爲什麼美國人喜歡戴帽子

A British friend recently offered me a prized contact from her Manhattan address book – no, not her heavily-in-demand colourist but, instead, her milliner. Trust a Brit to brandish that kind of number, I thought. Hat-wearing is a quintessentially British affair, hence the creations of master British milliners such as Philip Treacy and Stephen Jones.
近日，一位英國朋友把她曼哈頓通信簿中的某重要電話無償給了我——不，對方並非她那位異常搶手的染髮師，而是她的女帽設計師。我覺得英國人顯擺那類電話號碼大可放心。喜歡戴帽子是英國人的典型特色，所以英國能誕生菲利普•崔西(Philip Treacy)和斯蒂芬•瓊斯(Stephen Jones)這等著名女帽設計師也就不足爲奇了。

As the sporting summer gets under way – from England’s Royal Ascot to polo in the Hamptons – a growing number of international customers, particularly from the US, are approaching British hatters.
隨着當前夏天運動季緊鑼密鼓地進行——從英格蘭的皇家愛斯科賽馬會(Royal Ascot)到漢普頓斯(Hamptons)的馬球運動——越來越多的國際客戶（尤其是美國客戶）不斷接洽英國帽子設計師。

“Americans are especially interested in hats since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011, and since seeing the younger royals wear hats so frequently,” says Gina Foster, a London-based milliner who designed the red pillbox hat worn by the duchess during their recent state visit to New Zealand. “I don’t think hats ever went out of Fashion, but the audience is much broader now.”
“自從威廉王子與凱特王妃(Duke and Duchess of Cambridge)2011年大婚以及親眼目睹英王室的年輕一代頻繁戴帽子以來，美國人對帽子的興趣尤爲濃厚，”倫敦女帽設計師吉娜•福斯特(Gina Foste)說，她爲凱特王妃設計了紅色禮帽，近日，凱特王妃就戴着這頂帽子對新西蘭進行了國事訪問。“我認爲女帽永遠不會過時，只不過如今關注者更多了。”

Foster, 38, who studied under Philip Treacy, has been making hats for 12 years. Her international clients come from the US, Mexico, Brazil and Australia. She has also designed a collection of five hats for the 2014 racing season that were inspired by the interior of London’s Goring Hotel.
今年38歲的福斯特曾受教於菲利普•崔西門下，迄今從事女帽設計已有12年。她的國際客戶來自美國、墨西哥、巴西以及澳大利亞。她還爲2014年的賽馬季設計了五頂女帽，它們的設計靈感就源自倫敦戈林酒店(Goring Hotel)的室內裝修。

“Hats are part of English dress and culture, but we have an international audience that is seduced by glamour – and there is nothing more glamorous than a hat,” says Foster’s mentor Philip Treacy, whose numerous customers have included the late style-setter Isabella Blow, Lady Gaga and Madonna. (He also designed the much mocked hat worn by Princess Beatrice at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding; her sister Eugenie sported a less controversial Treacy design.)
“女帽是英國服裝及文化的組成部分，但有些國際客戶癡迷於我們英國美不勝收的時裝————而且魅力最大的莫過於女帽，”福斯特的恩師菲利普•崔西說，崔西名下的大腕客戶數不勝數，其中就包括了已故時尚達人伊莎貝拉•布羅(Isabella Blow)、Lady Gaga以及麥當娜(Madonna)。（他還爲比特萊斯公主(Princess Beatrice)設計了那頂在威廉王子大婚時穿戴、受盡冷嘲熱諷的帽子；比特萊斯公主的妹妹歐仁尼(Eugenie)則是戴了其設計的另一頂帽子（引發的爭議要少一些）參加威廉的大婚。

“When I started at the Royal College of Art, they thought hats were for old ladies, but I thought that was completely insane,” says Treacy. Now he points to a worldwide audience that is “open to seeing hats in a new way”.
“我剛考入英國皇家藝術學院(Royal College of Art)時，時尚界認爲帽子只適用於老年女士戴，我當時就認爲純屬荒唐之極，”崔西說。如今他認爲全球的客戶都“以全新的方式看待女帽”。Kelly Christy is an American milliner whose work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York and has designed for Diane von Furstenberg and Cynthia Rowley. Christy says hats – both classic, such as the fedora, as well as more whimsical headpieces – are back as a chic and affordable accessory after the recent downturn. “Now everyone wears them – actors, musicians, models; they complete a fashion look and are more mainstream than ever.”
凱莉•克里斯蒂(Kelly Christy)是美國設計師，她的作品已在紐約史密森•庫珀-休伊特國家設計博物館(Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum)成功展出，還曾爲黛安•馮芙絲汀寶(Diane Von Furstenberg)與辛西婭•羅利(Cynthia Rowley)設計過帽子。克里斯蒂說：近幾年經濟低迷後，各種帽子（既包括軟呢帽等經典款式，也包括奇形怪狀的帽子）作爲既時髦又實惠的配飾捲土重來。“如今所有人都在穿戴它——演員、音樂家、模特，不一而足；它們讓時尚行頭成爲完美的整體，如今更成了時尚主流。”

Ellen Goldstein, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, would agree: “Hats are a way of easing into a fashion statement.” She notes that more Americans are wearing hats to the races and to weddings, as well as in everyday wear, with men in particular routinely wearing baseball caps and short-brimmed fedoras.
艾倫•戈爾茨坦(Seth Goldstein)是紐約美國時裝技術學院(Fashion Institute of Technology)教授，他贊同克里斯蒂的觀點：“帽子慢慢成了展示時尚風格的方式。”她如今注意到越來越多的美國人日常戴帽外，還戴着它們去參加賽事及婚禮，其中尤以男士爲甚，他們經常戴着棒球帽以及窄邊軟呢帽。

Gabriela Ligenza, another London-based hat designer (see “Boffin tops” below), says Britain’s image as a hat-wearing nation had remained strong, thanks to the influence of figures such as Isabella Blow. “British milliners are slightly quirkier and more daring, but without becoming ridiculous,” she notes.
另一位倫敦帽子設計師加布麗埃拉•利津察（Gabriela Ligenza，參看下圖中的“Boffin”帽）說：歸功於伊莎貝拉•布羅等時尚達人的影響力，英國作爲喜歡戴帽的國家形象依然非常堅不可摧。“英國的帽子設計師稍微有些離經叛道，而且更加敢於創新，但還沒有到荒謬絕倫的地步，”她說。

The message, reinforced by such style icons and prolific hat-wearers as Daphne Guinness, Anna Dello Russo and Paloma Faith, who has worn Ligenza’s hats, is that “your outfit really isn’t quite finished without a hat”.
因此，在達芙妮•吉尼斯(Daphne Guinness)、安娜•戴洛•羅素(Anna Dello Russo)以及帕洛瑪•費絲(Paloma Faith)等衆多喜愛帽子的時尚名媛推波助瀾下，如今傳達出的時尚信息是：“沒有帽子的點綴，您的行頭真是美中不足”。

What’s more, as Ligenza points out, fascinators are no longer allowed in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot, which has stimulated demand for contemporary designs.
而且更重要的是，正如利津察所言，如今皇家阿斯科特賽馬場已禁止戴着頭巾進入，此舉大大刺激了當代風格的帽子需求量。

Piers Atkinson, also based in London designs fun, arty hats in the shape of cream slices and cherries for customers in Melbourne, Dubai and Britain. He believes there has never been a better time for talented young designers, and points to the British Fashion Council’s “Headonism” showcase, an initiative to promote young milliners that runs during London Fashion Week in September.
另一倫敦女帽設計師皮爾斯•阿特金森(Piers Atkinson)參照奶油蛋糕與櫻桃形狀，爲墨爾本、迪拜以及本國的客戶設計了妙趣橫生、附庸風雅的帽子。他認爲如今這個時代是才華橫溢設計師的黃金時代，並以英國英國時裝協會(British Fashion Council)設立的“Headonism”展覽室項目爲例證明。該項目旨在提攜年輕的帽子設計師參加今年九月舉辦的倫敦時裝週(London Fashion Week)。

Also showing at Headonism will be Awon Golding, who grew up in England, Hong Kong and India. This year her designs include eye-catching pieces for Ascot such as one in the shape of an ice-cream cone, complete with scoops of soft ostrich feather pom-poms.
Headonism展覽室還展出了阿翁•戈爾丁(Awon Golding)設計的帽子，戈爾丁分別在英國、香港以及印度生活過。今年，她設計的作品包括了阿斯科特賽馬會上那頂引人注目的蛋卷冰淇淋外形帽子，連同勺子狀的軟鴕鳥羽毛絨球帽。