印度新娘穿衣排場大 喜歡奢華不願隨便湊合

In the world’s second-most populous country, most of the money, attention and design that goes into clothing are focused on a single event in a woman’s life: a huge, opulent wedding. Even the subcontinent’s most cutting-edge ready-to-wear designers fund those lesser activities with sales from their couture bridal collections. Indeed, bridal wear accounts for 80 per cent of India’s Fashion industry.

在全球第二人口大國印度，花在服飾上的大多數錢、精力以及各種款式都聚焦在女人一生中的一件大事身上——場面奢華的婚禮。甚至全印度最傑出的成衣設計師，也都願意用銷售定製婚紗系列的收入去贊助這些稍遜於時裝秀的婚事。實際上，新娘裝的銷售額佔到了印度整個時裝業收入的80%之多。

So it’s no surprise that Mumbai’s glitterati were in full attendance at the showing of the Swarovski-studded collection put on by Tarun Tahiliani at last year’s India Bridal Fashion Week. Tahiliani is a noted Indian designer, both of ready-to-wear and bridal fashion, infusing some western elements into his richly coloured gowns and taking advantage of a growing $20bn-a-year industry.

因此，印度孟買(Mumbai)的上層人士雲集去年的新娘婚裝周(India Bridal Fashion Week)，專程欣賞塔倫??塔希裏安尼(Tarun Tahiliani)設計的施華洛世奇(Swarovski)水晶鑲嵌婚紗裙系列，也就不足爲奇了。無論在成衣還是婚裝，塔希裏安尼都是印度出類拔萃的設計師，他把西方設計元素融入各種色彩豔麗的印度長袍中，並從印度蒸蒸日上的時裝產業（每年200億美元的規模）中大獲其利。

Other Indian designers, such as Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Rohit Bal, also do big business in bridal wear. “The big weddings will last four, five, six days,” says Bandana Tewari, fashion features editor at Vogue India. “And while for the most radical westernised couples you might have a segment where you can wear something foreign – even, say, Comme des Gar??ons – the main day will always be extremely traditional. You’d never wear western clothes.”

包括慕克吉(Sabyasachi Mukherjee)與羅希特??巴爾(Rohit Bal)在內的其他印度設計師也在婚裝生意中掙了個盆滿鉢滿。“大型婚宴往往持續四天、五天、甚至六天，”印度版《Vogue》時尚編輯班丹納??蒂瓦里(Bandana Tewari)說。“儘管對於西化程度很高的夫婦來說，婚禮期間可能偶爾會穿一次外國款式服裝——甚至穿Comme des Gar??ons——但大婚那天，就一定得穿正宗印度傳統服飾，永遠不可能穿西式服裝。”

At Tahiliani’s show, male and female models hit the catwalk in blood-reds, deep maroons and golds weighed down with crystals. There were traditional sari-like gowns as well as more European silhouettes, inspired largely by the regimes that preceded the English Raj, especially the Mughal dynasty. “It was a time of great art, literature, dance and philosophy, no different from the Renaissance era in the west,” says Tewari.

在塔希裏安尼時裝發佈會上，T型臺上男女模特穿的都是墜掛水晶的血紅色、深栗色以及金黃色的服裝。發佈會既展出了濃郁歐式風格的服裝，也不乏印度傳統的紗麗長袍，它們的設計靈感主要來自大英帝國統治(English Raj)前的各個朝代、尤以莫臥爾王朝(Mughal dynasty)爲甚。“當時印度的藝術、文學、舞蹈以及哲學空前繁榮，完全可與西方的文藝復興時代(Renaissance)相媲美，”蒂瓦里說。

As Tahiliani says, “bridal is the one time that Indians dress up”. “The pageantry of the past, the customs, the traditions, the song and dance – all go into making a wedding the most celebrated moment in an Indian’s life. It’s also recession-proof. Mothers start saving for a wedding almost when a child is born.”

塔希裏安尼說，“印度人蔘加婚禮時，都會穿得衣冠楚楚”。“歷史、習俗、傳統以及歌舞交相輝映、眼花繚亂——所有這一切讓婚禮成了印度人一生中最重要的瞬間；這也是家庭經濟狀況開始走下坡路的鐵證：差不多孩子剛出生，母親們就開始爲婚禮節衣縮食。”

They had better. Tahiliani’s pieces start at $4,500 and rise quickly to $60,000. And a good Indian wedding will include different outfits for different days.

他們最好得馬上開始積攢，塔希裏安尼設計的服裝剛推出時的價格只有4500美元，如今已經快速飈升至6萬美元。而且印度的大排場婚禮講究在幾天時間裏穿不同的服飾。

The boom in bridal wear isn’t just powered by tradition. As in China, the other emerging market powering the world’s luxury industry, India is bursting with new millionaires eager to spend. “People in western countries have lots of ways to spend money. In India, we don’t. But for a wedding, all of our family and friends get together,” says Vijay Singh, chairman of India Bridal Fashion Week. “It’s a time to showcase your wealth.”

婚裝的火爆行情並非僅由傳統所推動。與中國（支撐奢侈品行業的新興市場）一樣，印度不斷涌現的新貴也具有強烈的消費慾望。“西方國家消費者的花錢模式多種多樣，但印度並非如此。但舉辦婚禮時，所有的親朋好友都會濟濟一堂，”印度新娘時裝週主席維傑??辛格(Vijay Singh)說。“這是展示自己家底殷實與否的好機會。”

Singh says the bridal fashion industry is growing at 20-25 per cent a year, with destination weddings becoming quite the rage. In the past two years, locations such as Bali, Florence, Istanbul and Monaco have hosted the nuptials of some of India’s rich cosmopolitan families.

辛格說，隨着度假婚禮越來越風靡，婚裝業正以每年20%-25%的增長速度發展。過去兩年裏，巴厘島、佛羅倫薩、伊斯坦布爾以及摩納哥等國家（地區）成了印度一些富有的四海爲家的家庭舉辦婚禮的首選地。

“Indians love bling,” says Tewari. “A wedding here is all about unapologetic energy, colour, shine and embellishment. People are not going to scale down just because the western world has decided drag-down chic is cool. No Indian bride will compromise on the Indianness of her bridal dress.”

“印度人喜歡奢華的排場，”蒂瓦里說。“他們辦起婚禮來，就是一意孤行地忙活，穿着華麗、光彩照人、奢華之極。印度人並非因爲西方人覺得穿拖地裙酷就願意降低婚禮標準。印度新娘都希望穿着傳統婚紗參加婚禮，沒有一個新娘子願意爲此隨便湊合。”