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MEN’S WEAR DESIGNERS of America: Uncle Sam wants you — for New York Men’s Week this summer.
美国的男装设计师们：山姆大叔需要你们——为了明年夏天的纽约男装周。
Though the calendar is strafed with sequential and ever-lengthening international fashion weeks, American designers are agitating for a men’s week of their own. Though the idea has been percolating for some time, it has gained momentum in recent weeks as sponsors have signed on. Men’s designers received emails from representatives of the Council of Fashion Designers of America in October gauging interest.
如今日程表上已挤满各种国际时装周，它们接连不断、时间越来越长，但美国设计师们正在鼓动设立自己的男装周。这个想法已经慢慢散播了一段时间，但是最近几周，随着赞助商们开始签约，它的势头又开始高涨。10月份，男装设计师们收到美国时装设计师协会的代表们发来的电子邮件，意在评估大家的兴趣。
To hear its supporters tell it, creating a midsummer presentation of men’s shows is nothing less than a point of national pride.
支持者们认为，在夏季中段（译注：7月4日为美国国庆日）举办男装展示会无疑能够增强民族自豪感。
“Everybody has a connection to it,” said Steven Kolb, the chief executive of the C.F.D.A., who is spearheading the effort, “because of the patriotism of it all, as American designers.”
“每个人都与此有关，”引领这一倡议的美国时装设计师协会首席执行官史蒂文·科尔布(Steven Kolb)说。“因为这完全体现了美国设计师们的爱国精神。”
The proposed week would fall, patriotically enough though not expressly for that reason, not long after the Fourth of July.
提议举办的时间是7月4日之后不久，这足以体现爱国主义，虽然没有明确说明。
At New York Fashion Week, held in February and September, the men’s collections tend to languish in the shadow of the women’s. Many established men’s designers have decamped to fashion weeks abroad.
在每年2月和9月举办的纽约时装周上，男装似乎被笼罩在女装的阴影下。很多老牌男装设计师都选择在国外的时装周上发布新装。
“New York has such strong men’s wear designers at this point, but I think what happens in New York is that your business gets to a certain point and then you feel compelled to show in Europe,” said Daniel Silver, the co-designer of Duckie Brown.
“纽约拥有强大的男装设计师群体，但我觉得纽约现在的情况是，生意壮大到一定程度，你就觉得要被迫去欧洲展示，”达基·布朗(Duckie Brown)的联合设计师丹尼尔·西尔弗(Daniel Silver)说。
The reason for this is partly logistical. The selling season for spring men’s wear, when buyers see collections and place orders, occurs over the summer, just after the European men’s wear shows in London, Milan and Paris. New York designers and labels including Calvin Klein Collection, John Varvatos, Thom Browne and Phillip Lim have moved their shows to Europe to close the gap between showing and selling.
这其中有物流方面的因素。春季男装的销售时间（也就是买家们观看服装系列、下订单的时间）是在夏季，既伦敦、米兰和巴黎的男装秀之后。CK高级时装(Calvin Klein Collection)、约翰·瓦维托斯(John Varvatos)、桑姆·布郎尼(Thom Browne)和林能平(Phillip Lim)等纽约设计师和服装品牌把时装秀搬到欧洲，以弥补展示和销售之间的时间差。
“One of the biggest puzzles in the industry is why we’re showing men’s wear on the runway three months after we’ve bought it,” said Kevin Harter, the vice president of fashion direction for men at Bloomingdale’s.
“这个行业最大的一个谜题是，为什么男装在销售三个月后才在秀台上展示，”布卢明代尔百货公司的男装副总裁凯文·哈特(Kevin Harter)说。
The burden falls disproportionately on emerging designers, who may not have the resources to sell their collection early.
这种压力主要落在新秀设计师身上，他们可能没有足够的资源，无法提早销售自己的系列。
“We have a great pool of young talent in America,” said Jim Moore, the creative director of GQ. “That’s something you don’t have in a lot of places. It seems to be the land of opportunity.”
“美国有很多有年轻人才，”《GQ》的创意总监吉姆·穆尔(Jim Moore)说，“这是很多地方没有的。这里似乎是机遇之地。”
But by September, Mr. Harter said, the New York collections have “almost become an afterthought, because your budgets have already been spent by then.”
但是哈特说，到9月份，纽约的时装发布会“几乎是马后炮，因为到那时你的预算已经花完了。”
Between the megabrands that head to Europe and the smaller ones that stay in New York are midcareer designers like Michael Bastian, who holds sales appointments with buyers in June in Milan but stages a runway show in New York in September.
除了去欧洲举办发布会的大品牌和留在纽约的小品牌，还有一些中间层设计师，比如迈克尔·巴斯蒂安(Michael Bastian)，他6月份就在米兰和买家们签署销售约定，9月份才在纽约举办时装秀。
“Theoretically we could be showing in Milan,” he said. “I just never felt comfortable showing anywhere but America. We’re an American brand.”
“理论上我们能在米兰举办时装秀，”他说，“但是在美国之外的地方举办时装秀就是让我觉得不舒服。因为我们是美国品牌。”
Stumbling blocks persist. One is creating a strong enough lineup to draw international press and buyers to New York. The possibility of a New York event is testing the American spirit of the brands born and bred in the United States that have migrated elsewhere to show, or elected not to show at all.
有些障碍一直存在。其中一个是需要强大的阵容，把国际媒体和买家吸引到纽约。能否在纽约举办男装周，关键在于考验这些土生土长的美国品牌是否具有美国精神，之前它们有的去其他地方展示，有的干脆不展示。
Large labels, including Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren (which has not produced a men’s wear show in recent years) and Tommy Hilfiger (which has shown intermittently) declined to comment on whether they would join a New York men’s week. A representative for John Varvatos did not respond to requests for comment.
CK、拉夫·劳伦（Ralph Lauren，该品牌近些年没有举办男装秀）和汤米·希尔费格（Tommy Hilfiger，它偶尔举办）等大品牌拒绝就是否参加纽约男装周发表评论。约翰·瓦维托斯的一位代表没有回应要求评论的请求。
Another hurdle is sponsorship dollars, to defray costs of sites and production. Three sponsors have committed thus far, but at least one more is needed to meet a proposed budget of $2 million.
另一个障碍是支付场地和制作费用所需的赞助。到目前为止，已有三位赞助商，但是至少还需要一位赞助商，才足以支付200万美元的预算。
Mr. Kolb said that creating a stand-alone men’s showcase would have historic significance.
科尔布说，创设单独的男装周将具有历史意义。
“When I look at the things that C.F.D.A. has been able to accomplish over the last number of years, we’ve changed the organization in a big way,” he said, citing the acquisition of the 65-year-old Fashion Calendar in July as a highlight. “If we were able to pull off men’s and do it right, it would have that same kind of stature.”
“我在回顾过去几年美国时装设计师协会取得的成就时，发现我们已经在很大程度上改变了这个组织，”他说。他认为今年7月该协会收购有65年历史的时尚日历(Fashion Calendar)是最大的亮点。“如果我们能成功创办男装周并良好运营，它将具有同样的高度。”
But time is running out. Mr. Kolb said that if enough sponsorship to cover the budget is not confirmed by the beginning of the new year, the July shows, in discussion for over a year, would be scuttled and a men’s event once again postponed.
但是时间快不够了。科尔布说，如果明年初筹集不到足够的赞助费，讨论了一年多的7月发布会就将流产，男装周将也将再次延迟。
It is perhaps especially frustrating that London has managed to create exactly the sort of event the C.F.D.A. is attempting. In 2012, the British Fashion Council moved its men’s wear from a single day at the end of London Fashion Week to the four-day London Collections: Men and quickly found success, first in press, then in sales.
特别令人沮丧的是，伦敦成功创办了美国时装设计师协会想要创办的那种活动。2012年，英国时装协会把伦敦时装周最后一天的男装秀改成为期四天的伦敦男装周(London Collections: Men)，很快取得成功——先是在媒体上，而后在销售上。
“What a huge deal this would be if he could pull this off,” Mr. Bastian said. “It would really validate all of American fashion, in a way, to figure this out.”
“如果他能促成此事，那真是了不起，”巴斯蒂安说，“从某种程度上讲，它真的能证明所有美国时装的价值。”
