蘇格蘭對華紡織品出口大幅增長

As Scots don their clan tartans in celebration of national bard Robert Burns this weekend, they may be surprised to learn they will not be the only ones. Fashion-conscious Chinese shoppers are buying more traditional Scottish clothing than ever before – from tweed suits to golfing trews.

在蘇格蘭人本週末穿上花呢格紋服裝，慶祝民族詩人羅伯特•彭斯(Robert Burns)的誕辰之際，他們可能會驚訝地得知，他們不是喜歡這種服裝風格的唯一人羣。具有時尚意識的中國消費者正在購買空前數量的蘇格蘭傳統服裝——從花呢西裝到高爾夫格子褲。

Estimates from HM Revenue & Customs indicate that exports of textiles from Scotland to China are about to hit a record high, after sales in the first nine months in 2013 reached nearly £9.7m – outstripping the total for the previous year. Scotland sells more than two and a half times more textiles to China than it did a decade ago.

英國稅務海關總署(HM Revenue & Customs)的估計表明，蘇格蘭對中國的紡織品出口即將創下歷史新高，2013年前九個月的銷售達到近970萬英鎊，超過上年全年總額。如今，蘇格蘭對華紡織品銷售超過10年前的兩倍半。

According to the tweedmakers of the Isle of Harris, off Scotland’s west coast, the Chinese appear keen to wrap themselves in the history of the region.

在蘇格蘭西海岸外的哈里斯島，一些花呢格紋生產商表示，中國人似乎喜歡飽含蘇格蘭歷史底蘊的服裝布料。

“It’s about provenance, British [identity] and quality,” said Brian Wilson, chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides, and a business ambassador for the UK government. “If you can tick these three boxes in China then you’ve got a good chance.”

“關鍵在於原產地、英國（特色）和質量，”哈里斯花呢赫布里底羣島公司(Harris Tweed Hebrides)董事長、英國政府商業大使布賴恩•威爾遜(Brian Wilson)表示。“如果你在中國能夠做到這三點，你就有很好的機會。”

Harris Tweed Hebrides is responsible for about 90 per cent of the handwoven tweed cloth made in the Outer Hebrides, and is about to secure its first Chinese fashion client. It already provides tweed upholstery to Chinese customers – by supplying the UK furniture maker Tetrad, which shipped its first products to China this month.

在外赫布里底羣島出產的手工編織花呢布料中，哈里斯公司佔大約90%，該公司即將爭取到首家中國時裝客戶。它已經向中國客戶提供用於傢俱的斜紋軟呢——通過向英國傢俱製造商Tetrad供貨，後者本月向中國發運首批產品。

Johnstons of Elgin, a wool and cashmere clothing maker based in the northern Scottish city, exported £200,000-worth of goods to China last year. “What the Chinese absolutely love is the history and heritage that some of the companies have,” said Ian Pryde, Johnstons’ export sales director. “Johnstons now is 215 years old. The Chinese love that.” The company recently appointed agents in Beijing and Shanghai to secure more business.

在蘇格蘭北方城市埃爾金，羊毛和羊絨服裝製造商Johnstons去年向中國出口了20萬英鎊的產品。“中國人絕對喜歡的是一些企業蘊含的歷史和傳統，”Johnstons公司的出口銷售總監伊恩•普萊德(Ian Pryde)表示。“Johnstons是一家有215年曆史的老企業。中國人喜愛這一點。”該公司最近在北京和上海任命了代理商，以爭取更多業務。

For newer manufacturers, however, the challenge is establishing their brands in the face of competition from Chinese copycats. On a trade visit to Beijing in March last year, Glasgow-based fashion designer Rebecca Torres found that buyers “were really into kilts and tartan trousers.” But she also discovered several Chinese suppliers with names that sounded surprisingly Scottish.

不過，對於成立不久的製造商來說，挑戰在於面對中國模仿者的競爭確立自己的品牌。去年3月，格拉斯哥時裝設計師麗貝卡•託雷斯(Rebecca Torres)在北京進行貿易訪問時發現，買家“對蘇格蘭短裙和格子呢長褲真的很感興趣”。但她也發現幾家中國供應商的名稱聽上去頗具蘇格蘭特色。

One way Chinese fashionistas have been able to ensure the authenticity of their clothes is by travelling closer to the source. Roubi L’Roubi, creative director of Huntsman of Savile Row – once the tailor to King Edward VIII – has found that customers from Asia are visiting the London shop specifically to order tweed suits. “Some people want to get things from the origin,” he said. “They want to know how it’s woven and where. They’re curious.”

中國時尚人士確保服裝來源正宗的方式之一是親自前往接近產地的地方。在倫敦薩維爾街，曾是愛德華八世的裁縫的亨斯邁公司(Huntsman)的創意總監Roubi L' Roubi發現，亞洲客戶專門到這家倫敦商店訂購花呢西裝。“有些人希望從產地獲得產品，”他表示。“他們想知道它是如何編織的，在什麼地方做出來的。他們很好奇。”