时尚界走进无性别时代 In Fashion Gender Lines Are Blurring

Each time Kimberly Wesson sheds her customary trousers and button-front shirt to put on a flowery dress, she suspects something is off.

每当金伯利·韦森(Kimberly Wesson)脱下定制长裤和系扣衬衫，换上花朵连衣裙，她都会觉得若有所失。

“I feel like I’m dressing up in someone else’s clothes,” Ms. Wesson said the other day over chilled rosé at her studio in downtown Manhattan. Her frills-adverse approach to dress has tested the tolerance of well-meaning friends. “It’s gotten to the point where they’re pleading, ‘Put on a sequin skirt,’” she said. “Or ‘Dress up like Joan from ‘Mad Men.’”

“我觉得自己好像穿着别人的衣服，”韦森在曼哈顿下城的工作室里，边喝着冰镇桃红葡萄酒边说。她总是不喜欢穿装饰太多的衣服，这让好心的朋友们有点抓狂。“最后她们得求我，‘你就穿条亮片裙吧’，‘穿成《广告狂人》(Mad Men)里的琼那样行吗？’”她说。

Not likely. Ms. Wesson and Aimee Cho, her business partner, have, after all, poured their style convictions into 1.61, a year-old gender-free label built largely on loosefitting trousers, swagger coats and easy shirts — items that they wear themselves and offer in varying sizes to both women and men.

根本就不行。韦森和生意伙伴艾米·周(Aimee Cho)把自己的时尚理念注入了“1.61”，这是一个不区分性别的时装品牌，只有一年历史，主要产品包括松身长裤、风衣和休闲衬衫，都是她们自己平时穿的东西，并且为男女提供了各种尺码。

They are among the latest in a raft of designers to capitalize on fashion’s gender blur, that narrowing of the sexual divide that earlier this year emerged on the runways of top tier designers like Rick Owens and Alessandro Michele of Gucci, each bent on eroding the once rigid demarcation between conventionally feminine and masculine clothes.

她们搭上了最新的设计潮流，这股潮流利用时尚界的性别模糊，缩小性别之间的鸿沟，今年年初便开始登上一流设计师的秀台，瑞克·欧文斯(Rick Owens)和古驰的亚历桑德罗·米歇尔(Alessandro Michele)都在其列，他们两人都喜欢一点点破坏男女装之间原本刻板分明、一丝不苟的壁垒。

True, the trend today derives much of its impetus from fashion’s fixation with the late ’60s and early ’70s, as younger consumers, and those in their thrall, resurrect a moment when unisex was largely the province of rock royalty, the sequins-and-kimono-wearing likes of Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie.

的确，如今的潮流很大程度上都是从时尚界对20世纪60年代末和70年代初的迷恋之中汲取力量，年轻一点的消费者和沉迷于那个时期的人致力于复兴那个时刻，在当时，中性风格服饰很大程度上属于那些摇滚贵族——像吉米·亨德里克斯(Jimi Hendrix)和大卫·鲍依(David Bowie)那些人穿的亮晶晶的、和服式的衣服。

The news is that the movement has gained traction and a measure of cool it hasn’t known since that earliest incarnation, its latter-day grooviness the outgrowth of a loosened-up cultural climate.

新鲜的是，这场运动又从一种它原本自己也不知道的地方得到动力，得到一种很酷的方式；先是有了最早的雏形，后来长足的发展则是来自宽松的文化气候。

“Five years ago we were weren’t ready for this,” said Humberto Leon, a founder of Opening Ceremony, the vanguard shop on Howard Street, and a longtime proponent of gender-fluid fashion. “The difference today is that this trend has a label,” Mr. Leon said. “And it’s gained acceptance by a mass audience.”

“五年前，我们还没最好准备，”“开幕式”(Opening Ceremony)品牌的创始人之一休伯托·里昂(Humberto Leon)说，该品牌的先锋店位于霍华德街，长期以来一直是中性风时尚的拥护者。“如今，不同的是，这股风尚有了一个标签，”里昂说。“并且开始被大众所接受。”

Ken Downing, the fashion director of Neiman Marcus, was more emphatic.

尼曼集团(Neiman Marcus)时尚总监肯·唐宁(Ken Downing)措辞更加强烈。

“What we’re seeing now, he said, “is a seismic shift in fashion, a widening acceptance of a style with no boundaries, one that reflects the way young people dress.”

“我们正在目睹时尚界的地震，”他说，“人们开始广泛接受一种没有边界的风格，它反映出年轻人的穿着方式。”

It’s a concept that chimes with the thinking of designers like Rad Hourani, whose gender-free show in January featured models in gender-concealing masks; it informs Nicopanda, Nicola Formichetti’s collection of gender-neutral streetwear; it has inspired Hood by Air and Public School and, before them, Mr. Owens and Martin Margiela, whose collections made hash of a binary gender divide.

这个概念与许多设计师的想法不谋而合，比如拉德·休拉尼(Rad Hourani)，他一月的走秀上展示的时装完全不分性别，模特都带着隐藏性别的面具；这股潮流启发尼克拉·弗米切提(Nicola Formichetti)创立了中性街头时装系列Nicopanda；它还给Hood by Air和Public School等品牌带来了灵感；而在此之前，欧文斯和马丁·玛拉吉(Martin Margiela)的系列中都有零散的中性风设计。

Recently Miuccia Prada, who has subtly put forward a neo-unisex look in the past, felt compelled to weigh in, telling this summer, “More and more, it feels instinctively right to translate the same idea for both genders.”

缪西娅·普拉达(Miuccia Prada)过去就曾经巧妙地推出过新的中性造型，最近，她也迫切地感觉到应当加入这股潮流，今年夏天，她在接受采访时说，“我愈来愈感到，为两性演绎同样的理念，是一种本能的正确做法。”

And now a handful of younger Americans — among them the designers of 1.61, Telfar and 69 Worldwide in Los Angeles — are advancing the cause, showing identical pieces aimed at both sexes, and striking a chord that is clearly in tune with the times.

如今一些年轻的美国人正走在这一进程的前列，其中包括1.61、Telfar和洛杉矶的69 Worldwide的设计师们，他们展示为两性设计的同款服饰，和时代产生清晰的共鸣。

“The whole perception of sexual orientation is being challenged by the millennials,” said Lucie Greene, the worldwide director of JWT Intelligence, the trend-forecasting arm of J. Walter Thompson. “Among the cohort of 12-to-19-year-olds defining Generation Z, the lines between male and female are becoming increasing blurred.”

“千禧一代正在挑战关于性取向的整个观念，”JWT智库的全球总监露西·格林尼(Lucie Greene)说，该智库是智威汤逊公司(J. Walter Thompson)的时尚预报分支机构。“在12到19岁，被称为‘Z世代’的人群中，男性与女性的界限正日益模糊。”

Trendwatchers describe a cohort that bridles at being boxed in and tends to shrug off conventional gender labels and other rigid classifiers. It’s a generation drawn to brands, yet skeptical of branding and prepackaged looks. Low-key and logo-chary, its members often shop at stores like Muji, Uniqlo and Everlane online for simple, self-effacing uniforms.

潮流观察者称，这个人群对禁忌不屑一顾，倾向于蔑视传统的性别标签和其他死板的分类。这一代人喜爱品牌，然而又对打上标签，预先包装好的造型持有怀疑态度。他们低调，对logo小心审慎，经常去无印良品、优衣库和Everlane的网店购买简单、不出风头的衣服。

Some may well be drawn to Telfar, an 11-year-old company in New York. At New York Fashion Week in September, its designer, Telfar Clemens, will show his one-look-fits-all collection of off-the-shoulder tank tops, trench coats and lacelike denim tops and trousers on a cast of androgynous models. Mr. Clemens has stealthily worked the TC logo into many of those pieces, but, he said, “it’s against my nature to do anything really overt. The branding is almost subliminal.”

他们当中有些人可能会喜欢Telfar，这是纽约一家拥有11年历史的公司。在9月的纽约时装周上，公司的设计师特尔法·克莱门斯(Telfar Clemens)将展示可以适合所有人的新系列，包括露肩背心、战壕风衣和带花边的丹宁牛仔上衣及长裤，走秀的是一群中性风格的模特。克莱门斯把自己的姓名缩写“TC”偷偷藏在许多服装当中，不过他说，“我天生不喜欢做特别明目张胆的事情，我几乎是下意识地放了这个名字缩写进去。”

Practically speaking, gender-neutrality is a boon for designers, said Justin O’Shea, the buying director for . As he told the online trade publication Business of Fashion last month, designers, by showing men’s and women’s looks in tandem, are saving time and money, and honing an identity.

实际上，网站的采购主管贾斯汀·奥谢伊(Justin O’Shea)说，中性风对于设计师来说是一种恩惠。上个月他在接受在线行业出版物《时尚行业》(Business of Fashion)采访时说，设计师们可以同时展示男女装，这下就省了时间和金钱，还能打造出一种个性。

Whether mingling sexes on the runway or creating a single garment intended for both sexes, they are speaking to a sympathetic public. “The modern consumer wants to be part of a bigger picture, part of a movement,” Mr. O’Shea said.

不管是在秀台上混淆性别界限，抑或是设计一款男女都能穿的服装，这些做法都得到了公众的认同。“现代消费者渴望参与到更大的图景中去，渴望成为某种运动的一部分，” 奥谢伊说。

That sentiment also reflects a rising receptivity, if not an outright prurient fascination, with topics that were once strictly off limits. Transgender narratives are entering the mainstream via trans-models like Andreja Pejic and Lea T, who front major fashion and beauty campaigns; mega-celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner; and television fare like “Transparent,” the series on Amazon, its lead character Mort (Jeffrey Tambor) coming out to his children as Maura.

对于那些一度被视为禁忌的主题，人们现在就算不是坦率地迷恋其中的性感，至少接受能力也是日益提高了，这也从另一个角度反映出这种情绪。现在有了安德烈娅·皮吉斯(Andreja Pejic)和Lea T这样的变性模特，他们为大品牌时装发布会和化妆品宣传活动走秀；还有凯特琳·詹纳(Caitlyn Jenner)这样的超级名人；以及亚马逊的《透明家庭》(Transparent)的主角莫特（Mort，杰弗里·坦波[Jeffrey Tambor]饰演，他向孩子们出柜后就改了女名“莫拉”）等电视形象，他们都进一步把跨性别叙事推向主流视野。

Responding to a shift in mood, progressive merchants like Acne, Vince and Rag & Bone display men’s and women’s clothes in proximity, some occasionally mixing them on the racks. This year, Selfridges in London dedicated a significant swath of its selling space to Agender, a store-within-the-store where gender-fluid labels like Nicopanda, Ann Demeulemeester and Yang Li commingle.

为了迎合这种情绪上的变化，Acne、Vince和Rag & Bone等前卫的商家开始把男女装放在一起展示，有时还会在货架上混合放置。今年，伦敦的塞尔福里奇(Selfridges)百货公司把销售空间的一个显著位置划给了“无性别”，这是一个店中店，Nicopanda、安·迪穆拉米斯特(Ann Demeulemeester)和李阳等性别模糊的品牌都混合放在这里。

Ed Burstell, the general manager of Liberty of London, called the move “enlightened.”

伦敦Liberty百货公司总经理艾德·伯斯戴尔(Ed Burstell)说这个举动是“开明的”。

“To devote a full bank of windows and all that real estate for something that could have gone either way was a risk,” he said. “But it forced that conversation that we need to have.” While Liberty itself has no similar merchandising plans, unisex items make up some 25 percent of the store’s fall fashion purchases, he said.

“把整片橱窗和地段都用来展示某种可能会消失的东西是一种冒险，”他说，“但这逼着我们进行必须进行的对话。”他说，Liberty自身虽然还没有类似的商业计划，但中性风的服饰占了全店秋季时装商品的25%。

Many women freely embrace the notion of gender fluidity, buying men’s wear in small sizes at stores like Odin, Cadet and Dover Street Market. At Gucci, the sales staff reports that more women than men are buying the pussy-bow blouses from Mr. Michele’s fall men’s collection, just now arriving at the stores.

许多女人都自由自在地接受了性别混淆的时装概念，在奥丁(Odin)、卡德特(Cadet)和多佛街市场(Dover Street Market)购买小号的男装。在古驰店内，米歇尔设计的秋季男装系列刚刚到店，销售人员说，购买其中一款蝴蝶领结衬衫的，主要是女人，而不是男人。

Men, on the other hand, “have traditionally been immune to gender-neutral fashion trends,” said Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, a fashion historian and the author of “Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.”

另一方面，时装史学家与《时装的牺牲品：路易十四与玛丽-安托内特宫廷服装》(“Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette)一书作者金伯利·克利斯曼-坎贝尔(Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell)说，男人们“传统上对于中性时装潮流不闻不问。”

“We may think we are in a new phase, but we aren’t necessarily,” she said. “What we’re talking about is the leading edge of fashion, not what you’re going to find at J. Crew.”

“我们可能会觉得我们处在一个新阶段，但不一定是这样，”她说。“我们说的是时装界的尖端潮流，而不是能在J. Crew找到的东西。”

“Still”, Ms. Chrisman-Campbell said, “every time these trends come up they push the boundaries a little bit more.”

“然而，”克利斯曼-坎贝尔说，“这些潮流每出现一次，都会推动一点边界。”

Giving the trend a push are artists and professional outliers.

推动潮流的总是艺术家与行业之外的人。

“This is very feminine,” Coleman Feltes, a D.J. and music curator, said of his button-front shirt, exuberantly patterned with daisies, roses and butterflies. Mr. Feltes, who was heading home to the financial district with his children last week, had rendered his look street-worthy by combining it with camouflage shorts. “The camo,” he said, self-assured, “takes away from the floweriness.”

“它非常女性化，”DJ兼音乐活动策划者科尔曼·菲尔特斯(Coleman Feltes)这样形容自己的系扣衬衫，上面大量装点着雏菊、玫瑰和蝴蝶。上星期，菲尔特斯带着孩子们回到商业区的家中时，穿这件衬衣搭配迷彩短裤，为自己的造型赋予一丝街头气息。他自信地说，“迷彩服盖住了鲜花的气质。”

Inevitably, some at fashion’s leading edge have already moved on, questioning whether unisex is a trend at all or, as some have suggested, a passing illusion pulled from a stylist’s bag of tricks.

不可避免的，时装潮流前沿也在发生变化，质疑中性风是不是一种真正的潮流，有人认为它只是造型师的小把戏，是昙花一现的幻觉。

“Our clients have been there, done that,” said Judson Harmon, the owner of Odd, a four-year-old shop on the Lower East Side that made its name with nongender-specific offerings, its message reinforced by a mannequin, half male, half female, that greets visitors.

“我们的客户特意来到这儿做那种造型，”下东区拥有四年历史的Odd美容院店主贾德森·哈蒙(Judson Harmon)说，这家店以中性造型闻名，店门口迎客的人体模型半是男性，半是女性，强调着美容院的特色。

That mannequin will be coming down, Mr. Harmon said. “We’re not abandoning the versatility of unisex. We’re just not targeting it.”

这个模特要被撤下来了，哈蒙说，“我们并不想放弃中性造型这个专长，但我们不再专注它了。”