英伦广角 2009-09-20 经济不景气下的流行风潮

After a hectic¹ week of fittings, photo shoots and fashion shows, New York Fashion Week is over. But for designers, the challenge goes on. How to get consumers shopping in the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue², said the recession has caused designers to become more focused. But focused doesn't mean boring.

We are looking for things that are very special, and not, not that looks like what you already have or already exist, I think. Every store that I talked to has that in the back of his or her mind when they revisit the collections and it's something what we are looking for at Vogue.

Many designers are putting more focus on their affordable³ lines, like Christian⁴ Siriano. He showed his 2010 spring collection at the 10th, but said his real bread and butter comes from his collaboration⁵ with mass retailers⁷. He recently launched a line of accessories available at Payless, a discount shoe store chain. One of the more innovative⁸ approaches to tackling the recession may have come from Norma Kamali. Giving new meaning to the democratization of fashion, she staged her show on a New York City street. Like many designers, she now uses Twitter and YouTube. But her company has gone further with its own free iPhone application. Instead of having to wait until the clothes hit the store in spring, consumers were able to order them with the application as soon as her show was over.

I want to open a door, and maybe a whole bunch of other people will come through the door with me and help find new solutions to the way we do business in the fashion industry.

Kamali is not optimistic about the future of the economy. But there are some positive data indicating that shoppers are hitting the stores again. Retail⁶ sales rose 2.7 percent in August, more than analysts⁹ had expected.

 

Karina Huber, Reuters.

1 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

2 Vogue   

n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的

参考例句：

• Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
• Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。

3 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

6 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

7 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

8 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。