愛馬仕女裝設計師離職或引行業震盪

More Fashion musical chairs! The Hermès women’s wear designer Christophe Lemaire is leaving “to dedicate myself fully” to his own line. The show in October will be his last.

時裝界的搶椅子游戲又有了新空位！愛馬仕(Hermès)的女裝設計師克里斯托弗·勒梅爾(Christophe Lemaire)將辭職，“專注於”自己的服裝品牌。10月份的時裝秀將是他在愛馬仕的最後一場時裝秀。

Anyway, the news comes at an interesting time: Hermès just released its results for the first half of 2014, and ready-to-wear and accessories were up 16 percent — more than leather goods or silks (granted, it was starting at a lower level, but still). That raises the question: Will the fashion house continue to invest in women’s wear, or pull back?

不管怎樣，這條消息是在一個有趣的時刻公佈的：愛馬仕剛公佈了它2014年上半年的業績，成衣和配飾增長了16%——高於皮具或絲綢的增長（當然，成衣和配飾的起點較低，但仍然不可小覷）。這引發了一個問題：這家時裝公司會繼續在女裝上投資還是收縮戰線？

This will be the first real test of Axel Dumas, the chief executive who took the reins this year, and his strategic plans for the brand.

這將是對今年上任的首席執行官阿克塞爾·杜馬(Axel Dumas)以及他的品牌戰略的第一個真正考驗。

Although Hermès is still widely known as a leather goods and silks brand, Mr. Lemaire’s recent shows had been well received, and he was quietly carving out a convincing style for the luxury name, focused on extraordinary materials and style over fashion.

雖然愛馬仕仍被普遍認爲是一個皮具和絲綢品牌，但是勒梅爾最近的時裝秀都獲得了好評，他正在悄悄地爲這個奢侈品牌開創令人信服的風格，把重點放在卓越的面料和時尚特色上。

It came as a sort of antidote to the much more showy work of Jean Paul Gaultier, who had been hired by the former chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas. Despite being at the brand for seven years, from 2003 to 2010, Mr. Gaultier never seemed entirely comfortable with Hermès’s understated approach as defined by its first catwalk designer, Martin Margiela (1997-2003), who was famous for setting his shows to the murmured conversation of women.

這似乎與前任首席執行官讓-路易斯·杜馬(Jean-Louis Dumas)僱傭的讓·保羅·高緹耶(Jean Paul Gaultier)正好相反，高緹耶的作品要豔麗得多。儘管高緹耶從2003年至2010年爲該品牌服務了七年，但他似乎一直不能完全適應愛馬仕的第一位時裝設計師馬丁·馬吉拉(Martin Margiela, 1997-2003)確立的低調風格。馬吉拉以在女人們的低語聲中展示服裝而聞名。

Though the “leaving to concentrate on his own brand” line can be interpreted in many ways — some good, some less so — it seems to be genuine in this case. Hermès, however, isn’t saying much about what happens next.

雖然“專注於自己的品牌”這樣的說辭可以有很多解釋——有的很好，有的不那麼好——但是這一次似乎是真的。不過，愛馬仕沒有對接下來會發生什麼解釋太多。

To be specific, Mr. Dumas said: “I am very grateful to Christophe for the passion with which he has addressed and enriched the expression of our house in women’s ready-to-wear. Under his artistic direction the métier has renewed its aesthetic and produced very satisfactory financial results. I wish him the greatest success with his own label which is so close to his heart.”

杜馬是這麼說的：“克里斯托弗用激情豐富了我們公司對女裝成衣的表達，對此我十分感激。在他的藝術指導下，我們的女裝審美煥然一新，取得了非常令人滿意的經濟效益。我祝願他自己的品牌取得巨大成功，那個品牌非常貼近他的心。”

Nice — and bland.

說得挺好——但也很平淡。

So will Mr. Dumas follow his late uncle’s strategy and go for a big name, who will bring buzz and global acclaim (and potentially higher costs) to the Hermès shows? Will he take a step back, and go for someone less famous, who may be humbler in the face of the house’s heritage? Will he pull back from women’s wear entirely?

杜馬會追隨他已故的叔叔的策略，找一位著名設計師嗎？這將給愛馬仕的時裝秀帶來喧鬧和全球稱讚（也將增加公司成本）。抑或他會後退一步，找一個不那麼出名的設計師，這位設計師在面對該公司的傳統時會更謙遜一點？他會完全撤出女裝市場嗎？

And will LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which owns 23 percent of the shares but thus far has been a seemingly silent investor, have any say in the matter?

掌握該公司23%的股份的路威酩軒(LVMH Moët)集團到目前爲止似乎是個默默無聞的投資者，它會干涉這件事嗎？

All possibilities are on the table. It’s always a big deal when a major house changes designers, but I’d say this is a particularly big one. Not just because Hermès is such a feted name, but because what it does next — demonstrate a belief in the power of the Fashion Show (yes, capital letters intended) as a marketing tool or not — could influence the whole industry.

各種可能性都存在。大型時裝公司更換設計師永遠是件大事，但我得說這一次尤爲重要。不僅因爲愛馬仕是個備受讚譽的品牌，而且因爲它的下一步行動能表明該公司是否認爲時裝秀（是的，我故意用了大寫）是一種有力的市場營銷工具，這個態度會影響整個時裝業。

No pressure there, then. Young designers, start your lobbying.

所以別有壓力。年輕設計師們，開始遊說吧。