時裝設計師的房間——吳季剛

Where does a collection begin? In the mind and imagination of a designer, of course, but also in a physical space, an insider sanctum that is almost never seen by consumers: the office and atelier. In many ways, these private spaces reflect the choices and points of view that inform fashion as much as any runway show. If in doubt, simply consider the outtakes from a series of behind-the-velvet-curtain videos in which designers from New York to Paris invited The New York Times into their professional lives. First up: Jason Wu, who opened his namesake label in 2006 and shot to fame as the designer of Michelle Obama's inaugural gowns, in his New York office. (This interview has been edited and condensed.)

服裝系列起源於何處？當然是起源於設計師的頭腦和想像，但它也起源於一個物理空間，一個消費者幾乎從未見過的密室：辦公室/工作室。從很多方面講，這些私人空間和時裝秀一樣能反映時尚選擇和觀點。如果你對此還有懷疑，那就來看看這一系列幕後視頻：紐約、巴黎等地的設計師們邀請《紐約時報》走進他們的職業生活。首先登場的是吳季剛(Jason Wu)，他在2006年開創了自己的同名時裝品牌，因兩次爲米歇爾·奧巴馬(Michelle Obama)設計就職典禮禮服而聲名鵲起。當然，這兩件禮服都是在他的紐約工作室裏設計的（下面的訪談經過剪輯和濃縮）。

Q. How long has this been your professional home?

問：你在這裏工作多久了？

A. I've been in this office three years. I always wanted to be in the garment district because I make 90 percent of my production here, so I thought it was really important that I was very close to the work, and am still close to the work, and part of New York. It feels really very New York to me. You have people hauling fabric at 8 a.m., and tons of delivery trucks, and loud sirens.

答：我在這個辦公室工作三年了。之前我一直想搬到服裝區，因爲我90%的服裝都是在這裏生產的，所以我覺得離工廠很近真的很重要，我現在依然離工廠很近，同時也還在紐約市裏。在我看來，這裏真的很有紐約的感覺。早上8點就有人在搬布料，有很多運貨卡車和喧囂的汽笛聲。

And you moved here because you outgrew your previous space?

問：你搬到這裏是因爲以前的地方不夠用了嗎？

My last studio was 3,000 square feet, and this one is 10,000 square feet, plus I have another floor, so it's six times the size maybe. My previous office was very primitive. I had painted the walls myself. I did charcoal gray and white. It was very minimal, not because we wanted it to be minimal, but because at the time we couldn't afford anything. With this office I got to kind of explore and play. When I first moved here, it had red walls with gray carpet. It was some sort of a trading firm and it was like 10 offices on this floor, so we had to take everything out.

答：我的上一個工作室有3000平方英尺，這個有10000平方英尺，另外還有一層，所以面積大概是原來的六倍。我之前的辦公室非常簡陋。牆都是我自己刷的。我刷成了炭灰色和白色。它是極簡風格的，不是我們想讓它成爲極簡風格，而是我們當時沒錢。而這個辦公室能夠讓我探索和玩耍。我剛搬到這兒時，牆是紅色的，地毯是灰色的。好像之前是個貿易公司，這一層大概有十個辦公室，所以我們必須把所有東西都扔掉。

How did you choose your personal corner in this space?

問：在這個空間裏，你怎麼選中了這個私人角落？

This nook felt like the most private place in the office. It just felt like it was calling my name.

答：這個角落好像是整個辦公室裏最私密的地方。我感覺它在呼喚我的名字。

Is it important to you to have a place to retreat?

問：有個休憩之處對你來說重要嗎？

Yes. My daily life is a lot of hustling and bustling, and a lot of insane moments, especially during fashion week. But sometimes you need that moment of quietness where you put the drapes up and kind of like have five minutes of "do not disturb." Not that it really ever happens. But I do start the day everyday here with my coffee. Email, phone calls — it all happens here.

答：重要。我每天的生活都忙忙碌碌，有很多讓人抓狂的時刻，特別是時裝週期間。但有時你需要一個安靜的時刻，可以拉上帷幕，擁有五分鐘不被打擾的時間。雖然這並沒有真的發生過。不過我總是在這裏開始新的一天，寫郵件、打電話都是在這裏。

How did you choose your desk?

問：你是怎麼選擇書桌的？

This is a vintage desk. I like that it's kind of classic and wood and not your typical work desk. A lot of me is very traditional. I like old bones and classic furniture, and this kind of represents me very well.

答：這是個古董書桌。我喜歡古典和木頭的感覺，不喜歡典型的辦公桌。我很大程度上非常傳統。我喜歡老東西和古典傢俱，這很好地代表了我。

And the chairs?

問：這些椅子呢？

These chairs are from DDC [the design firm]. I used to pass by it all the time as a student at Parsons, seven or eight years ago, and the one thing I wanted was these chairs in black and white. I finally got them.

答：這些椅子來自DDC設計公司。七八年前我在帕森斯學院就讀時經常路過那裏，那時候我想要的東西就包括這些黑白兩色的椅子。現在我終於擁有它們了。

What's on the shelves?

問：書架上有什麼？

A lot of books. I buy books every week. I guess I'm a hoarder of books, but I love the way the paper feels, and the way they look and smell. There is a little cat that represents good fortune. I've always had this affinity for cats, so my parents gave me that when I was little, and I kept it. There's a little clock, because I'm always late, so it's kind of a nice reminder.

答：很多書。我每週都買書。我覺得我是書籍囤積狂，但是我很喜歡紙的觸感，喜歡它們的樣子和味道。這個小貓代表好運。我一直喜歡貓，所以小時候父母給了我這個，我一直留着它。還有個小鐘，因爲我總是遲到，所以它是個很好的提醒。

Do you draw your collection out first, or do you design on the computer?

問：你是先把服裝系列畫出來，還是在電腦上設計？

I do everything by hand. Computers are only for emails. I'm a very computerless person normally. I still cut and paste and use glue and marker. Working with the hand is still the most appealing to me.

答：我什麼都動手做。電腦只用來收發郵件。總的來說，我是個不用電腦的人。我仍然手動剪貼，使用膠水和記號筆。動手工作依然是我最喜歡的方式。

Is that wall made of corkboard?

問：那面牆是用軟木板做成的嗎？

Uh-huh. I have the need to pin everything, so you'll see there is corkboard everywhere in my studio. It's like a larger version of the fridge magnet situation, where you just put everything you know. I collect things I like to look at it, and it's kind of become my little history. I build the walls every season according to the collection. Sometimes I start with a person, sometimes with a color, sometimes with an idea and sometimes with a combination of the three. In two weeks this will probably explode with many more pictures. And then, the day after the show, I'll take it all down. It's so liberating. It's kind of the cycle of life.

答：嗯哼。我需要把所有東西都釘到牆上，所以你會發現我的工作室裏到處是軟木板。它像個大號冰箱貼板，我可以把我知道的所有東西都貼在上面。我收藏我喜歡觀看的東西，它有點像我的小小歷史。我每一季都根據服裝系列來構建這個牆面。有時是某個人啓發了我，有時是一種顏色，有時是一個概念，有時是以上三者的結合。在兩週時間內，這面牆很可能會鋪滿很多圖片。在時裝秀的第二天，我會把它們全揭下來。有一種釋放的感覺。它像是生命的輪迴。

Afterward, do you keep all the research and pictures or throw them away?

問：之後，你會保留所有這些研究和圖片，還是把它們都扔掉？

I file everything into folders by season. Again, I'm a bit of a hoarder. I like to keep things that I looked at or have been inspired by, because I think at some point you do want to go back and have a look. Those are moments that can't really be replaced. Like the note wall.

答：我每一季都把所有東西歸檔。這再次表明我有點像囤積狂。我喜歡保存我看過的或者給過我靈感的東西，因爲我覺得將來的某個時刻，你會想回頭看一看。那些時刻是不能被代替的。比如那面便籤牆。

The note wall?

問：便籤牆？

I always loved the idea of having stationery. I'm in the habit of writing notes, and when people write me notes it feels too special to throw away. I've been very fortunate to be able to meet so many different kinds of people who I never thought would a) know who I am, or b) even care. So I decided to put the notes up one section of the cork wall and not recycle them because they are something that can never be replicated again, and that is very, very dear to me. It's become a bit of a project. Those I don't take down.

答：我一直很喜歡用紙筆的感覺。我有寫便條的習慣，有人給我寫便條時，我會覺得很特別，不捨得扔。我覺得自己非常幸運，能遇到這麼多不同的人，我以前根本沒想到他們竟會知道我是誰，更別說去在乎我。所以我決定把這些便籤貼在軟木牆上的一塊地方，再也不取下來，因爲它們是不能被複制的，對我來說特別特別珍貴。它變得有點像一個藝術作品。那些東西我不會取下來。