More fashion musical chairs! The Hermès women’s wear designer Christophe Lemaire is leaving “to dedicate myself fully” to his own line. The show in October will be his last.
时装界的抢椅子游戏又有了新空位！爱马仕(Hermès)的女装设计师克里斯托弗·勒梅尔(Christophe Lemaire)将辞职，“专注于”自己的服装品牌。10月份的时装秀将是他在爱马仕的最后一场时装秀。Anyway, the news comes at an interesting time: Hermès just released its results for the first half of 2014, and ready-to-wear and accessories were up 16 percent — more than leather goods or silks (granted, it was starting at a lower level, but still). That raises the question: Will the fashion house continue to invest in women’s wear, or pull back?
不管怎样，这条消息是在一个有趣的时刻公布的：爱马仕刚公布了它2014年上半年的业绩，成衣和配饰增长了16%——高于皮具或丝绸的增长（当然，成衣和配饰的起点较低，但仍然不可小觑）。这引发了一个问题：这家时装公司会继续在女装上投资还是收缩战线？This will be the first real test of Axel Dumas, the chief executive who took the reins this year, and his strategic plans for the brand.
这将是对今年上任的首席执行官阿克塞尔·杜马(Axel Dumas)以及他的品牌战略的第一个真正考验。
Although Hermès is still widely known as a leather goods and silks brand, Mr. Lemaire’s recent shows had been well received, and he was quietly carving out a convincing style for the luxury name, focused on extraordinary materials and style over fashion.
虽然爱马仕仍被普遍认为是一个皮具和丝绸品牌，但是勒梅尔最近的时装秀都获得了好评，他正在悄悄地为这个奢侈品牌开创令人信服的风格，把重点放在卓越的面料和时尚特色上。It came as a sort of antidote to the much more showy work of Jean Paul Gaultier, who had been hired by the former chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas. Despite being at the brand for seven years, from 2003 to 2010, Mr. Gaultier never seemed entirely comfortable with Hermès’s understated approach as defined by its first catwalk designer, Martin Margiela (1997-2003), who was famous for setting his shows to the murmured conversation of women.
这似乎与前任首席执行官让-路易斯·杜马(Jean-Louis Dumas)雇佣的让·保罗·高缇耶(Jean Paul Gaultier)正好相反，高缇耶的作品要艳丽得多。尽管高缇耶从2003年至2010年为该品牌服务了七年，但他似乎一直不能完全适应爱马仕的第一位时装设计师马丁·马吉拉(Martin Margiela, 1997-2003)确立的低调风格。马吉拉以在女人们的低语声中展示服装而闻名。Though the “leaving to concentrate on his own brand” line can be interpreted in many ways — some good, some less so — it seems to be genuine in this case. Hermès, however, isn’t saying much about what happens next.
虽然“专注于自己的品牌”这样的说辞可以有很多解释——有的很好，有的不那么好——但是这一次似乎是真的。不过，爱马仕没有对接下来会发生什么解释太多。To be specific, Mr. Dumas said: “I am very grateful to Christophe for the passion with which he has addressed and enriched the expression of our house in women’s ready-to-wear. Under his artistic direction the métier has renewed its aesthetic and produced very satisfactory financial results. I wish him the greatest success with his own label which is so close to his heart.”
杜马是这么说的：“克里斯托弗用激情丰富了我们公司对女装成衣的表达，对此我十分感激。在他的艺术指导下，我们的女装审美焕然一新，取得了非常令人满意的经济效益。我祝愿他自己的品牌取得巨大成功，那个品牌非常贴近他的心。”Nice — and bland.
说得挺好——但也很平淡。So will Mr. Dumas follow his late uncle’s strategy and go for a big name, who will bring buzz and global acclaim (and potentially higher costs) to the Hermès shows? Will he take a step back, and go for someone less famous, who may be humbler in the face of the house’s heritage? Will he pull back from women’s wear entirely?
杜马会追随他已故的叔叔的策略，找一位著名设计师吗？这将给爱马仕的时装秀带来喧闹和全球称赞（也将增加公司成本）。抑或他会后退一步，找一个不那么出名的设计师，这位设计师在面对该公司的传统时会更谦逊一点？他会完全撤出女装市场吗？And will LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which owns 23 percent of the shares but thus far has been a seemingly silent investor, have any say in the matter?
掌握该公司23%的股份的路威酩轩(LVMH Moët)集团到目前为止似乎是个默默无闻的投资者，它会干涉这件事吗？All possibilities are on the table. It’s always a big deal when a major house changes designers, but I’d say this is a particularly big one. Not just because Hermès is such a feted name, but because what it does next — demonstrate a belief in the power of the Fashion Show (yes, capital letters intended) as a marketing tool or not — could influence the whole industry.
各种可能性都存在。大型时装公司更换设计师永远是件大事，但我得说这一次尤为重要。不仅因为爱马仕是个备受赞誉的品牌，而且因为它的下一步行动能表明该公司是否认为时装秀（是的，我故意用了大写）是一种有力的市场营销工具，这个态度会影响整个时装业。No pressure there, then. Young designers, start your lobbying.
所以别有压力。年轻设计师们，开始游说吧。