時尚界走進無性別時代 In Fashion Gender Lines Are Blurring
Each time Kimberly Wesson sheds her customary trousers and button-front shirt to put on a flowery dress, she suspects something is off.
每當金伯利·韋森(Kimberly Wesson)脫下定製長褲和係扣襯衫，換上花朵連衣裙，她都會覺得若有所失。
“I feel like I’m dressing up in someone else’s clothes,” Ms. Wesson said the other day over chilled rosé at her studio in downtown Manhattan. Her frills-adverse approach to dress has tested the tolerance of well-meaning friends. “It’s gotten to the point where they’re pleading, ‘Put on a sequin skirt,’” she said. “Or ‘Dress up like Joan from ‘Mad Men.’”
“我覺得自己好像穿着別人的衣服，”韋森在曼哈頓下城的工作室裏，邊喝着冰鎮桃紅葡萄酒邊說。她總是不喜歡穿裝飾太多的衣服，這讓好心的朋友們有點抓狂。“最後她們得求我，‘你就穿條亮片裙吧’，‘穿成《廣告狂人》(Mad Men)裏的瓊那樣行嗎？’”她說。
Not likely. Ms. Wesson and Aimee Cho, her business partner, have, after all, poured their style convictions into 1.61, a year-old gender-free label built largely on loosefitting trousers, swagger coats and easy shirts — items that they wear themselves and offer in varying sizes to both women and men.
根本就不行。韋森和生意夥伴艾米·周(Aimee Cho)把自己的時尚理念注入了“1.61”，這是一個不區分性別的時裝品牌，只有一年曆史，主要產品包括鬆身長褲、風衣和休閒襯衫，都是她們自己平時穿的東西，並且爲男女提供了各種尺碼。
They are among the latest in a raft of designers to capitalize on fashion’s gender blur, that narrowing of the sexual divide that earlier this year emerged on the runways of top tier designers like Rick Owens and Alessandro Michele of Gucci, each bent on eroding the once rigid demarcation between conventionally feminine and masculine clothes.
她們搭上了最新的設計潮流，這股潮流利用時尚界的性別模糊，縮小性別之間的鴻溝，今年年初便開始登上一流設計師的秀臺，瑞克·歐文斯(Rick Owens)和古馳的亞歷桑德羅·米歇爾(Alessandro Michele)都在其列，他們兩人都喜歡一點點破壞男女裝之間原本刻板分明、一絲不苟的壁壘。
True, the trend today derives much of its impetus from fashion’s fixation with the late ’60s and early ’70s, as younger consumers, and those in their thrall, resurrect a moment when unisex was largely the province of rock royalty, the sequins-and-kimono-wearing likes of Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie.
的確，如今的潮流很大程度上都是從時尚界對20世紀60年代末和70年代初的迷戀之中汲取力量，年輕一點的消費者和沉迷於那個時期的人致力於復興那個時刻，在當時，中性風格服飾很大程度上屬於那些搖滾貴族——像吉米·亨德里克斯(Jimi Hendrix)和大衛·鮑依(David Bowie)那些人穿的亮晶晶的、和服式的衣服。
The news is that the movement has gained traction and a measure of cool it hasn’t known since that earliest incarnation, its latter-day grooviness the outgrowth of a loosened-up cultural climate.
新鮮的是，這場運動又從一種它原本自己也不知道的地方得到動力，得到一種很酷的方式；先是有了最早的雛形，後來長足的發展則是來自寬鬆的文化氣候。
“Five years ago we were weren’t ready for this,” said Humberto Leon, a founder of Opening Ceremony, the vanguard shop on Howard Street, and a longtime proponent of gender-fluid fashion. “The difference today is that this trend has a label,” Mr. Leon said. “And it’s gained acceptance by a mass audience.”
“五年前，我們還沒最好準備，”“開幕式”(Opening Ceremony)品牌的創始人之一休伯託·里昂(Humberto Leon)說，該品牌的先鋒店位於霍華德街，長期以來一直是中性風時尚的擁護者。“如今，不同的是，這股風尚有了一個標籤，”里昂說。“並且開始被大衆所接受。”
Ken Downing, the fashion director of Neiman Marcus, was more emphatic.
尼曼集團(Neiman Marcus)時尚總監肯·唐寧(Ken Downing)措辭更加強烈。
“What we’re seeing now, he said, “is a seismic shift in fashion, a widening acceptance of a style with no boundaries, one that reflects the way young people dress.”
“我們正在目睹時尚界的地震，”他說，“人們開始廣泛接受一種沒有邊界的風格，它反映出年輕人的穿着方式。”
It’s a concept that chimes with the thinking of designers like Rad Hourani, whose gender-free show in January featured models in gender-concealing masks; it informs Nicopanda, Nicola Formichetti’s collection of gender-neutral streetwear; it has inspired Hood by Air and Public School and, before them, Mr. Owens and Martin Margiela, whose collections made hash of a binary gender divide.
這個概念與許多設計師的想法不謀而合，比如拉德·休拉尼(Rad Hourani)，他一月的走秀上展示的時裝完全不分性別，模特都帶着隱藏性別的面具；這股潮流啓發尼克拉·弗米切提(Nicola Formichetti)創立了中性街頭時裝系列Nicopanda；它還給Hood by Air和Public School等品牌帶來了靈感；而在此之前，歐文斯和馬丁·瑪拉吉(Martin Margiela)的系列中都有零散的中性風設計。
Recently Miuccia Prada, who has subtly put forward a neo-unisex look in the past, felt compelled to weigh in, telling this summer, “More and more, it feels instinctively right to translate the same idea for both genders.”
繆西婭·普拉達(Miuccia Prada)過去就曾經巧妙地推出過新的中性造型，最近，她也迫切地感覺到應當加入這股潮流，今年夏天，她在接受採訪時說，“我愈來愈感到，爲兩性演繹同樣的理念，是一種本能的正確做法。”
And now a handful of younger Americans — among them the designers of 1.61, Telfar and 69 Worldwide in Los Angeles — are advancing the cause, showing identical pieces aimed at both sexes, and striking a chord that is clearly in tune with the times.
如今一些年輕的美國人正走在這一進程的前列，其中包括1.61、Telfar和洛杉磯的69 Worldwide的設計師們，他們展示爲兩性設計的同款服飾，和時代產生清晰的共鳴。
“The whole perception of sexual orientation is being challenged by the millennials,” said Lucie Greene, the worldwide director of JWT Intelligence, the trend-forecasting arm of J. Walter Thompson. “Among the cohort of 12-to-19-year-olds defining Generation Z, the lines between male and female are becoming increasing blurred.”
“千禧一代正在挑戰關於性取向的整個觀念，”JWT智庫的全球總監露西·格林尼(Lucie Greene)說，該智庫是智威湯遜公司(J. Walter Thompson)的時尚預報分支機構。“在12到19歲，被稱爲‘Z世代’的人羣中，男性與女性的界限正日益模糊。”
Trendwatchers describe a cohort that bridles at being boxed in and tends to shrug off conventional gender labels and other rigid classifiers. It’s a generation drawn to brands, yet skeptical of branding and prepackaged looks. Low-key and logo-chary, its members often shop at stores like Muji, Uniqlo and Everlane online for simple, self-effacing uniforms.
潮流觀察者稱，這個人羣對禁忌不屑一顧，傾向於蔑視傳統的性別標籤和其他死板的分類。這一代人喜愛品牌，然而又對打上標籤，預先包裝好的造型持有懷疑態度。他們低調，對logo小心審慎，經常去無印良品、優衣庫和Everlane的網店購買簡單、不出風頭的衣服。
Some may well be drawn to Telfar, an 11-year-old company in New York. At New York Fashion Week in September, its designer, Telfar Clemens, will show his one-look-fits-all collection of off-the-shoulder tank tops, trench coats and lacelike denim tops and trousers on a cast of androgynous models. Mr. Clemens has stealthily worked the TC logo into many of those pieces, but, he said, “it’s against my nature to do anything really overt. The branding is almost subliminal.”
他們當中有些人可能會喜歡Telfar，這是紐約一家擁有11年曆史的公司。在9月的紐約時裝週上，公司的設計師特爾法·克萊門斯(Telfar Clemens)將展示可以適合所有人的新系列，包括露肩背心、戰壕風衣和帶花邊的丹寧牛仔上衣及長褲，走秀的是一羣中性風格的模特。克萊門斯把自己的姓名縮寫“TC”偷偷藏在許多服裝當中，不過他說，“我天生不喜歡做特別明目張膽的事情，我幾乎是下意識地放了這個名字縮寫進去。”
Practically speaking, gender-neutrality is a boon for designers, said Justin O’Shea, the buying director for . As he told the online trade publication Business of Fashion last month, designers, by showing men’s and women’s looks in tandem, are saving time and money, and honing an identity.
實際上，網站的採購主管賈斯汀·奧謝伊(Justin O’Shea)說，中性風對於設計師來說是一種恩惠。上個月他在接受在線行業出版物《時尚行業》(Business of Fashion)採訪時說，設計師們可以同時展示男女裝，這下就省了時間和金錢，還能打造出一種個性。
Whether mingling sexes on the runway or creating a single garment intended for both sexes, they are speaking to a sympathetic public. “The modern consumer wants to be part of a bigger picture, part of a movement,” Mr. O’Shea said.
不管是在秀臺上混淆性別界限，抑或是設計一款男女都能穿的服裝，這些做法都得到了公衆的認同。“現代消費者渴望參與到更大的圖景中去，渴望成爲某種運動的一部分，” 奧謝伊說。
That sentiment also reflects a rising receptivity, if not an outright prurient fascination, with topics that were once strictly off limits. Transgender narratives are entering the mainstream via trans-models like Andreja Pejic and Lea T, who front major fashion and beauty campaigns; mega-celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner; and television fare like “Transparent,” the series on Amazon, its lead character Mort (Jeffrey Tambor) coming out to his children as Maura.
對於那些一度被視爲禁忌的主題，人們現在就算不是坦率地迷戀其中的性感，至少接受能力也是日益提高了，這也從另一個角度反映出這種情緒。現在有了安德烈婭·皮吉斯(Andreja Pejic)和Lea T這樣的變性模特，他們爲大品牌時裝發佈會和化妝品宣傳活動走秀；還有凱特琳·詹納(Caitlyn Jenner)這樣的超級名人；以及亞馬遜的《透明家庭》(Transparent)的主角莫特（Mort，傑弗裏·坦波[Jeffrey Tambor]飾演，他向孩子們出櫃後就改了女名“莫拉”）等電視形象，他們都進一步把跨性別敘事推向主流視野。
Responding to a shift in mood, progressive merchants like Acne, Vince and Rag & Bone display men’s and women’s clothes in proximity, some occasionally mixing them on the racks. This year, Selfridges in London dedicated a significant swath of its selling space to Agender, a store-within-the-store where gender-fluid labels like Nicopanda, Ann Demeulemeester and Yang Li commingle.
爲了迎合這種情緒上的變化，Acne、Vince和Rag & Bone等前衛的商家開始把男女裝放在一起展示，有時還會在貨架上混合放置。今年，倫敦的塞爾福裏奇(Selfridges)百貨公司把銷售空間的一個顯著位置劃給了“無性別”，這是一個店中店，Nicopanda、安·迪穆拉米斯特(Ann Demeulemeester)和李陽等性別模糊的品牌都混合放在這裏。
Ed Burstell, the general manager of Liberty of London, called the move “enlightened.”
倫敦Liberty百貨公司總經理艾德·伯斯戴爾(Ed Burstell)說這個舉動是“開明的”。
“To devote a full bank of windows and all that real estate for something that could have gone either way was a risk,” he said. “But it forced that conversation that we need to have.” While Liberty itself has no similar merchandising plans, unisex items make up some 25 percent of the store’s fall fashion purchases, he said.
“把整片櫥窗和地段都用來展示某種可能會消失的東西是一種冒險，”他說，“但這逼着我們進行必須進行的對話。”他說，Liberty自身雖然還沒有類似的商業計劃，但中性風的服飾佔了全店秋季時裝商品的25%。
Many women freely embrace the notion of gender fluidity, buying men’s wear in small sizes at stores like Odin, Cadet and Dover Street Market. At Gucci, the sales staff reports that more women than men are buying the pussy-bow blouses from Mr. Michele’s fall men’s collection, just now arriving at the stores.
許多女人都自由自在地接受了性別混淆的時裝概念，在奧丁(Odin)、卡德特(Cadet)和多佛街市場(Dover Street Market)購買小號的男裝。在古馳店內，米歇爾設計的秋季男裝系列剛剛到店，銷售人員說，購買其中一款蝴蝶領結襯衫的，主要是女人，而不是男人。
Men, on the other hand, “have traditionally been immune to gender-neutral fashion trends,” said Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, a fashion historian and the author of “Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.”
另一方面，時裝史學家與《時裝的犧牲品：路易十四與瑪麗-安託內特宮廷服裝》(“Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette)一書作者金伯利·克利斯曼-坎貝爾(Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell)說，男人們“傳統上對於中性時裝潮流不聞不問。”
“We may think we are in a new phase, but we aren’t necessarily,” she said. “What we’re talking about is the leading edge of fashion, not what you’re going to find at J. Crew.”
“我們可能會覺得我們處在一個新階段，但不一定是這樣，”她說。“我們說的是時裝界的尖端潮流，而不是能在J. Crew找到的東西。”
“Still”, Ms. Chrisman-Campbell said, “every time these trends come up they push the boundaries a little bit more.”
“然而，”克利斯曼-坎貝爾說，“這些潮流每出現一次，都會推動一點邊界。”
Giving the trend a push are artists and professional outliers.
推動潮流的總是藝術家與行業之外的人。
“This is very feminine,” Coleman Feltes, a D.J. and music curator, said of his button-front shirt, exuberantly patterned with daisies, roses and butterflies. Mr. Feltes, who was heading home to the financial district with his children last week, had rendered his look street-worthy by combining it with camouflage shorts. “The camo,” he said, self-assured, “takes away from the floweriness.”
“它非常女性化，”DJ兼音樂活動策劃者科爾曼·菲爾特斯(Coleman Feltes)這樣形容自己的係扣襯衫，上面大量裝點着雛菊、玫瑰和蝴蝶。上星期，菲爾特斯帶着孩子們回到商業區的家中時，穿這件襯衣搭配迷彩短褲，爲自己的造型賦予一絲街頭氣息。他自信地說，“迷彩服蓋住了鮮花的氣質。”
Inevitably, some at fashion’s leading edge have already moved on, questioning whether unisex is a trend at all or, as some have suggested, a passing illusion pulled from a stylist’s bag of tricks.
不可避免的，時裝潮流前沿也在發生變化，質疑中性風是不是一種真正的潮流，有人認爲它只是造型師的小把戲，是曇花一現的幻覺。
“Our clients have been there, done that,” said Judson Harmon, the owner of Odd, a four-year-old shop on the Lower East Side that made its name with nongender-specific offerings, its message reinforced by a mannequin, half male, half female, that greets visitors.
“我們的客戶特意來到這兒做那種造型，”下東區擁有四年曆史的Odd美容院店主賈德森·哈蒙(Judson Harmon)說，這家店以中性造型聞名，店門口迎客的人體模型半是男性，半是女性，強調着美容院的特色。
That mannequin will be coming down, Mr. Harmon said. “We’re not abandoning the versatility of unisex. We’re just not targeting it.”
這個模特要被撤下來了，哈蒙說，“我們並不想放棄中性造型這個專長，但我們不再專注它了。”
