苏格兰对华纺织品出口大幅增长

As Scots don their clan tartans in celebration of national bard Robert Burns this weekend, they may be surprised to learn they will not be the only ones. Fashion-conscious Chinese shoppers are buying more traditional Scottish clothing than ever before – from tweed suits to golfing trews.

在苏格兰人本周末穿上花呢格纹服装，庆祝民族诗人罗伯特•彭斯(Robert Burns)的诞辰之际，他们可能会惊讶地得知，他们不是喜欢这种服装风格的唯一人群。具有时尚意识的中国消费者正在购买空前数量的苏格兰传统服装——从花呢西装到高尔夫格子裤。

Estimates from HM Revenue & Customs indicate that exports of textiles from Scotland to China are about to hit a record high, after sales in the first nine months in 2013 reached nearly £9.7m – outstripping the total for the previous year. Scotland sells more than two and a half times more textiles to China than it did a decade ago.

英国税务海关总署(HM Revenue & Customs)的估计表明，苏格兰对中国的纺织品出口即将创下历史新高，2013年前九个月的销售达到近970万英镑，超过上年全年总额。如今，苏格兰对华纺织品销售超过10年前的两倍半。

According to the tweedmakers of the Isle of Harris, off Scotland’s west coast, the Chinese appear keen to wrap themselves in the history of the region.

在苏格兰西海岸外的哈里斯岛，一些花呢格纹生产商表示，中国人似乎喜欢饱含苏格兰历史底蕴的服装布料。

“It’s about provenance, British [identity] and quality,” said Brian Wilson, chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides, and a business ambassador for the UK government. “If you can tick these three boxes in China then you’ve got a good chance.”

“关键在于原产地、英国（特色）和质量，”哈里斯花呢赫布里底群岛公司(Harris Tweed Hebrides)董事长、英国政府商业大使布赖恩•威尔逊(Brian Wilson)表示。“如果你在中国能够做到这三点，你就有很好的机会。”

Harris Tweed Hebrides is responsible for about 90 per cent of the handwoven tweed cloth made in the Outer Hebrides, and is about to secure its first Chinese fashion client. It already provides tweed upholstery to Chinese customers – by supplying the UK furniture maker Tetrad, which shipped its first products to China this month.

在外赫布里底群岛出产的手工编织花呢布料中，哈里斯公司占大约90%，该公司即将争取到首家中国时装客户。它已经向中国客户提供用于家具的斜纹软呢——通过向英国家具制造商Tetrad供货，后者本月向中国发运首批产品。

Johnstons of Elgin, a wool and cashmere clothing maker based in the northern Scottish city, exported £200,000-worth of goods to China last year. “What the Chinese absolutely love is the history and heritage that some of the companies have,” said Ian Pryde, Johnstons’ export sales director. “Johnstons now is 215 years old. The Chinese love that.” The company recently appointed agents in Beijing and Shanghai to secure more business.

在苏格兰北方城市埃尔金，羊毛和羊绒服装制造商Johnstons去年向中国出口了20万英镑的产品。“中国人绝对喜欢的是一些企业蕴含的历史和传统，”Johnstons公司的出口销售总监伊恩•普莱德(Ian Pryde)表示。“Johnstons是一家有215年历史的老企业。中国人喜爱这一点。”该公司最近在北京和上海任命了代理商，以争取更多业务。

For newer manufacturers, however, the challenge is establishing their brands in the face of competition from Chinese copycats. On a trade visit to Beijing in March last year, Glasgow-based fashion designer Rebecca Torres found that buyers “were really into kilts and tartan trousers.” But she also discovered several Chinese suppliers with names that sounded surprisingly Scottish.

不过，对于成立不久的制造商来说，挑战在于面对中国模仿者的竞争确立自己的品牌。去年3月，格拉斯哥时装设计师丽贝卡•托雷斯(Rebecca Torres)在北京进行贸易访问时发现，买家“对苏格兰短裙和格子呢长裤真的很感兴趣”。但她也发现几家中国供应商的名称听上去颇具苏格兰特色。

One way Chinese fashionistas have been able to ensure the authenticity of their clothes is by travelling closer to the source. Roubi L’Roubi, creative director of Huntsman of Savile Row – once the tailor to King Edward VIII – has found that customers from Asia are visiting the London shop specifically to order tweed suits. “Some people want to get things from the origin,” he said. “They want to know how it’s woven and where. They’re curious.”

中国时尚人士确保服装来源正宗的方式之一是亲自前往接近产地的地方。在伦敦萨维尔街，曾是爱德华八世的裁缝的亨斯迈公司(Huntsman)的创意总监Roubi L' Roubi发现，亚洲客户专门到这家伦敦商店订购花呢西装。“有些人希望从产地获得产品，”他表示。“他们想知道它是如何编织的，在什么地方做出来的。他们很好奇。”