoes showed price tags approaching $10,000. But with the advent of celebrities wearing his line on red carpets and musicians sporting his gear in their videos, the American company excelled at marketing.

Now, turmoil arose amongst the ranks of the chief operating officer and the lead designer.

“I want captains of industry printed on the shirts, jackets, and down to the socks,” Caseman said.

“Captains of ... You mean robber barons? Like Rockefeller and Carnegie?”

Caseman became slightly indignant. “Bite your tongue. They were not robbers. They helped to build this country. And I want modern day capitalists, as well. We’ve got to teach the babies about their American heritage. If no one wants to erect sculptures to these great men and women, then I will just have to plaster their faces over my line of clothing.”

“Sir, you’re not serious are you?” COO Le’Van Gladden said. “We’ve got orders from across the globe who wouldn’t even know who the hell Vanderbilt was. Hell, most Americans won’t even recognize his face.”

“Precisely. That’s the point. To present a collection with the faces and figures of the people that should be regarded not as thieves stealing from the poor to fill their fat cat pockets. The idea should be to present them as heroic beings.”

Lead designer Pharaoh Weems shook his head. “Sir, we’re going to run into so much heat. And not to mention, a decrease in sales because of this. The whole blow up over controversial figures is bad for business. We’re going to be going on PR campaigns and damage control to fix this.”

“To fix what? These figures, much maligned in the 19th and 20th centuries, have made a come back as people are starting to understand the evils of collectivism and root for individualism. Through their minds, these industrialists made the conscious decision to not make gobs of money, which is virtuous, but that they made them in the first place. They had to contend with government interference, protesters, competing companies, and a laundry list of other rabble rousers and detractors.”

“I see your point and not only that, but these people also gave of themselves. They were the most upright philanthropists.”

“That they gave to charity is peripheral. It’s an afterthought. Their real virtue laid in the fact that most of them started from pennies and at their life’s end had amassed great fortunes. Not by theft, graft, or pull either. They employed their minds to fight against nature, not man.”

Gladden straightened his shirt. “I say no, sir.”

Caseman whirled around to his second in command.

“You say no to what?”

“I say no to the fact that people like Vanderbilt didn’t steal from this country. He did not build a goddamn thing.”

“You either missed the history or didn’t care to realize the facts. Cornelius Vanderbilt grew up with holes in shoes and constructed a railroad and shipping companies that netted him millions which would today be worth billions. So don’t tell me about the “Robber Barons.” We should be preserving, celebrating, and broadcasting to the world the various businessmen and women that are America’s best.”

Gladden walked over to the draft paper to sketch out an illustration of what it would look like with a Shawn Corey “Jay-Z” Carter would look like. The picture showed the businessman in a suit replete with a double Windsor tie and cufflinks.

“I was thinking about maybe presenting this image as a part of the series. He rose from poverty and generated a fortune. Sure he’s represented charitable companies, but where would he have gotten those funds without engaging his mind in order to offer that money?” Weems asked.

Caseman looked at the sketch. “Yes. We can make this part of the original alleged "robbers" to be paired with persons from the 19th and 20th centuries into the 21st, as well.”

Gladden took the sketch and put it into the process of production. Vespucciland became a lightbulb, glowing with activity. Teams worked on the faces of J.P. Morgan, Jacob Astor, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Martha Stewart, Walt Disney, Madam C.J. Walker, Steve Jobs, John Johnson, Henry Ford, Farrah Gray, all embroidered into shirts and sweaters. Caseman and his team organized a runway show to take place in Wilmington, Delaware. The team remained worker ants, producing and using the activity of their minds to achieve a common goal. The selfish work required in this type of cooperation allowed for all of the parts to be more important than the whole. Colors of the apparel flew by on the various sheets of paper. Everyone came to the table with a mindset to exemplify the power of turning a coin. The greatness that had been generated that day propelled each of the team members to perform their roles with expediency and verve. Every movement remained an extension of excellence and thought. COO Gladden observed the various staff members hovering over the various cloth samples and the styles that would find their way onto runway models in the coming months.

“We’ve got all of the different ideas...I think,” Weems.

“So, we’re going to be in good position to present these wares to the world?” Caseman asked.

“Sir, I think that we’re able to broadcast these styles to the universe.”

“I enjoy and am enlightened by your confidence. We must talk about money though. The sweaters have to be at least five thousand dollars and the shirts should go for a thousand dollars.”

“That should be fitting. And we’ll give a percentage of the profits to institutes that advocate reason, individualism, and capitalism like the Ayn Rand Institute,” Gladden said.

“I’m more than happy to hear that. That’s going to boost our sales and allow for the great institute in Southern California to take in some support.”

When the Vespucciland models wore these radical pieces of clothing, they felt a bit apprehensive at first. Their skittishness spilled over into the backstage.

A model whose cheekbones looked sculpted into esthetic perfection, Anquila Barrio looked at the sweater with Martha Stewart on it.

“I can’t wear this. She was a criminal. She went to jail.”

“And served her time and got out and is flourishing like nothing ever happened. You must wear this dress. She speaks for the women entrepreneurs who have fought alongside their male counterparts to bring about change in this country and the world. Anquila, you are the darling of this brand. I am not forcing you to wear this or intimidating you in any way. I’m only suggesting that you reconsider your position on such a stellar person as Miss Stewart,” Caseman said.

Anquila rose up from her seat where she chatted.

“It’s going on my body and I’m going to flaunt this ex-con like she was the Madonna.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Caseman said. He turned to a male model that he had known for thirteen years.

Danforth Filigree, six feet five inches and black as a smart device screen said, “I’ve done my research, and I can’t go on with this. We should be showing indigenous people and slaves. I have both lineages in my family. Blood is thicker than water.”

“But it’s not thicker than money,” Caseman said.

“The American Indian and the African American slaves are the representatives of this country. They are the glue which binds this nation together. Without the red man’s land and the black man’s sweat and the brown man’s efforts in the west and the yellow man’s work on the Robber Baron railroads, we wouldn’t have the sole superpower of a country that we now can enjoy. They are the ones who made and make it great. These greedy businessmen and women just want to go after a dollar.”

“And what, you’re on that catwalk for free?” Caseman asked. “You speak of colors as if there is currency in chemical makeups. We are all human beings. Race is just a social construct. It is the mind that concocts racism. It is the mind that separates people into different groups. But it is also the mind that stands for reason...the individual. It is the mind that says that all men no matter what their chemistry or heritage is in end unto himself.”

“This isn’t about me. These people stole from the public. They might have made philanthropic contributions but that isn’t enough for me. They are the thieves of this country. All of them. The wealth that they ‘generated’ really came from the backs of thousands if not millions of people who will never be celebrated on this clothing line,” model Danforth Filigree explained.

Caseman’s arms became unfolded. “I disagree totally with your assessment of the figures that are stitched into these sweaters and emblazoned on these T-shirts. What have you done? Tell me. What have you done to warrant a T-shirt to have your face on it? These people of industry have demonstrated the might of the ideas of this country. The individualism that is inherent in this land lies with the people that have risen to the top economically. But where do you think that they’ve earned all of their riches? ”

Fil]ligree shrugged.

“They got it from the consensual trades of millions and possibly billions of people who saw a product or service that they didn’t even know that they needed and still patronized each of the people that have been etched into the history of this country. So I want you to go out there and show that this company is for the dollar sign. It is a symbol of American ingenuity and strength.”

Filigree pulled in a great deal of air through his nostrils. “Mr. Caseman, I think that you sold me on the whole idea.”

“I know.”

Filigree walked out on that runway with confidence in what he donned. A surge of assurance beamed out from him like a lighthouse.

After the shows in Wilmington, orders from around the country began to crop up for Vespucciland. The Industrialist Collection t’s and sweaters became a massive hit built off of the strength of the head designer and CEO Trill von Caseman. With the number of people yearning to wear Vespucciland clothing with the faces and figures of men and women of the mind, Caseman decided to create a separate brand that would also carry the idealism of the Industrialist Campaign.

"I want to elevate the philosophers, the thinkers, the men and women who brought to bear the ability for the industrialists to flourish. He wanted to show that the world is moved by ideas and it is the good ideas that lead to outcomes such as reason, individualism, and capitalism. It is the thinking brain that permits the human being to devise an expansive mansion or beautiful sonnet or mathematical equation. Or, the mind could produce a case of nails or box of light bulbs or a chemistry set or a rocket ship. Caseman wished to take his industrialist series and expand it.I am going to corral my top executives and plan a collection that would set the world aflame. The field generals of thought should be displayed to include people that may have never been discussed in fashion circles and most likely would not even been considered as a part of a fashion line. I revel in this idea."

Caseman hosted a party that would announce the men and one woman who employed their whole minds to bring about the best in humankind.

He proposed a toast. “I wish to say that with all of the flack that I received from the Industrialist Collection and the overwhelming success that we experienced, I would like to offer my Philosopher Collection starting with Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, the Founding Fathers and Ayn Rand.”

The ovation remained thunderous for ten minutes.