For Ramadan, Courting Free-Spending Muslims
齋戒月 另一個購物旺季
By Ruth La Ferla

On his Armani/Dolci website and in his sweets emporiums across the Middle East, Giorgio Armani is offering a box of chocolates, date-and-honey-filled pralines sans alcohol.
喬治．亞曼尼在自己的糖果品牌Armani/Dolci的網站和中東各地的實體店面推出一款巧克力糖，果仁糖內有大棗和蜂蜜，不含酒精。

But his gesture has nothing on that of Monique Lhuillier, who is selling a selection of caftans on the upscale Moda Operandi site, including a version in virginal white embroidered with cascades of field flowers.
但是與Monique Lhuillier相比，亞曼尼的舉措不算什麼。Monique Lhuillier在高檔的Moda Operandi網站銷售一系列精選的卡弗坦長袍，其中一款是純白色，繡上波浪層次的野花。

Nor can it compete with Tommy Hilfiger, whose 11-piece capsule collection, available at Hilfiger stores in the Middle East, incorporates temptations like a cowl-neck black satin evening dress and a long-sleeve teal gown slit, a bit indecorously, from instep to knee.
亞曼尼的動作也無法與湯米．席爾菲格相提並論，後者在中東門市銷售11件組合的限量系列，混合的誘惑像是胸前打褶的黑色綢緞晚禮服和藍綠色長袖開衩長裙，從腳背開到膝蓋，不太得體。

Mr. Hilfiger is among the latest in a handful of designers and merchants seeking to capitalize on Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic lunar calendar. (It ends this year on July 17.) A time of fasting and contemplation alternating in the evenings with festive gatherings of family and friends, it has emerged in recent years as a month of extravagant spending that is rivaled, some say, only by Christmas.
席爾菲格是最近幾位想要充分利用齋戒月的設計師和商賈之一。齋戒月是伊斯蘭教曆中最神聖的月分（今年是7月17日結束）。在齋戒月，人們日間禁食冥思，日落後與家人和朋友歡聚。近些年，齋戒月已演變為鋪張消費的月分，有人說，其盛況只有耶誕節堪與比擬。

As far back as 2012, Euromonitor International, a market research firm in London, took note. “Like Christmas, a religious context serves as a reason for families and friends to come together,” Ilse Thomele, an analyst, observed, predicting, “a typical ‘Ramadan consumer’ is likely to emerge in the same way as the Christmas shopper as a global phenomenon.”
早在2012年，倫敦的市調公司歐睿國際就注意到了這種趨勢。公司分析師伊爾絲．湯米利評述道：「和耶誕節一樣，宗教習俗提供親朋好友相聚的機會」。她預測，「如同耶誕節購物者成為全球現象，很可能也會出現典型的『齋戒月消費者』。」

That notion was not lost on Net-a-Porter, which heralded the month with the online announcement of a “Ramadan Edit,” featuring two fair-haired models glamorously posed in flowing garments against a backdrop of parched earth.
購物網站Net-a-Porter沒有錯過這個機會，該月在網站發布「齋月特輯」，宣告齋戒月的到來，主打兩位金髮模特兒身穿飄逸長袍，擺出迷人的姿勢，背景是乾涸大地。

The gambit was a bold one. “It’s the first time we’re talking to Ramadan so directly,” said Holly Russell, the senior ready-to-wear buyer for Net-a-Porter.
這是個大膽的搶先奇招。這個網站的資深成衣採購人荷莉．羅素說：「這是我們頭一次如此直接地以齋戒月為訴求對象。」

Such appeals to a deep-pocketed segment of the Muslim community have rarely been more pointed or direct.
對富有穆斯林的訴求，很少如此具針對性，如此直接。

Others have been more tentative. Even fashion houses like Hilfiger and DKNY, which is offering, for the second year, a special Ramadan collection, have scarcely dipped a toe in the water, their capsule lines sold strictly in the Middle East.
其他品牌比較謹慎。甚至連席爾菲格和連續第二年推出齋戒月特選系列的DKNY，都小心翼翼測水溫，限量系列僅在中東銷售。

According to a study released last year by the American Muslim Consumer Consortium, there are two billion Muslims worldwide. Sabiha Ansari, a consortium founder, puts Muslim spending power in the United States alone at $100 billion. She hopes retailers will recognize Muslims as a strong economic force.
美國穆斯林消費者聯合會去年發布調查結果指出，全球有20億穆斯林。聯合會創辦人薩比哈．安薩里說，僅美國一地穆斯林消費力即達1000億美元。她希望零售商能明白穆斯林是股經濟力量。

In London, where the annual influx of Middle Eastern shoppers has been termed the Ramadan rush, “Ramadan has long been every big store’s unspoken secret,” said Ed Burstell, the managing director of Liberty of London.
在倫敦，中東購物者一年一度的湧入被稱為齋戒月熱潮。倫敦利柏提百貨公司的總經理艾德．柏斯岱爾說，「長久以來，齋戒月一直是所有大型百貨公司心照不宣的祕密。」

Many Muslim women are ready to part with sums range from $300 to several thousand dollars in a single online or store visit, temporarily setting aside their abayas and burqas for ornately embroidered caftans, colorful gowns, loosefitting dusters and all manner of gilt-edged refinements to wear in the evening and through Eid al-Fitr, the three-day festivities to observe Ramadan’s end.
許多女性穆斯林在網購或實體店面購物時，一次就願意花三百至幾千美元。她們暫時拋開阿拉伯寬大無袖外衣和罩袍，購買有華麗刺繡的卡弗坦長袍、五顏六色的禮服、寬鬆的罩衫以及各式各樣的滾金邊的華服，以供在晚上和開齋節（慶祝齋月結束的三天節日）穿著。

Neiman Marcus stores has yet to court the Muslim shoppers deliberately, but during a promotional calendar meeting at the headquarters, “Ramadan came up as an opportunity we need to understand better,” said Ginger Reeder, a spokeswoman for the company.
精品百貨Neiman Marcus尚未蓄意迎合穆斯林顧客，但是在公司總部的推廣行事曆會議上，公司發言人金傑．李德說，「齋戒月是我們需要更加了解的一個商機。」

Was Ramadan a time for gift-giving, one that includes but is by no means limited to fashion?
齋戒月是互贈禮物的時機，而且禮物包括時尚服飾卻絕不僅限於此嗎？

“We need to dig deeper to find out what the opportunities are,” Ms. Reeder said.
「我們需要深入研究，找出有些甚麼商機，」李德說。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/fashion/for-ramadan-courting-the-muslim-shopper.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytstyle.com/fashion/20150706/t06ramadan/zh-hant/

2015-07-14聯合報/G9版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 張佑生譯 原文參見紐時週報八版下