First Lady's Choices Influence Designer's Fates
第一夫人怎麼穿影響設計師前途
By Bee-Shyuan Chang

The designers Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs, known professionally as Cushnie et Ochs, have been critical darlings ever since starting their business in 2009, just a few years out of college. But even with all the acclaim, they were still having trouble getting some prominent retailers to buy their clothes.
設計師卡莉‧庫希尼與蜜雪兒‧歐克斯自2009年聯手創業以來，一直深獲服裝批評界好評，業界以「庫希尼與歐克斯」稱之。創業時她倆大學畢業只有幾年。然而儘管已經獲得肯定，她們還是無法吸引一些著名的零售商購買他們設計的衣服。

Then Michelle Obama was photographed in one of their designs: a forest-green crepe dress for the “Christmas in Washington” television special in December.
接著，蜜雪兒‧歐巴馬穿著她們的一件作品公開亮相：去年12月穿著一件深綠色縐綢禮服參加「華府耶誕」電視特別節目。

Suddenly, their phone calls were being returned. “Stores that thought we were too risqué before have booked market appointments after seeing Michelle Obama in our dress,” Ms. Cushnie, 28, said.
突然間，她們的電話得到了回覆。28歲的庫希尼說：「許多服裝店原本認為我們的作品過於傷風敗俗。看到蜜雪兒‧歐巴馬穿上我們設計的服裝之後，這些店家開始跟我們約時間談生意。」

There is arguably no more powerful influence in American fashion today than the stylish, risk-taking first lady.
這位時髦且勇於嘗試的美國第一夫人對當前美國時尚界影響力之大，顯然無人能出其右。

It’s by now a well-known tale – how the surprise choice of Jason Wu to design the ivory silk chiffon, one-shouldered gown that Mrs. Obama wore to the inaugural balls in 2009 propelled the then-little-known designer into a global marketing powerhouse.
下面這個故事如今已是人盡皆知：蜜雪兒‧歐巴馬突然指定台裔設計師吳季剛為她設計一襲象牙白絲質薄綢單肩長禮服，供她穿著出席歐巴馬總統2009年的就職舞會。這使原本籍籍無名的吳季剛瞬間成為全球服裝設計界的紅人。

But dozens of other designers have benefited from the “Michelle Obama effect.”
另有數十名設計師因為所謂的「蜜雪兒‧歐巴馬」效應而受益。

Chris Benz, who designed the blue metallic brocade skirt suit Mrs. Obama wore at the arrival ceremony of the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, on October 13, recalls, “One time I was in Denver eating a taco” when he got the word that Mrs. Obama was wearing something of his.
班茲曾經為蜜雪兒‧歐巴馬設計一套去年10月13日隨同歐巴馬總統迎接南韓總統李明博到訪時所穿著的金屬色澤藍色錦緞套裝。他說，他有一天在丹佛吃炸玉米餅時，得知蜜雪兒‧歐巴馬決定採用他的一件作品。

Duro Olowu, a London designer that Mrs. Obama wore at least seven times in 2011, was tipped off that she was going to wear a sleeveless multi-print frock of his on “Oprah.”
倫敦設計師奧洛烏的作品，蜜雪兒2001年之中至少穿過七次。奧洛烏某日突然獲知，蜜雪兒準備穿上他設計的一套無袖多層印花布連衣裙上「歐普拉脫口秀」節目。

Alexis Bittar, the jewelry designer and another favorite of the first lady (she wore his bracelets to a state dinner for the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on June 7), counts on his mother to alert him. “My mother is a huge Michelle Obama fan,” he said.
珠寶首飾設計師畢塔爾是蜜雪兒偏愛的另一名設計師（去年六月七日，她戴著他設計的手鐲出席款待德國總理梅克爾的國宴），有賴他的母親提醒。他說：「我母親是蜜雪兒的大號粉絲。」

Like Cushnie et Ochs, nearly all of the 16 designers interviewed said that Mrs. Obama’s patronage had helped their business, either with a bump in sales or sometimes just by heightening their public image.
受訪的16位設計師幾乎都和庫希尼與歐克斯一樣，表示蜜雪兒的加持對他們的事業是一大助力，或者是使銷售額增加，或者是凸顯他們的公眾形象。

For Prabal Gurung, whose clothes the first lady has worn several times, the recognition factor suddenly soared. “Before she started wearing my pieces, I was just a new designer,” he said. “Then all of a sudden people knew who I was.” He added that when he goes home to his native Nepal, everyone seems to know he has dressed Mrs. Obama.
對作品曾被蜜雪兒採用數次的設計師古朗格而言，蜜雪兒使他的知名度突然大增。他說：「在她開始穿上我設計的服裝之前，我只是這一行的新人。接著，突然間，每一個人都知道我是誰。」他又說，當他回到老家尼泊爾時，好像人人都知道他曾經為蜜雪兒設計行頭。

“When you are endorsed by the first lady of the most important country in the world, that has impact,” said Naeem Khan, whose ivory chiffon beaded column dress Mrs. Obama wore to the state dinner honoring Mrs. Merkel. “My business grew bigger in the Middle East and Asia.”
蜜雪兒曾穿卡恩設計的一套象牙白薄綢綴珠桶裝出席款待梅克爾的國宴。他說：「如果你獲得全球最重要國家的第一夫人背書，影響力絕對非同小可。我在中東與亞洲的事業做得更大了。」

Few designers would talk specifically about their dealings with the White House or with Meredith Koop, the assistant largely acknowledged as the key stylist for Mrs. Obama, taking over a role previously filled informally by Ikram Goldman, the influential Chicago retailer.
願意特別提到他們與白宮或蜜雪兒助理梅瑞狄絲．庫普來往經過的設計師並不多。庫普其實是蜜雪兒倚重的服裝造型設計師，取代芝加哥重要零售商高德曼此前扮演的非正式角色。

Some were secretive. Some were vague. (“They order clothes and you never know for when, or how, or where she is going to wear it,” said Sophie Theallet.) And some were hostile. (“It’s an invasion of her privacy” to discuss the first lady’s fashion decisions, said Barbara Tfank, who designed the sapphire-blue dress Mrs. Obama wore to the most recent State of the Union address.)
這些設計師有些人不願透露；有些人語帶含糊（蘇菲‧泰雷特說：「他們訂製服裝。你永遠不知道她穿著的時間、方式與場合）。有一些則表現出敵意（蜜雪兒曾經穿著芭芭拉‧迪芬克設計的一襲寶石藍禮服陪同歐巴馬發表最近一次的國情咨文演說。迪芬克說：「討論第一夫人的時尚決定侵犯她的隱私）。

Designers said they had tweaked existing pieces according to Mrs. Obama’s specifications (or those of her team).
設計師說，他們以既有的設計按蜜雪兒（或其團隊）提供的規格加以調整。

“Luckily, she and I are pretty much the same size,” Tracy Reese said with a laugh. “She’s just taller and more elegant than me. Before sending the pieces out, I try them on to see if they will work.”
崔西‧芮斯笑說：「幸運的是，她的身材與我相當。只不過她比我高大，而且更優雅。交出成品之前，我都會親自試穿，看看效果如何。」

The designers and others in the fashion world did seem eager to talk about the influence Mrs. Obama has had on American fashion.
話說回來，談到蜜雪兒對時尚界產生的影響，這些設計師與時尚界的其他人士卻都樂得發表意見。

“Unlike very chic first ladies we’ve had, like Jacqueline Onassis, Michelle Obama wears so many different designers,” said Anna Wintour of Vogue. “She wears established designers like Michael Kors and a whole array of young designers. Within that group, she’s very choose-your-own-style.”
時尚雜誌Vogue的安娜‧溫托爾說：「有別於以往如賈桂琳‧歐納希斯那些十分時髦的第一夫人，蜜雪兒‧歐巴馬的行頭出自許多不同設計師之手。她會採用知名設計師如柯爾斯，以及許多新銳設計師的作品。在這個部分，她具有非常強烈的個人化色彩。」

Mr. Bittar said he was struck by the first lady’s trend-setting.
“I was looking at the M.L.K. picture of her the other night with my boyfriend,” he said, referring to Mrs. Obama’s wardrobe for the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday events in mid-January, which included a body-skimming black dress with portrait neckline one night and a scarlet J. Mendel organza gown the next. “I said to him: ‘Can you believe this is the first lady? She looks incredible.’”
畢塔爾說，蜜雪兒引導潮流的本領令他印象深刻。他說：「有一天夜裡，我與男友正在看她出席金恩博士紀念活動時拍下的照片。」他指的是，今年一月中旬蜜雪兒出席金恩博士冥誕紀念活動時的穿著，包括頭一晚的一襲掠身露肩黑色禮服，第二晚的猩紅色曼達爾薄紗長禮服。他說：「我對他說，你相信這是第一夫人嗎？她看起來令人難以置信。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/fashion/michelle-obama-wooing-the-first-dresser.html

Slideshow: The “Michelle Obama Effect”
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/02/12/fashion/20120212-MICHELLE-FW.html

Slideshow: Michelle Obama Fashion Watch
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/04/03/fashion/20090403-michelle-slideshow_index.html

Slideshow: The Next First Lady’s Style
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/11/05/fashion/20081106-michelle-slideshow_index.html

2012-03-13聯合報/G9版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS 陳世欽譯原文參見紐時週報十一版上