时尚双语:流浪汉变身好莱坞时尚新宠
流浪汉变身好莱坞时尚新宠
The newest sensation at the center of Hollywood's fashion scene isn't a famous designer or starlet. It's a 56-year-old homeless man who spends his days dancing on roller skates.
John Wesley Jermyn has been a fixture in West Los Angeles for more than 20 years. Nicknamed 'The Crazy Robertson' and 'The Robertson Dancer,' he is a constant presence on a stretch of Robertson Boulevard that has become the city's trendiest shopping corridor and a prime strolling spot for tourists and movie stars. Among locals and online, there's much speculation about Mr. Jermyn's personal history, including one oft-repeated rumor that he's a secretive millionaire.
In a plot twist worthy of Tinseltown, Mr. Jermyn now has a clothing label named after him. Since it was introduced last month, 'The Crazy Robertson' brand of T-shirts and sweatshirts, created by a trio of 23-year-olds, has flown off the shelves at Kitson, a haunt of tabloid stars like Paris Hilton. The clothes feature stylized images of Mr. Jermyn, including one design -- available on a $98 hoodie -- that has a graphic of him dancing and the phrase 'No Money, No Problems' on the back. At the largest of Kitson's three boutiques on Robertson, shirts bearing Mr. Jermyn's likeness are sold alongside $290 'Victoria Beckham' jeans and $50 baby shoes designed by pop star Gwen Stefani.
The label's owners, who grew up in Beverly Hills, have created a MySpace page for Mr. Jermyn. It doubles as an ad for the clothing brand and their nightclub-promotion venture, which is also named 'The Crazy Robertson.' The young entrepreneurs spent months trying to forge a relationship with Mr. Jermyn -- who now goes by the name John Jermien -- before gaining his approval. They have consulted him on design decisions and had a photographer shoot him for publicity images.
In May, Mr. Jermyn agreed to a deal that entitles him to 5% of 'net profit' from clothing sales, according to a copy of the contract seen by The Wall Street Journal. He signed the contract, without speaking to an attorney or family members. But so far he has refused to accept much cash, preferring to be paid in food, liquor and paper for his art projects, according to Teddy Hirsh, one of the label's founders. 'He tries not to involve money in his daily life,' says Mr. Hirsh, who says he is Mr. Jermyn's agent and manager for future endeavors.
Mr. Hirsh says Mr. Jermyn has already received several small payments, even though the company hasn't 'made much profit' so far. 'We haven't collected anything for ourselves,' says Mr. Hirsh.
Mr. Jermyn's slide into homelessness is a painful subject for his sister Beverly. And so is the clothing deal. She believes 'The Crazy Robertson' founders are exploiting her brother's condition to build their brand. 'I think these guys saw an opportunity and they took it,' she says. 'I am not happy with the arrangement.'
Ms. Jermyn, who lives close to the alley where Mr. Jermyn sleeps, says her brother has a form of schizophrenia. He refuses to take medication, she says, despite suffering from fits of shouting and cursing. In the years since his condition began deteriorating in the late 1970s, 'he slipped through my fingers like sand,' says Ms. Jermyn, 64, who manages facilities for Oracle Corp.
In the late 1980s she testified in court in a proceeding to force her brother to seek help, but psychological evaluators found him 'lucid and gracious,' according to Ms. Jermyn. She has made countless attempts to provide him with shelter and therapy, and she still visits him twice a week with food. She also pays for his cellphone and collects his Social Security checks on his behalf.
The repackaging of Mr. Jermyn as a fashion front man comes at a time of increased fascination with homelessness. The producers of 'Bumfights' -- a collection of videotaped street battles between vagrants -- claim to have sold more than 300,000 DVDs since 2002, and a British TV series called 'Filthy Rich and Homeless' made headlines this year for its depiction of real-life millionaires posing as London beggars.
Across the U.S., a growing number of homeless people have gained attention through the Internet. More than 17,500 videos on YouTube are tagged with the word 'homeless.' Leslie Cochran, a street resident in Austin, Texas, who has twice run for mayor, has 10,775 'friends' on his MySpace page. In Boston, the profile of Harold Madison Jr. -- a homeless man better known as 'Mr. Butch' -- rose through online clips and a Web site made in his honor.
Mr. Jermyn was raised in Hancock Park, a historic L.A. neighborhood that's home to some of the city's wealthiest families. His father managed one of L.A.'s largest Chevrolet dealerships.
A star athlete in high school, Mr. Jermyn was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 1969 Major League Baseball draft. He attended Pepperdine University and played a season for a Los Angeles Dodgers' minor-league team in Bellingham, Wash. (He hit just .205 and made 12 errors in 63 games, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.)
Joel John Roberts, chief executive of People Assisting the Homeless, which provides shelters for L.A.'s street residents, says the branding of Mr. Jermyn is 'like designing a line of clothing patterned after Iraqi refugees fleeing the war.'
Mr. Hirsh and Vic Ackerman, one of the other founders of the clothing line, are sensitive to Ms. Jermyn's concerns about her brother, but say Mr. Jermyn 'specifically asked' them not to contact her about the clothing line or the contract. They view Mr. Jermyn as a 'business partner' and say they make sure he's aware of how his image is being used.
'He knows everything that's going on,' says Mr. Ackerman, noting that Mr. Jermyn nixed a set of promotional photos because he didn't like his outfit and thought he 'looked a little puffy.'
In conversation, Mr. Jermyn speaks softly and mixes short, lucid sentences with longer, less coherent remarks. He has been arrested more than a dozen times since 1986 for violations such as trespassing and jaywalking, according to court records. Most of his skating and curb-side dancing now takes place near Robertson Boulevard, but in the past he roamed throughout Beverly Hills and West L.A., often cradling a boombox and shimmying to loud music. 'He was always an extraordinary dancer,' says Jim Horne, a classmate of Mr. Jermyn's at Los Angeles Baptist High School.
In addition to his sister, Mr. Jermyn speaks regularly with Ginny Berliner, a 64-year-old woman who befriended him when she owned an antique shop on Robertson. Mrs. Berliner, who now lives in Maryland, used to pay for Mr. Jermyn to sleep in a motel and covered his monthly coffee bill at Michel Richard, the well-known patisserie. 'He wants notoriety and glory, but he can't accept money,' she says.
On a recent afternoon, clad in his trademark black leggings and visor, Mr. Jermyn said he is 'a facilitator' for the brand, and hopes it will expand into music or film. He has become a one-man marketing team, plastering company stickers and pictures of himself on a wall that faces pedestrians on Robertson.
At Kitson's boutiques and on its Web site, the first shipment of 'Crazy Robertson' women's clothes -- about 35 items -- sold out in three days, and the store immediately ordered about 90 more pieces, according to owner Fraser Ross. Many of the online buyers were not from Los Angeles and presumably not familiar with Mr. Jermyn, he says. The brand may have appeal beyond L.A., says Mr. Ross, because its name includes 'Robertson,' which like Rodeo Drive is a destination associated with glamorous shopping.
Mr. Hirsh says the success at Kitson has already generated interest from other retailers. He calls Mr. Jermyn 'our Michael Jordan' and is looking into a trademark for 'the Crazy Robertson' name and logo.
Ms. Jermyn, meanwhile, has different hopes. 'I don't want to see my brother get hurt,' she says. 'They're taking advantage of someone who is very vulnerable and very trusting.'
好莱坞毫无疑问是引领潮流的时尚之地，而眼下，这个时尚中心最吸引人们眼球的并不是某位知名设计师或是崭露头角的新星，而是一位整天穿着溜冰鞋跳舞的56岁流浪汉。
他叫约翰·韦斯利•杰梅恩(John Wesley Jermyn)，他在洛杉矶西区已经呆了二十多年。人们给他起的绰号有“罗伯逊奇人”、“罗伯逊舞蹈家”，因为他常常在西洛杉矶最新潮的购物区罗伯逊大街一带游荡，这里也是游客和影视明星最爱光顾的地方。关于杰米恩的个人背景，当地人和互联网上有不少传闻，其中流传甚广的一个说法是，他虽然外表寒酸，其实身家百万。
杰梅恩为“罗伯逊奇人”品牌拍摄宣传照听上去够离奇的，不过，杰梅恩的名字如今已跟一个服装品牌有了瓜葛。这个名为“罗伯逊奇人”的品牌是上个月推出的，产品是T恤衫和运动衫，是由三位23岁的小伙子创立的。一经问世，该品牌就在Kitson这个帕丽斯·希尔顿(Paris Hilton)等小报热衷追捧的明星们经常光顾的专卖店里大受欢迎。这些服装上印着杰梅恩的超酷外形，其中一款上面有他跳舞的图案，背上还写着“没钱，也没烦恼”。Kitson专卖店在罗伯逊大街上开了三家分店，在其中最大的一家店里，印有杰梅恩肖像的衬衫与售价290美元的“辣妹”牛仔裤和50美元的婴儿鞋摆放在一起。那些鞋子是由明星吉恩·斯坦芬尼(Gwen Stefani)设计的。
在比弗利山长大的三位“罗伯逊奇人”设计师在 MySpace上为杰梅恩建了网页。该网站同时还在为这个品牌和他们的同名夜总会做广告。在取得杰梅恩同意之前，几位年轻的创业家花了几个月的时间试图与杰梅恩拉上关系，最后终于打动了他。他现在的名字已经改为约翰·杰米恩(John Jermien)了。小伙子们还向杰米恩征询对设计的意见，并请摄影师给他拍照做宣传。
据记者看到的合同复印件，杰米恩在今年5月同意提取服装销售净利润的5%。他签署了这项合同，但没有向律师和家人透露。不过迄今为止，他一直拒绝接受太多现金，他更愿意接受食品、饮料和纸张，该品牌服装的创建人特迪·赫什(Teddy Hirsh)说。“他不喜欢自己的日常生活中牵扯金钱，”。赫什说他还身兼杰米恩的经纪人及未来规划经理。
赫什表示，杰米恩已经获得了几笔小额报酬，虽然公司到目前为止“并没有赚多少钱”。“我们自己并没有得到什么，”赫什说。
杰米恩落入无家可归的境地对他姐姐贝弗莉(Beverly)来说是一个沉痛的话题。这次的服装生意也是如此。她认为“罗伯逊奇人”的创建人是在利用弟弟的境况炒作他们的品牌。“我想这些年轻人看到了机会就加以利用，”她说。“他们的做法让我一点也不高兴。”
贝弗莉的家离杰米恩晚上过夜的小巷不远。她说，弟弟有某种精神分裂症；尽管他会爆发间歇性的诅咒和叫嚷，但他拒绝接受药物治疗。64岁的贝弗莉说，七十年代最后几年，杰米恩的病情开始恶化，从此之后，“我就管不住他了”。贝弗莉现在甲骨文公司(Oracle Corp)设备管理部门工作。
八十年代后几年，贝弗莉曾在一个法庭程序中作证，希望迫使弟弟接受帮助，但心理测试的结果显示，杰米恩“头脑清楚，待人和蔼”。为给弟弟提供栖身之地和医学治疗，她曾无数次地努力。现在，她每周会看望他两次，给他带食物去。她还支付弟弟的手机费，并代他收社会保障核对表。
将杰米恩包装成前卫人士的事是在无家可归现象日益引起社会关注的背景下产生的。据称纪录片《游民争斗》(Bumfights)已卖出了30多万张DVD，该片讲述的是街头流浪者之间的事。另一部英国电视连续剧《暴富和赤贫》(Filthy Rich and Homeless)今年也轰动一时，它描述了装扮成街头乞丐的伦敦百万富翁的生活。
在美国，越来越多的流浪者通过互联网引起了公众的关注。YouTube上有17,500多部视频节目带有“无家可归”一词。德克萨斯州奥斯汀的一位街头流浪汉莱斯利·科恩(Leslie Cochran)曾两次竞选市长，他在MySpace上拥有10,755个“朋友”。在波士顿，无家可归者哈罗德·麦迪逊(Harold Madison Jr.)因有关他的网络视频及一个为他建的网站而声名大振。
杰米恩在汉考克长大，这是洛杉矶的一个老社区，有不少洛杉矶最富有的人家也住在这里。杰米恩的父亲在洛杉矶管理一家雪佛兰汽车大型专卖店。
杰米恩高中时代是个体育明星，曾被堪萨斯皇家棒球队选中，参加1969年的美国职业棒球联盟赛。后来他进入佩珀代因大学(Pepperdine University)，作为洛杉矶Dodger队队员参加了在华盛顿举行的一场小型联盟赛。（根据美国棒球研究协会(Society for American Baseball Research)的记录，在63场比赛中，他只有205次击球，犯规12次。）
约耳·罗伯茨(Joel John Roberts)是“资助无家可归者”(People Assisting the Homeless)组织的主席，该机构为洛杉矶的街头游民提供住处。在他看来，给杰米恩树立品牌就好比“在伊拉克难民逃离战争后，再给他们设计一块好看的遮羞布。”
对于贝弗莉对弟弟的担忧，赫什和杰米恩品牌另一位创立人维克·阿克曼(Vic Ackerman)很在意。不过他们表示，杰米恩“特别关照”他们不要和他姐姐提及该品牌服装以及合同。他们把杰米恩当成“生意伙伴”，并表示他们确信杰米恩很清楚自己的形像是怎样被使用的。
“他对每件事情都了如指掌，”阿克曼说。他同时指出杰米恩还否决了一组宣传照片，因为他不喜欢照片上的行头，认为自己“看上去有点爱炫耀”。
在跟杰米恩交谈时，他语调柔和，表达简短清晰，其间也穿插着较长的、不那么连贯的评论。法庭记录显示，从1986年以来，他因闯红灯和乱穿马路等行为被多次拘留。目前，他大多在罗伯逊大街附近溜冰或跳街舞，而过去他总是在比弗利山和西洛杉矶一带游逛，还常常带着内置扬声器，伴随刺耳的音乐舞动。“他一直是个与众不同的舞者，”吉姆·霍恩(Jim Horne)说。他是杰米恩的高中同学。
杰梅恩上学时曾参加棒球队除了姐姐，杰米恩还经常与基尼·柏林格(Ginny Berliner)联络。柏林格是位64岁的老太太，曾在罗伯逊大街开过古玩店，那时两人成了朋友。老太太如今住在马里兰，过去曾为杰米恩付过汽车旅馆的住宿费和法式蛋糕店Michel Richard的咖啡账单。“他想出名，但他不会接受金钱，”柏林格说。
不久前的一个下午，照例带着黑色绑腿、带着他那标志性帽盔的杰米恩表示，他是“罗伯逊奇人”品牌的“推动者”，他希望该品牌能进军音乐和影视领域。他是行销独行侠，在罗伯逊大街两旁的墙壁上张贴公司的标识及自己的画像。
在Kitson 专卖店以及公司网站上，第一批约35件“罗伯逊奇人”牌女式服装在三天内销售一空。店主弗拉舍·罗斯(Fraser Ross)表示，他们立即又订购了约90件。他说，许多网上客户不在洛杉矶，估计也不太了解杰米恩。该品牌也许能吸引其他地方的顾客，大概因为它的名字中有罗伯逊三个字吧，就好像罗迪欧大道(Rodeo Drive)总是被人们与高档购物联系起来。
赫什说，Kitson的成功已引起其他零售商的兴趣。他称杰米恩是“我们的迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)，他正在为“罗伯逊奇人”的名字和标识申请商标注册。
不过，贝弗莉却不希望这样。“我不想看到弟弟受伤害，”她说。“他们在利用那些非常容易受伤害、愿意相信他人的人。”
