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.
随着婚礼季的全面展开，王薇薇(Vera Wang)婚纱依然是许多新娘愿望清单上的首选。王薇薇最近刚拿到美国时装设计师协会(Council of Fashion Designers of America)颁发的终生成就奖。多年来她一直在婚纱设计领域进行创新──运用色彩和编织手法，甚至将面料扔进洗衣机里。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.'
王薇薇说，她的最新婚纱系列重点在于构建。她说：“我觉得有段时间我确实搅乱了新娘们对于完美的概念，一条裙子有六种布料。我想回到最原始的东西，但是以一种全新的方式，这种方式就是服装架构──不是简单──而是极简主义。”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.'
《华尔街日报》记者在这位知名设计师的工作室里对她进行了采访，聊到了她记忆里最深刻的几款婚纱和红地毯装扮、她在中国的业务以及她对“虎妈”的看法。
Edited excerpts:
以下为编辑后的采访摘录：What is your approach to dressing someone for the red carpet?
你给人设计红毯装用什么方法？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：在红毯装上我更像是一个造型师──就和伊迪丝•海德(Edith Head)一样──衣服必须反映明星的气质。要看他们的长相，他们的个性、体型以及当晚他们想表现什么。因此红毯装就比我做成衣的过程要具体得多。Which red-carpet looks do you get asked about the most?
哪些红毯装被人问得最多？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.
被问起最多的是米歇尔•威廉姆斯(Michelle Williams)。还有查理兹•塞隆(Charlize Theron)那条以30年代风格为灵感、配一对胸针的橘色长裙。她穿那条裙子绝对可以拍电影。当时她刚拍完《重返荣耀》(The Legend of Bagger Vance)，那是一部有关30年代一名高尔夫球手的电影，她想为了奥斯卡(Oscars)保留角色的样子，所以做了比较复古的发型。那绝对是我被问得最多的红毯装之一。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.
当然还有刚拍完《本能》(Basic Instinct)的莎朗•斯通(Sharon Stone)，她身穿了一条金色丝硬缎紧身晚礼服，大大的裙裾，没有佩戴首饰。只有金色的皮肤、金色的头发和光彩照人的金色长裙。那是我的第一个相当于奥斯卡的时刻。所有的元素组合在一起，造就了这身不可思议的装束。所有这些因素组合在一起确实需要一定的运气和缘分。我为很多优秀的女星设计过红毯装：茱莉亚•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?
那婚纱呢？
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.
当然是切尔西•克林顿(Chelsea Clinton)，不仅仅因为她的出身和家庭以及他们在美国政界历史上非同寻常的地位。切尔西很棒的一点是她渴望走比较时尚和比较出乎意料的路线。我觉得她这点很不错。最重要的是在于她自己如何看待自己。对于那种华丽场合的婚礼，确实是一场家族盛事，因此不光婚礼要呈现出真实性，她的装扮也要真实。我并不是在指导切尔西，我们是在合作。要表现出青春和浪漫，从时装角度来看相当复杂的技术性细节，也要能让人接受。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.
还有艾丽西亚•凯斯(Alicia Keys)，她的婚礼也是同一天，不过比切尔西早六个小时。我中午就看着表说：我猜艾丽西亚现在就在法国南部举行婚礼。她赤着脚还怀着孕。她坦然接受自己怀孕，而且想要希腊式婚纱，看起来像大地女神。因此：两位截然不同的新娘，两块截然不同的大陆，两种截然不同的生活方式，但我认为她们都觉得在自己最重要的日子表现出了真实的自我。即使在名人的婚礼上我也觉得自己像个服装师。What about business growth in Asia?
在亚洲的业务发展得怎么样？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.
作为在美国长大的第一代华人，在亚洲的发展意义重大，特别是由于我父母已经过世。我以我的过去和我的根为荣。这对我意义重大。在中国家庭你不可能不明白这点，在美国家庭长大也一样。如果你的父母是华人，你就会懂。他们不会让你忘记的。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.
但我得坦白说，由于我父亲的生意都在亚洲，我十多年前就知道了亚洲有商机。
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.
不过也有感情因素，我觉得全世界的华人──以及更大范围的亚洲人──已经独立了。不光是美的标准和商业成功、金融力量及其他元素让中国独立了，韩国还有日本已经独立了数十年──亚洲人重新被接受，我很高兴活着目睹了这一点，因为这点对我真的很有意义。同样的，时装界也有许多年轻的亚洲设计师正冉冉升起。没什么比这更能让我觉得骄傲了。作为一个可能是先驱的人，我的根深深根植在亚洲──比纯粹的金钱或商业要深得多。或许最重要的是我的灵魂，还有我的心。我一直都喜欢时装，而且因为喜欢而在时装界工作。绝不是因为想成为名人，也绝不是想出名。不幸的是在如今这个时代，如果人们不认识你，无论你的产品有多好，他们永远都不会找到。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《时尚》(Vogue)的时候，我曾经老是摄像机另一头的那个女孩。现在这一切有点讽刺。可以肯定的是，我很幸运我得到了那种尊重。但对我来说，最重要的是我对时装的热爱，对设计的热爱，在这个行业有很多其他取得很大成就的人值得我尊敬──有些是亚洲人：川久保玲(Rei Kawakubo)、渡边淳弥(Junya Watanabe)、山本耀司(Yohji Yamamoto)、三宅一生(Issey Miyake)，我不想一一列出名字。我真的很敬重他们。Since we're on the topic of Asians, and Chinese parents, does the topic of the 'Tiger Mom' mean anything to you?
既然我们谈到了亚洲人和中国父母的话题，那么“虎妈”这个话题对你有什么意味吗？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.
我的女儿不会那样说我，这是肯定的。我会这样说我的母亲。我是个“虎崽”──一个上了年纪的“虎崽”。Both of your daughters are at Ivy League schools, so are they successful because of other reasons?
你的两个女儿都在常春藤联盟学校，那么她们成功是由于其他原因吗？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.
实际上我没什么功劳。公平地说，在她们上四年级时，我们被告知不要干涉她们，之后我们从没干涉过。她们在做自己。我不会用“成功”这个词。我会说不管怎样，她们都在做自己。