數碼科技將顛覆時尚業

Eager to know what the next big thing in luxury will be? I am utterly convinced that digital talent will be as important to fashion and luxury as design talent. As digital collides with the fashion and luxury world, we must look ahead and drive a shift in education and training to meet demand for these digital skills. I don’t think it is a stretch to say that coding will soon be as important as reading and writing.

想知道奢侈品行業接下來會發生什麼劃時代事件嗎？我有充足理由相信：對時尚界及奢侈品界來說，數據技術人才將與設計師同等重要。隨着數據技術與時尚及奢侈品界“激烈碰撞”，我們必須未雨綢繆，轉向相關教育及培訓，以便滿足未來對網絡技術的需要。我的意思並不是說編碼與閱讀及寫作同等重要。

In the future, I expect that the game-changers in fashion and luxury will be tech-driven entrepreneurs, much as Elon Musk has become a pioneer in the automotive world.

我預計，改變時尚及奢侈品界未來格局的人將是那些用科技武裝起來的企業家，這與埃隆?馬斯克(Elon Musk)成爲汽車業的引領者如出一轍。

Just look at social media pioneers such as Eva Chen, who leads fashion partnerships at Instagram. Her expertise at the convergence of social commerce and fashion has harnessed the power of Instagram and created a personal brand that resonates across all corners of the fashion community.

諸位看一下陳怡樺(Eva Chen)之類的網紅，她目前是Instagram時尚合作總監。她在社交媒體商業化運作與融合時尚方面的專長就是充分利用了Instagram的超凡影響力，並創造了在時尚圈各個角落引發強烈反響的個性時尚風格。

We need to move beyond the idea that the creatives can fill their digital gaps simply by occasionally pulling in the tech experts. That’s not going to build a solid future. What’s needed are tech-savvy fashionistas and digital luxury artisans who are uniquely able to meld the two distinct worlds. In our world, creative collaboration is natural; we need the same easy collaboration that can cross over to the digital innovators.

我們必須超越原有的觀念：設計師只需時不時聘請科技專家就可以填補自己的所謂“數字鴻溝”，這樣做，無法順勢打造出“穩固江山”。我們需要精通科技的時尚達人以及熟知數據技術的奢侈品打造者：他們能絕無僅有地實現網絡科技與時尚這兩個截然不同的行當的珠聯璧合。在當今世界，創意領域的協作司空見慣，我們希望數碼技術革新者同樣能實現彼此順暢的合作關係。

I have always believed this was possible. And our experience at the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group (YNAP) is proof that the two elements can tilt the industry. When I invented the online fashion and lifestyle store Yoox in 1999, e-commerce was in its infancy and I had very few contacts within the fashion industry. I had an MBA from Columbia University and was determined to be the first to construct a digital fashion industry. Designers from Giorgio Armani to Valentino opened their doors and listened to my pitch. These visionaries understood their future was online.

我始終認爲數碼科技與時尚界的合作是可能的。我們創建Yoox Net-a-Porter Group集團(YNAP)的成功經驗就是明證：兩大奢侈品電商的合作能顛覆時尚行業的原有格局。我1999年創辦時尚與生活品網店Yoox時，電商正處於起步階段，我在時尚業界也是人生地不熟。拿到哥倫比亞大學(Columbia University)的工商管理碩士(MBA)後，自己就立志要成爲創建數碼時尚產業的第一人。阿瑪尼(Giorgio Armani)以及華倫天奴(Valentino)等時尚巨擎的設計師歡迎我，傾聽我的宏偉藍圖。這些有遠見卓識的人明白，他們的未來在電商。

Today, YNAP (Yoox merged with Net-a-Porter in 2015) employs 1,000 digital innovators in the UK and Italy, making it possible to adapt to a fast-changing fashion market and tap into trends. We will add hundreds more tech jobs in the near future. We just inaugurated our new Tech Hub in London’s White City area, which is now home to a team pushing the boundaries of mobile technology and artificial intelligence in the luxury space.

如今，YNAP（Yoox與Net-a-Porter於2015年合併）在英國及意大利僱傭了1000位數碼創新精英，所以能順應瞬息萬變的時尚界並充分利用上述趨向。在不久的將來，我們將增加成百上千的技術崗位。我們在倫敦White City新建的科技中心(Tech Hub)剛剛啓用，這兒如今是移動科技與人工智能應用於奢侈品行業的團隊研發中心。

We also recently teamed up with Imperial College London to teach children in west London the basics of coding, with particular emphasis on training girls aged eight to 14. It’s the latest in our education initiatives for primary and secondary schools as well as universities, both in the UK and Italy.

我們最近聯手倫敦帝國理工學院(Imperial College London)，教授西倫敦的孩子最基本的編碼技術，重點是培訓8-14歲的女孩。除了支持大學外，這是我們對英國與意大利中小學校採取的最新教育培訓舉措。

Over 700 children will have the opportunity to attend free weekly classes taught by students from Imperial’s Department of Computing, who will be remunerated for their teaching time, using a curriculum that has been carefully designed alongside our developers. We’ve worked directly with local schools and each student will be able to follow a course for up to three terms. The children will learn JavaScript, build their own games and apps, and gain problem-solving skills in a creative environment.

超過700名孩子每週可參加帝國理工學院計算機系學生（爲此將獲得相應酬勞）教授的免費課程，全部課程由他們與我們的研發人員精心設計。我們還直接與西倫敦本地學校合作，每個學生能學長達三個學期的培訓課程。孩子們將在極富創造性的環境中學習JavaScript語言、編寫自己的遊戲與應用軟件以及學會解決問題的實際技能。

This initiative is part of a project, CodeLab, that aims to tackle the lack of gender equality within the technology industry. As a company committed to equal opportunities, with women making up half of our 200 top managers and executive leaders — and being paid approximately 14 per cent more than the company’s senior executive average in 2016 — we want to help create a pipeline of future female tech talent.

上述培訓是旨在解決科技界種族不平等的CodeLab項目的部分內容。我們集團致力於實現男女工作機會平等（女性員工佔到我們全部200位行政高管的一半，而且其2016年薪水比公司高管平均水平高出約14%），希望爲源源不斷培養未來女性科技精英生力軍貢獻一份力量。

The fact is, there simply aren’t enough women working in tech today. It’s a problem that Silicon Valley has been slow to address seriously. Industry data suggests that women make up an average of just 17 per cent of the tech workforce in big technology companies. A lack of diversity is never good and tech is missing out.

而實際情況是：科技界女性從業者十分有限。硅谷(Silicon Valley)對此問題一直消極拖沓。業界數據表明：在大型科技類公司中，女性平均只佔全部技術員工的17%。員工缺乏多樣性永遠是弊大於利，科技界正在一天天錯失良機。

So where do we look for inspiration as to how digital and design flair can benefit each other? Italy’s heritage in fashion and luxury provides an important lesson for the future. Over the centuries, we have developed a symbiotic system that combines creativity with a skilled manufacturing base — it’s this pairing that can make magic. Now, that perfect mix of dreaming and doing must include the digital artists of the future.

因此，我們應從哪兒尋求策略，才能讓數碼技術與設計才華相得益彰？意大利在時尚及奢侈品界的優良傳統給未來出路提供了重要啓示。過去幾百年裏，意大利人成功培育了設計與成熟製造基地的互惠互利制度——正是這種共生關係造就了意大利時尚業的神奇故事。如今，這種想象力與實幹的完美結合必須納入未來的數碼科技人才。

This possibility should fire the imagination of anyone looking at a creative career in luxury. Digital has added an entirely new dimension to the creative process. It enables unlimited and unimagined means of expression. It can combine the material with the immaterial. Just as important, it brings us closer to the customer than was possible before.

上述可能性應該能點燃每個志在從事奢侈品設計者的激情。數碼技術已給整個設計增添了全新維度，它能實現意想不到與無限的設計，能讓有形物與無形物集於一體。同樣重要的是：它能讓我們比以往任何時候都更加接近消費者。

So let’s make sure we provide our next Coco Chanel with plenty of digital talent. She’ll be trend-spotting on the street and on the web. Big data, artificial intelligence and virtual reality will be as important to her as design, materials and craftsmanship. She’ll expect no less of her team.

因此，讓我們務必爲下一個可可?香奈兒(Coco Chanel)培養大量的數碼技術人才。她定會在大街小巷以及網絡上發現這些潮流趨向。大數據、人工智能以及虛擬技術會與設計風格、面料以及做工一樣至關重要。她也會對自己的員工有更高期望。