“街頭服飾”是帶有種族歧視的詞彙嗎？

Is 'streetwear' a racist term?

“街頭服飾”是帶有種族歧視的詞彙嗎？

At the start of the millennium the New York Times compiled a list of overused fashion adjectives. “Geek-chic”, “mash-up” and “fashionista” were included. An updated list for 2016 might include “streetwear”.

在2000年初，紐約時報編輯整理了一份被過度使用的時尚形容詞清單。“潮”，“混搭”，和“時尚達人”都包括在其中。2016年的升級版清單或許會新增“街頭服飾”這個詞。

The latter term has troubling connotations for designers such as Nasir Mazhar who suggested that “streetwear” was a racially coded term. He told Dazed: “The minute people see black or non-white models, they think it’s streetwear.”

街頭服飾”一詞帶有隱晦性色彩，比如設計師Nasir Mazhar認爲：“街頭服飾”是一個帶有種族歧視的詞彙。他告訴Dazed雜誌：“當人們看到黑人或非白人模特時，他們認爲那就是街頭服飾。”

Appropriately, for such a linguistically floppy term, its origins are dreamy and sun-kissed. “Streetwear” grew out of the US surf and skate culture of the 1960s and 70s. It later came to encompass comfortable clothes such as T-shirts and baggy jeans. In the UK, say “streetwear” and people think of joggers, caps and hoodies. Low-priced, soft-to-the-touch comfy wear that nods to hip-hop. They don’t think of haute couture. In that sense, Mazhar tells me, it’s an odd fit with what he does.

其實，這樣一個慵懶性十足的詞彙，其起源也相當地夢幻。“街頭服飾”來源於美國20世紀六七十年代的衝浪和滑板文化。此後，“街頭服飾”逐漸推出T恤和牛仔褲等休閒服飾。在英國，“街頭服飾”令人聯想到慢跑者，工人和小混混，是價格低廉，手感柔軟，讓人隨嘻哈音樂點頭的舒適衣服。人們不會想到高級女式時裝。Mazhar告訴我，由此來看，他所做的是一種怪異的服飾。

“I’ve always associated the term with brands that mainly do T-shirts and sweatshirts,” he says. “They are not full-on fashion brands. So, in that sense, it’s belittling.” For him, it’s about feeling misunderstood by the fashion pack. “When people describe my collection using that term, I feel like they don’t get what I’m doing.”

“我總是把這個詞和主打T恤和運動衫的品牌聯繫在一起，”他說，“他們不是緊隨潮流的品牌。所以從這個層面上，它被輕視了。”對他來說，這就像是被潮流誤解了：“當人們用這個詞來形容我的作品，我感到他們並未真的瞭解我做的東西。”

It’s a fair point when you consider that Mazhar’s most recent collection was inventive, surreal and contained absolutely no T-shirts whatsoever. His clothes are a celebration of opposites: tracksuits and tailored pieces, formal jackets, rave tops and denim wear. But instead of the focus being on these different aspects, he is seen as an urban streetwear designer. “I don’t think people know how to talk about the looks or shapes I use. I’m not saying the clothes are masterpieces, but people’s reference points were really basic.”

如果你認爲Mazhar最近的作品很有創造力，超現實主義且沒有包含任何T恤這樣的元素，那麼也是情有可原的。他的衣服是對立面的集合：運動衣褲和定製衣服，正式的夾克，上等的衣服和粗棉布衣服。但人們卻並未關注這些方面，只是把他視爲一名街頭服飾的設計師。“我覺得人們不知該如何評論我所設計的衣服的款式和版型。我並不是說這些衣服是什麼傑作，但人們提及的角度確實都太淺顯了。”

Mazhar says he is always asked about the music in his shows, and the diversity of his models, but never the artistry behind his clothes. It echoes something Daryoush Haj-Najafi, senior editor of Complex UK, asks: “Why, when Raf Simons designs a trainer, is it art, and when Kanye West does it, it’s a joke?”

Mazhar說他常被問及自己秀場的音樂和各種各樣的模特，而不是衣服背後的藝術。正好應了Complex UK的高級編輯Daryoush Haj-Najafi說的那句話：“爲什麼同一款跑鞋，Raf Simons設計出來是藝術，而Kanye West設計出來就是笑話？”

譯文屬原創，未經允許，不得轉載