時裝界又添季前秀 Forget the sales hit the rails

閱讀提示： 對照中文翻譯在上，英文原文在下。

我最反感的就是打折銷售：眼見四個月前全價購買的衣服，如今掉價掉得已所剩無幾，內心哪有快樂可言？尤其是同樣的衣服買來後掛在衣櫃裏壓根沒穿過，全價標籤仍完好無損時。但也不盡然，打折季唯一的福音是它宣示了新時裝季的到來————因此，我唯一喜歡的購物場景就是打折貨架與一排排光鮮亮麗、之前從未見到的服裝現貨比肩而立。

I hate sales shopping: there is no pleasure to be had in finding things reduced to a fraction of the full price I paid four months previously (especially when that same unworn item is still swinging its full-price ticket in my wardrobe). No, the only good thing about a sale is that it announces a new season — and the only ones I like, therefore, are those in which the sales racks sit alongside rails of shiny, previously unseen stock.

說起從未見過的貨物，真的是實至名歸。如今店鋪裏上架的很多服裝既未在T型臺上亮相，也未曾在時尚刊物上大肆報道。與T型臺上亮相的時裝相比，它們往往價廉物美、薄利多銷，它們就是季前裝————整個流行時裝週期中的“珍珠”。

When I say unseen, I mean exactly that. Many of the clothes in store now have neither graced a catwalk nor featured in much editorial. Slightly more commercial and often less expensive than their catwalk counterparts, these are the pre-collections: the pearls of the fashion cycle.

季前系列每年通常推出兩次：早秋季從現在（六月）一直持續到九月，屆時正好與擁躉們耳熟能詳的秋季裝接上茬（秋裝請參看今年2月的時裝秀）。另一季前系列（也稱作resort或cruise季，稱呼容易讓人暈菜）從每年11月開始推出，直至與春季裝對接上。季前系列不同於主流時裝秀：色調與剪裁風格更爲樸素，服裝也不追求標新立異，設計風格更顯含蓄。它們通常更爲耐穿。因此，它們如今佔到各大公司年銷售額70-80%的份額也就不足爲奇了，它們貢獻了各個品牌銷售額的十之八九。

There are two “pre” collections; pre-fall will trickle in store from now until September, when the clothes will be joined by the more familiar autumn pieces (seen on catwalks in February). The other “pre” collection (confusingly known as resort, or cruise) goes into shops from November in advance of the spring collections. Pre-collections are a different beast from the main shows: the palette and cut are sober; the clothes are less distinctive; the styles more subtle. They are typically more wearable. No surprise, then, that they today account for 70-80 per cent of a house’s annual sales; the vast majority of a label’s turnover.

鑑於這些季前系列貢獻的真金白銀，那麼對於在主時裝季上費心費力持懷疑態度也就情有可原了。這似乎是個怪異的諷刺：我們買的多數服裝與T型臺上秀的時裝風馬牛不相及。那麼時裝秀真的就是雞肋嗎？

Considering the financial might of these collections, one would be forgiven for wondering why we even bother with seasonal fashion shows. It seems a bizarre irony that most of the clothes we buy have nothing to do with what we see on the catwalk. So is the fashion show redundant?

多數時裝權威人士堅稱：若要提升品牌知名度，唯有T型臺一條路。從經濟層面看，時裝秀仍是買家出手前衡量各大品牌熱度的最佳平臺。在時尚專家看來，時裝週仍是實現媒體關注度最大化的最好舞臺；而從創意層面看，時裝秀仍是體現設計師理念精髓的最佳場合。

Most fashion insiders insist there is no other option. Financially, the show is still the best forum for buyers to gauge the heat of a design house before they make their orders. Editorially, a fashion week is still the best arena in which to maximise media attention. And, creatively, the show is still held as being the most pure distillation of a designer’s vision.

因此，季前秀儼然就是時裝界的“工兵”，它就好比突然出現在舞臺劇中、主演家喻戶曉角色的知名性格演員：兢兢業業、不受賞識，但作用巨大。

Hence, the pre-collections exist to do fashion’s donkey work, just like those great character actors who crop up in dramas starring bigger household names: never out of work, barely recognised and terrifically good value.

但此一時、彼一時也。Miu Miu如今在巴黎推出自己的resort季前系列，算是拉上了非正式“時裝季”（越來越多的季前系列亮相於T型臺）的帷幕。過去六週裏，香奈兒(Chanel)、古馳(Gucci)、路易威登(Louis Vuitton)和迪奧(Dior)分別在韓國、紐約、美國加州棕櫚泉(Palm Springs)以及法國戛納舉辦了季前秀場，更絕的是：J•W•安德森(JW Anderson)在英國劍橋藝術館、已故館長吉姆•伊德(Jim Ede)的故居Kettle’s Yard舉辦了季前秀。這些季前秀往往會同臺舉辦多場其它品牌的發佈會，更多關注是否成系列。與此同時，各種季前系列層出不窮地推出。曾幾何時，它們的款式屈指可數，如今儼然已是“千軍萬馬”之勢————往往有成百上千種款式。過去一年中，時尚界的“醜小鴨”已蛻變成時尚寵兒，各種季前秀把時裝秀檔期安排得滿滿當當。

But things are changing. Next Saturday, Miu Miu will present its resort collection, in Paris, drawing to a close an unofficial “season” in which pre-collections are increasingly being staged. In the past six weeks, Chanel has shown in Korea, Gucci in New York, Louis Vuitton in Palm Springs, Dior in Cannes and, rather wonderfully, JW Anderson in Kettle’s Yard, the Cambridge gallery and former home of the late curator Jim Ede. These have been accompanied by myriad other presentations to put more focus on the lines. At the same time, the collections are mushrooming. Where once they amounted to a few looks, they are now massive — often numbering hundreds of pieces. Over the past year, the fashion donkey has metamorphosed into show pony, and the fashion calendar become an endless carousel of shows.

CEO們聲稱這些計劃外的秀場專注於主流時裝週外的品牌。我覺得爽呆的是推出的新款不勝枚舉。但設計師們如何應對這種無休止輪番上演的季前秀？要知道，很多設計師如今每年至少得觀摩六場季前裝發佈會。

Chief executives claim these off-schedule shows focus attention on the label outside the noise of fashion week. And I think it’s terrific there are so many new things to buy. But what do the designers — many of whom are now looking at a minimum of six collections a year — make of this hamster-wheel rate of productivity?

“這讓人心力交瘁。”在自己門店舉行季前秀的設計師羅蘭•穆雷(Roland Mouret)說。“太瘋狂了。”來自奧斯卡•德拉倫塔(Oscar De La Renta)的設計師彼得•柯平(Peter Copping)補充道。“工作量超人。”維多利亞•貝克漢姆(Victoria Beckham)一邊帶我參觀她倫敦芒特街(Mount Street)門店的季前裝、一邊對我說。維多利亞•貝克漢姆還推出了價格便宜點的二線品牌Victoria，她先費盡心思預選出約500件，然後逐步淘汰，直到選出自己最心儀的款式：“我們店面空間有限。”對於那些未上架的衣服，她這樣解釋道。季前裝通常兩次交付，所以新貨往往每三個月上架一次，這與繁華商業街的店鋪並無二致。

“It’s exhausting,” said Roland Mouret at his store presentation. “It’s crazy,” added Peter Copping, of Oscar de la Renta. “It’s a lot of work,” said Victoria Beckham as she walked me through her pre-collection at her London Mount Street store. Beckham, who also offers a broad diffusion line (Victoria, by Victoria Beckham) had wrestled with an estimated 500-piece edit before whittling it down to her favourite looks: “We ran out of space,” she said of the clothes she had kept back. The collection will be delivered in two lots, so new stock will arrive in store every two months, not unlike the high street.

儘管如此，她竭力避免舉辦resort季前秀。但諸位注意她的這家門店，露天市場的印花圖案在她的季前系列貫穿始終。季前系列甚至有望變成時尚寵兒的意味……

As yet, she has avoided staging a resort show. But watch this space. Fairground prints were a recurring motif throughout her collection. It even had a hint of show pony . . .