梅根的时尚力量：现代、冒险、重塑皇室形象

Royal watchers, fairy tale lovers and proponents of the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States, let out your collective breath: Prince Harry, fifth in line to the British throne, famous flirt, recent spokesman for mental health and all-around paparazzi magnet, and his girlfriend, the American actress Meghan Markle, are engaged. And the British royal family has officially entered the 21st century.

王室观察人士、童话爱好者和英美两国“特殊关系”的支持者们，一起松口气吧：哈里王子(Prince Harry)，英国王位第五顺位继承人，著名调情人士，新科精神健康发言人，以及全方位狗仔队磁铁——和他的女朋友、美国演员梅根·马克尔(Meghan Markle)订婚了。英国王室正式进入二十一世纪。

If the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton was a rare instance in which a commoner wed the heir to the throne, this royal wedding will herald the Windsors’ (relatively radical, if expected) embrace of a divorced and biracial American. And you know what that means!

如果说威廉王子(Prince William)和凯瑟琳·米德尔顿(Catherine Middleton)的婚姻是平民与王位继承人结合的罕见事例，这一次的王室婚姻则宣告，温莎王朝将(虽属意料之中但仍然相当激进地)接受一个离过婚的双种族美国人。你知道这意味着什么!

Not just that she will redeem the legacy of Wallis Simpson. But that she will become a symbol among symbols: one of the most-watched, obsessed-over women outside of Hollywood. And like so many of the women who marry into the royal family, she probably won’t be heard very much but will often be seen, so what she wears is suddenly going to matter, and be chronicled, a whole lot.

这不仅意味着她将为沃利斯·辛普森(Wallis Simpson)的传奇实现救赎，而且将成为象征符号中的象征符号：好莱坞以外最受瞩目、最令人迷恋的女性之一。和众多嫁入王室的女人一样，她的声音很可能不会被人听到，但她的形象往往会被人看到，所以她穿的衣服突然间就变得很重要，并被事无巨细地记录下来。

The British fashion industry, on tenterhooks as it awaits the various outcomes of Britain’s exit from the European Union, must be rubbing its hands in anticipation. Oh, the clothes her patronage can potentially sell!

一直在如坐针毡地等待英国退出欧盟的各种后果的英国时装业，如今一定在摩拳擦掌。噢，有她帮衬的衣服肯定有机会大卖!

It has already started.

一切已经开始了。

The belted white coat that Ms. Markle wore for her official engagement appearance with Prince Harry outside Kensington Palace on Monday, by the Canadian brand Line the Label, set off a frenzy that was said to have crashed the website within an hour. (The brand is said to be renaming the coat “the Meghan.”)

马克尔周一在肯辛顿宫外与哈里王子正式订婚时穿着的系带白色风衣是名叫Line the Label的加拿大品牌，该品牌顿时出现了销售狂潮，据说它的网站在一个小时之内就崩溃了。(该品牌据说要将这件风衣重新命名为“梅根”。)

And there is a blog — Meghan’s Mirror — that chronicles her every style choice. Vogue has a piece online titled “Meghan Markle’s Stealth Shopping Style Is All the Black Friday Inspo You Need,” while InStyle crowed “The Nordstrom Black Friday Sale Has Discounts on Meghan Markle’s Favorite Denim Brand.”

有一个博客名为“梅根的镜子”(Meghan’s Mirror) ，专门记录她所有的穿搭选择。《Vogue》杂志在网上刊登了一篇评论，题为《梅根·马克尔的秘密时尚购物就是你最需要的黑色星期五购物灵感》，而InStyle网站发表的文章题为《梅根·马克尔最喜欢的牛仔品牌，Nordstrom黑色星期五促销期间打折》。

If she does that for jeans, just imagine what she could do for, say, day dresses — like the forest green frock with a bow at the waist from Italian label P.A.R.O.S.H. she wore for her BBC post-engagement interview (for those who don’t know the brand, which is probably most people, the name stands for Paolo Rossello Second Hand, Paolo Rossello being the designer and second hand referring to the fact the line began by repurposing vintage garments). Along with whatever protocol lessons she is taking, she is going to have to decide what kind of style setter she wants to be.

如果她能带动牛仔裤销售，想象一下，她可以在多大程度上带动日常服装的销售——比如她在就订婚消息接受BBC采访时，穿了意大利品牌PAROSH的一件腰系蝴蝶结的墨绿色连衣裙。(这里向大多数对时装品牌不甚了解人介绍一下，这个名字代表的是“保罗·罗塞洛二手”[Paolo Rossello Second Hand]，保罗·罗塞洛是一位设计师，“二手”指的是该品牌专门翻新古董服饰)。随着她继续接受各种礼仪课程培训，她必须决定自己将要采纳什么样的时尚风格。

Just consider the fact that not only does Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, tend to create an immediate buying frenzy for anything she wears, but so do her children: Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Consider that, with Theresa May in 10 Downing Street rightfully focusing attention on what she negotiates more than on the shoes she wears, there is no first lady equivalent à la Samantha Cameron, to boost the local fashion industry through appearances and strategic styling, thus upping the spotlight ante on the new-gen royals.

考虑一下这样一个事实：剑桥公爵夫人凯瑟琳不管穿什么，都会马上带动购买狂潮;不仅这样，她的孩子们，乔治王子(Prince George)和夏洛特公主(Princess Charlotte)也是如此。想想看，唐宁街10号的特丽莎·梅(Theresa May)正确地把注意力集中在谈判，而不是脚下的鞋子上，现在英国没有一位像萨曼莎·卡梅伦(Samantha Cameron)那样的第一夫人，通过外貌和精心策划的造型来促进本土时装业，因此人们的注意力全部集中在新一代王室成员身上。

And consider that unlike Ms. Markle’s future sister-in-law, who has been adept at walking the very fine fashion line between classic and accessible with her patronage of brands from the high-end (Jenny Packham and Temperley London) to the high street (Zara, Topshop, Reiss), always with a sensible pump (often by L.K. Bennett) and de rigueur sheer stockings, Prince Harry’s bride will have a certain leeway. She can be more adventurous, less strictly appropriate.

再想一想，马克尔与她未来的妯娌可不一样。后者在经典与平易近人的时尚之间信步游走，打造了自己优美的时尚风格，她帮衬的既有Jenny Packham和Temperley London这样的高端品牌，也有Zara、Topshop和Reiss这样的高街品牌，她脚下总是穿着适宜的船型高跟鞋(常见的是L.K.Bennett)，以及合乎礼仪的薄丝袜。而哈里王子的新娘却拥有一定的回旋余地，她可以更冒险，用不着那样一丝不苟。

That is both because her husband is further from the responsibilities of the throne, and because the expectations surrounding them are different: their job, to a certain extent, is to push boundaries; to be even more relatable and modern than are Catherine and William.

这既是因为她的丈夫更远离王位的责任，也是因为人们对他们的期望有所不同：从某种程度上讲，他们的工作是打破界限，比凯瑟琳和威廉更让人觉得可亲、现代。

I mean: Ms. Markle did wear ripped jeans (ripped jeans!) to sit near her future husband at the Invictus Games in September in Toronto. It caused a hoo-ha, but as she began, so she may continue. Just imagine the big step forward she could take with bare legs. Certainly, the strappy Aquazzura stilettos she chose for her engagement debut were more daring than her sister-in-law’s trademark footwear.

我的意思是：在9月份多伦多举行的“不可战胜”运动会(Invictus Games)上，马克尔穿着破洞牛仔裤(破洞牛仔裤!)坐在未来丈夫的身旁。这引起一片哗然，不过既然她开了头，以后她可能还会这样做。想象一下，她哪怕只是露一下腿，就是多么大的一个进步。当然，她为自己订婚后初次亮相所选的Aquazzura系带细高跟鞋，比她妯娌的标志性鞋子更大胆。

Will she choose to champion certain British designers — perhaps, like Michelle Obama with American ones, the edgier and up-and-coming (Simone Rocha? J.W. Anderson?) — the better to promote them around the world and show her loyalty to her new country? Or will she underscore the values of cross-border relationships in the face of British isolationism, and work with some names from the United States? Those famous jeans were by the Los Angeles-based brand Mother, known for producing its denim in the U.S.A. Presumably, though she wore some Canadian brands while filming the television show “Suits” in Toronto, as she did on Monday with LINE, she won’t regularly continue, though it’s possible the fact she did not choose a U.K. designer for her engagement look is telling. Will she work with a single designer, or spread her favor?

她会选择支持某些英国设计师吗，比如像米歇尔·奥巴马(Michelle Obama)支持美国设计师那样，选择更前卫的新秀设计师(比如西蒙·罗恰[Simone Rocha]?J·W·安德森[J.W. Anderson]?)，在世界各地推广他们，显示她对自己新国家的忠诚?或者，面对英国的孤立主义，她会选择强调跨境关系的价值，与美国的一些设计师合作?她穿的那些著名的牛仔裤出自洛杉矶品牌Mother，该品牌以在美国生产牛仔服装闻名。虽然在多伦多拍摄电视剧《金装律师》(Suits)时穿过一些加拿大品牌，比如她周一穿的就是加拿大品牌LINE，但她可能不会一直这样。不过，她没有选择一位英国设计师来设计她在订婚仪式上的造型，就能说明一些问题。她是会和某一个设计师合作，还是进行分散的选择?

Burberry is about to name a new creative director (rumor has it that Phoebe Philo of Céline is the favorite). A new designer for a new royal, both fresh faces in heritage houses, would make for a very nice narrative. Or there’s Victoria Beckham, another barrier-breaker, who moved from frothy pop stardom to designer substance, and could be a kindred spirit when it comes to crafting an image.

博柏利(Burberry)即将任命一位新的创意总监(据传，Céline的菲比·菲洛[Phoebe Philo]是最热门的人选)。一位新王室成员和一位新设计师，老牌时装公司的两张新面孔，这会是一段佳话。也可能是维多利亚·贝克汉姆(Victoria Beckham)，她是另一位突破界限的人，从浮华的流行巨星转变为设计师，在塑造形象方面，她们也许会志趣相投。

We will see — perhaps the front rows of London Fashion Week in February, where Ms. Markle will unquestionably be the most-desired guest for any brand, will provide a clue. Still, the first real statement as to where this is all going will be the wedding dress. There is a lot riding on the choice.

让我们拭目以待——也许明年2月伦敦时装周的前排就能揭晓答案。马克尔无疑会是所有品牌都渴望邀请到的贵宾。不过，关于未来走向的第一个真正的声明将是婚纱。婚纱的选择会有很多寓意。

When Catherine opted for a gown from Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen (one of the best-kept secrets of 2011), it spoke of her desire to support both a woman and a newish British brand, and it started an on-off partnership between the duchess and Ms. Burton that has continued to this day, and helped recast McQueen as more than just a high-fashion name known for intense creativity and a dark past. When her sister, Pippa Middleton, chose Giles Deacon as the designer of her wedding look in May, it likewise set off a frenzy of Deaconophilia.

凯瑟琳选择的是萨拉·伯顿(Sarah Burton)设计的亚历山大·麦昆(Alexander McQueen)婚纱(那是2011年保守得最好的一个秘密)，它表明，她希望支持一名女性和一个比较新的英国品牌。而后，这位公爵夫人和伯顿时常合作，一直持续到现在。这帮助重塑了麦昆的品牌，令它不再只是一个以强大创造力和黑暗过往闻名的高档时装人物。5月，她的妹妹皮帕·米德尔顿(Pippa Middleton)选择贾尔斯·迪肯(Giles Deacon)作为她婚礼造型的设计师，同样引发了一阵迪肯热。

Both women opted for Grace Kelly-like, lace princess confections, marked by simplicity and an implicit reference to that famous wedding past, with all its cinematic romance.

两位女士都选择了格蕾丝·凯利(Grace Kelly)式的蕾丝公主风格，它既简洁，又隐隐让人想起过去那场著名的婚礼，以及它电影般的浪漫。

Ms. Markle has a chance to chart a new course via her dress, one that is perhaps a little more contemporary and a little less spun sugar. One that says to the millions who will be watching: This is the way I am redefining how it looks to be royal. Ms. Markle is someone who implicitly understands the power of dressing the part, so surely this opportunity has not escaped her.

马克尔有机会通过自己的婚纱开辟一条新路线，可能更现代一点，不那么像棉花糖。她可以通过它对数百万观众说：这就是我重新定义皇室形象的方式。马克尔绝对了解给自己的角色着装的力量，所以她一定看到了这个机会。

Here’s hoping she seizes it.

希望她能抓住。