王薇薇(Vera Wang)婚紗獲世界親睞:以中國根爲傲

With nuptials season in full swing, a Vera Wang wedding dress remains at the top of many a bride's wish list. The designer, who recently took home the lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, has been innovating in bridal design for years─using color, knits and even throwing fabric into a washing machine.

隨着婚禮季的全面展開，王薇薇(Vera Wang)婚紗依然是許多新娘願望清單上的首選。王薇薇最近剛拿到美國時裝設計師協會(Council of Fashion Designers of America)頒發的終生成就獎。多年來她一直在婚紗設計領域進行創新──運用色彩和編織手法，甚至將面料扔進洗衣機裏。

Ms. Wang said that her latest collection is about construction. 'I had felt that I had really messed that vocabulary of perfection for brides for a while, where there's six fabrics to a skirt,' she said. 'I wanted to go back to something that maybe was what I started with, but in a whole new way, and that would be architecture─not simplicity─but maybe minimalism.'

王薇薇說，她的最新婚紗系列重點在於構建。她說：“我覺得有段時間我確實攪亂了新娘們對於完美的概念，一條裙子有六種布料。我想回到最原始的東西，但是以一種全新的方式，這種方式就是服裝架構──不是簡單──而是極簡主義。”

The Wall Street Journal sat down with the designer in her studio to talk about some of her Most memorable wedding and red-carpet looks, business in China and 'Tiger Moms.'

《華爾街日報》記者在這位知名設計師的工作室裏對她進行了採訪，聊到了她記憶裏最深刻的幾款婚紗和紅地毯裝扮、她在中國的業務以及她對“虎媽”的看法。

Edited excerpts:

以下爲編輯後的採訪摘錄：

What is your approach to dressing someone for the red carpet?

你給人設計紅毯裝用什麼方法？

Vera Wang: In red carpet I am more of a wardrober─like Edith Head─a wardrobe designer, where it has to be reflective of the star. Their look, their personality, their body type and what they're trying to express that night. So that becomes a way more specific journey than what I do in ready to wear.

王薇薇：在紅毯裝上我更像是一個造型師──就和伊迪絲•海德(Edith Head)一樣──衣服必須反映明星的氣質。要看他們的長相，他們的個性、體型以及當晚他們想表現什麼。因此紅毯裝就比我做成衣的過程要具體得多。

Which red-carpet looks do you get asked about the most?

哪些紅毯裝被人問得最多？

Michelle [Williams] ranks up there. Charlize [Theron] in the mandarin orange, '30s-inspired dress, where she wore the pair of brooches. She could've definitely been in a film in that dress. She just shot ['The Legend of] Bagger Vance,' which was a '30s period piece about a golfer, and she wanted to stay in character for the Oscars, so she did the more retro hair. That's definitely one of the ones I've been asked the most about.

被問起最多的是米歇爾•威廉姆斯(Michelle Williams)。還有查理茲•塞隆(Charlize Theron)那條以30年代風格爲靈感、配一對胸針的橘色長裙。她穿那條裙子絕對可以拍電影。當時她剛拍完《重返榮耀》(The Legend of Bagger Vance)，那是一部有關30年代一名高爾夫球手的電影，她想爲了奧斯卡(Oscars)保留角色的樣子，所以做了比較復古的髮型。那絕對是我被問得最多的紅毯裝之一。

Certainly Sharon Stone after 'Basic Instinct' when she came in a blond duchesse tight ball gown with a huge train in the back and no jewelry. Just the blond skin, blond hair, and incredible blond dress. That was sort of my first big Oscar moment. Everything came together to make it magical. It really does take a certain amount of luck and serendipity for all the factors to come together. I've dressed amazing women: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lopez─there have been so many.

當然還有剛拍完《本能》(Basic Instinct)的莎朗•斯通(Sharon Stone)，她身穿了一條金色絲硬緞緊身晚禮服，大大的裙裾，沒有佩戴首飾。只有金色的皮膚、金色的頭髮和光彩照人的金色長裙。那是我的第一個相當於奧斯卡的時刻。所有的元素組合在一起，造就了這身不可思議的裝束。所有這些因素組合在一起確實需要一定的運氣和緣分。我爲很多優秀的女星設計過紅毯裝：茱莉亞•路易斯•德利法斯(Julia Louis-Dreyfus)、桑德拉•布洛克(Sandra Bullock)、詹妮弗•洛佩慈(Jennifer Lopez)──太多了。

What about wedding moments?

那婚紗呢？

Chelsea [Clinton], certainly, not only because of her provenance and her family and the fact that they're an extraordinary American dynasty in terms of politics. The wonderful thing about Chelsea was her desire to go a more fashion route, a more unexpected place. I credit her with that. That's really all about her own vision of how she saw herself. For a wedding of that pomp and circumstance, it was really very much of a family affair, and so that authenticity came through not only in the actual wedding but in how she looked. I was not dictating to Chelsea. We collaborated together. There was a youth and a romance and a certain acceptance of techniques that were quite complex from a fashion point of view.

當然是切爾西•克林頓(Chelsea Clinton)，不僅僅因爲她的出身和家庭以及他們在美國政界歷史上非同尋常的地位。切爾西很棒的一點是她渴望走比較時尚和比較出乎意料的路線。我覺得她這點很不錯。最重要的是在於她自己如何看待自己。對於那種華麗場合的婚禮，確實是一場家族盛事，因此不光婚禮要呈現出真實性，她的裝扮也要真實。我並不是在指導切爾西，我們是在合作。要表現出青春和浪漫，從時裝角度來看相當複雜的技術性細節，也要能讓人接受。

Alicia Keys─same night, 6 hours before, in fact I looked at my watch at noon and said, 'Alicia's getting married right now' in the south of France, I believe. She was sort of barefoot and pregnant. She just embraced being pregnant and the fact that she wanted to Grecian and like an Earth goddess. And so: Two very different brides, two very different continents, two very different lifestyles, and yet I think each one felt that she had expressed who she was on her most important day. Even in celebrity weddings I feel like I'm a costumer.

還有艾麗西亞•凱斯(Alicia Keys)，她的婚禮也是同一天，不過比切爾西早六個小時。我中午就看着表說：我猜艾麗西亞現在就在法國南部舉行婚禮。她赤着腳還懷着孕。她坦然接受自己懷孕，而且想要希臘式婚紗，看起來像大地女神。因此：兩位截然不同的新娘，兩塊截然不同的大陸，兩種截然不同的生活方式，但我認爲她們都覺得在自己最重要的日子表現出了真實的自我。即使在名人的婚禮上我也覺得自己像個服裝師。

What about business growth in Asia?

在亞洲的業務發展得怎麼樣？

Being Chinese, but having grown up in America, first generation, it's meant a great deal, particularly since my parents passed, that I honor my past and my roots. And that means a great deal to me. You can't grow up in a Chinese─even American family─and not know that. If you have Chinese parents, you know. They don't let you forget.

作爲在美國長大的第一代華人，在亞洲的發展意義重大，特別是由於我父母已經過世。我以我的過去和我的根爲榮。這對我意義重大。在中國家庭你不可能不明白這點，在美國家庭長大也一樣。如果你的父母是華人，你就會懂。他們不會讓你忘記的。

But I have to say in all honesty, there is a business opportunity there that I've seen since my father's businesses were all in Asia that I've known about way beyond a decade.

但我得坦白說，由於我父親的生意都在亞洲，我十多年前就知道了亞洲有商機。

But also there's an emotional part of this, which is that I feel that Chinese all over the world─and Asians in general─have come into their own. Not only the standards of beauty and commercial success and financial power and all the other ingredients that have made not only China, but South Korea and obviously Japan for so many decades already─there is a new acceptance of Asians and I'm happy I'm living to see it because it really means something to me. And that would go also for all the prolific amounts of young Asian designers in fashion who are making their mark. I think nothing is making me feel prouder. As someone who maybe was a pioneer, it's a much deeper rooted journey back to Asia─a much deeper journey than purely financial or commercial. It's a lot about my soul, probably, and my heart. I've always loved fashion and worked in fashion because of that. It was never about being about a celebrity and it was never about being famous. Unfortunately in this day and age, if people don't know you, no matter how great your product is, they'll never find it.

不過也有感情因素，我覺得全世界的華人──以及更大範圍的亞洲人──已經獨立了。不光是美的標準和商業成功、金融力量及其他元素讓中國獨立了，韓國還有日本已經獨立了數十年──亞洲人重新被接受，我很高興活着目睹了這一點，因爲這點對我真的很有意義。同樣的，時裝界也有許多年輕的亞洲設計師正冉冉升起。沒什麼比這更能讓我覺得驕傲了。作爲一個可能是先驅的人，我的根深深根植在亞洲──比純粹的金錢或商業要深得多。或許最重要的是我的靈魂，還有我的心。我一直都喜歡時裝，而且因爲喜歡而在時裝界工作。絕不是因爲想成爲名人，也絕不是想出名。不幸的是在如今這個時代，如果人們不認識你，無論你的產品有多好，他們永遠都不會找到。

I was the girl always on the other side of the camera at Vogue. And now there's a certain irony in all of this. And certainly I'm lucky that I have that kind of respect. But for me it's always been my love of fashion and my love of design and my respect for others in our industry who have achieved such great great great things─some of whom are Asian: Rei Kawakubo, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, I'm not going to go down the list. Really, I stand in awe.

在《時尚》(Vogue)的時候，我曾經老是攝像機另一頭的那個女孩。現在這一切有點諷刺。可以肯定的是，我很幸運我得到了那種尊重。但對我來說，最重要的是我對時裝的熱愛，對設計的熱愛，在這個行業有很多其他取得很大成就的人值得我尊敬──有些是亞洲人：川久保玲(Rei Kawakubo)、渡邊淳彌(Junya Watanabe)、山本耀司(Yohji Yamamoto)、三宅一生(Issey Miyake)，我不想一一列出名字。我真的很敬重他們。

Since we're on the topic of Asians, and Chinese parents, does the topic of the 'Tiger Mom' mean anything to you?

既然我們談到了亞洲人和中國父母的話題，那麼“虎媽”這個話題對你有什麼意味嗎？

My daughters would not say that about me, that's for sure. I would say that about my mother. I'm a tiger cub─an old tiger cub.

我的女兒不會那樣說我，這是肯定的。我會這樣說我的母親。我是個“虎崽”──一個上了年紀的“虎崽”。

Both of your daughters are at Ivy League schools, so are they successful because of other reasons?

你的兩個女兒都在常春藤聯盟學校，那麼她們成功是由於其他原因嗎？

Actually no thanks to me whatsoever. In all fairness, we were told not to interfere when they were in fourth grade, and we never did. They are their own people. I wouldn't use the word 'successful.' I would say they are their own people, for better or for worse.

實際上我沒什麼功勞。公平地說，在她們上四年級時，我們被告知不要干涉她們，之後我們從沒幹涉過。她們在做自己。我不會用“成功”這個詞。我會說不管怎樣，她們都在做自己。