What Makes Italy So Stylish1?

Lindsay Baker

∷采蘇 選 段會香 注

意大利，一個時尚與浪漫的結(jié)合地，不僅誕生了諸多知名奢侈品牌，而且引領(lǐng)著整個歐洲甚至全世界的時尚潮流。意大利遍地是名牌，如阿瑪尼、古馳、普拉達、范思哲、寶格麗等，米蘭時裝周崛起雖晚，但已聚集了時尚界頂尖人物以及來自世界各地的專業(yè)媒體和風格潮流。意大利的時尚魅力究竟緣何而來呢？

“The only word Liz knows in Italian is Bulgari,” joked Richard Burton about Elizabeth Taylor who, photographed in her showstopping jewels, encapsulated the global obsession with Italy.2. Richard Burton: 理查德·伯頓，英國影史上的巨星之一，曾七次提名奧斯卡最佳男主角；Elizabeth Taylor: 伊麗莎白·泰勒，好萊塢著名影星，與理查德·伯頓出共同出演經(jīng)典電影《埃及艷后》；Bulgari: 寶格麗，于1884年在意大利建立的高級珠寶品牌，是繼法國卡地亞和美國蒂芙尼之后的世界第三大珠寶品牌；show-stopping: 令人贊嘆的；encapsulate: 概括，濃縮；obsession: 著迷。The 1950s and ‘60s gave birth to a stylish, seductive—and uniquely Italian—iconography: the dazzling Trevi Fountain scene in Fellini’sLa Dolce Vita,for instance, and Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn’s Vespa moment inRoman Holiday.3. 20世紀五六十年代造就了一種時尚且獨具意大利魅力的形象：例如，費里尼的《甜蜜的生活》中令人贊嘆的特萊維噴泉，以及《羅馬假日》中格利高里·派克和奧黛麗·赫本共騎小黃蜂摩托車的片段。give birth to: 引起，產(chǎn)生；seductive: 有吸引力的，有誘惑力的；iconography: 傳統(tǒng)形象，圖騰；Trevi Fountain: 特萊維噴泉，羅馬最大的巴洛克風格噴泉，高25.9米，寬19.8米；Fellini: 費德里科·費里尼，意大利著名編劇、導(dǎo)演，拍攝多部電影，其電影獲得五次奧斯卡金獎；Vespa: 黃蜂牌小型摩托車（一種意大利制低座摩托車）。Italy and glamour have been synonymous4. synonymous: 同義的，等同的。ever since.

《埃及艷后》劇照

What does Italian glamour really mean, though,and is it anything more than a nostalgic5. nostalgic: 懷舊的，引起懷舊之情的。myth? A new exhibition opening lately at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London sets out to6. set out to: 開始，著手。answer these questions. The names of luxury Italian sports car manufacturers like Ferrari and Maserati certainly conjure a vision of uniquely con fident, showy sleekness, just as the names Valentino, Versace, Gucci,and Prada ooze luxury, sensuality and a distinct Italian swagger.7. 法拉利和瑪莎拉蒂一類的豪華意大利跑車的名字當然會讓人感受到別致、自信且炫目的時尚感，就像華倫天奴、范思哲、古馳、普拉達等品牌透出的奢華、魅惑和典型的意大利式的高調(diào)自負。conjure: 使（某物）突然出現(xiàn)；vision: 構(gòu)想，念頭；showy:顯眼的，引人注目的；sleekness: 時髦闊氣；ooze: 充分地表露或散發(fā)；sensuality:性感，魅惑；swagger: 趾高氣揚，自大。In fashion, Milan is one of the ‘big four’ cities, and while Paris is famed for its perfect sense of chic, New York for sporty wearability and London for iconoclasm, Italian glamour has become Milan’s signature.8. chic: 高雅，雅致；wearability: 穿著性能，耐磨損性；iconoclasm: 破壞偶像主義；signature: 簽名，識別標志。But can a sense of glamour be inherent in a whole nation’s DNA? Or is it just a cliché, a national stereotype?9. cliché: 陳詞濫調(diào)；stereotype: 固定模式，刻板印象。

Stitches10. stitch: （縫紉或編織中的）一針。 in time

Certainly, the roots of Italian fashion go way back—to 14th-Century Florence. And as the cradle of the Renaissance, Italy can lay claim to some serious heritage.11. cradle: 發(fā)源地；the Renaissance: 文藝復(fù)興；lay claim to: 宣稱，聲稱……的權(quán)利；heritage: 遺產(chǎn)。In Florence, for elite families of the period—the Medici among them—appearance and display were intimately bound up with identity.12. 在當時的佛羅倫薩，對于貴族家族來說——包括梅第奇家族——外在形象和展示價值都與身份地位密切相關(guān)。elite: 精英，杰出人物；Medici:梅第奇，美第奇家族是意大利佛羅倫薩著名家族；bound up with: 與某事物關(guān)系密切。Af fluent Florentines were obsessed with fashion, investing huge proportions of their fortunes on clothing.13. af fluent: 富裕的；Florentine: 佛羅倫薩人；be obsessed with: 迷戀，沉迷于；fortune: 財富，財產(chǎn)。

《羅馬假日》劇照

But it was not until the postwar years of the 20th Century that Italy’s international fashion industry came into its own. Largely responsible was aristocratic entrepreneur Giovanni Battista Giorgini,who gathered designs from the best tailors and dressmakers in the country, including Pucci, the Fontana sisters and Capucci. The first fashion shows were staged in the grand, chandeliered Sala Bianca at Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and the fact that the designs were around 30% cheaper than their Parisian counterparts meant they were snapped up by buyers—and soon spread rapidly to the department stores of the US.14. stage: 上演，演出；chandeliered: 枝形吊燈裝飾的；Sala Bianca: 薩拉·比安卡T形臺；Palazzo Pitti: 碧提宮，是一座規(guī)模宏大的文藝復(fù)興時期佛羅倫薩的宮殿；snap up: 搶購。

It was the heady combination of celebrity and style that proved the truly irresistible combination,and ultimately it was Hollywood that fully propelled Italian style onto the global stage.15. heady: 令人興奮的；irresistible: 不可抗拒的，極有誘惑力的；propel: 推動。The movie industry was drawn to the sunny climate and relatively low costs of filming, and Cinecittà studios in Rome became an international hub,the city itself acting as an open-air set.16. 意大利的明媚氣候和相對較低的拍攝成本令電影業(yè)對此地青睞有加，羅馬電影城成為國際電影拍攝中心，而美麗的羅馬本身就是一個露天的拍攝布景。draw:吸引；Cinecittà: 羅馬電影城；hub: 中心；set: 布景。Films likeRoman HolidayandCleopatraproved huge hits.17. Cleopatra:《埃及艷后》，好萊塢經(jīng)典影片；hit: （演出等）成功。

The exuberant, opulent aesthetic of the movieshooting years spread quickly.18. exuberant: 熱情洋溢的；opulent: 豪華的，奢侈的；aesthetic: 美感，審美觀。Off set the stars were photographed by the paparazzi, then a new phenomenon (and a few years later itself fictionalised inLa Dolce Vita).19. 鏡頭之外的明星開始被狗仔隊跟拍，這也成為一個新現(xiàn)象（幾年之后還在《甜蜜的生活》中被搬上熒幕）。paparazzi: 狗仔隊； fictionalise: 將（真實事情）編寫成小說。Bogart and Bacall were snapped gliding elegantly in a gondala in Venice, Audrey Hepburn shopping for shoes at Ferregamo in Florence, Taylor and Burton in the boutiques of her beloved Bulgari, while other stars were shot holidaying on the scenic Amal ficoast.20. 鮑嘉和白考爾被拍到在威尼斯優(yōu)雅地劃著“貢多拉”小船暢游，奧黛麗·赫本在佛羅倫薩的菲拉格慕店購物，泰勒和伯頓流連于她鐘愛的寶格麗精品店，而其他明星也被拍到在風景如畫的阿爾瑪菲海岸度假。Bogart: 亨弗萊·鮑嘉，好萊塢著名影星，代表作包括《卡薩布蘭卡》、《非洲女王號》等；Bacall: 勞倫·白考爾，好萊塢著名女星，代表作包括《江湖佳侶》和《蓋世梟雄》等；snap: 拍照；gondala: 貢多拉，是威尼斯特有的水上交通工具；boutique: 時裝店，精品店；shoot: 拍攝。These images went around the world, portraying a beguilingly sybaritic and effortlessly stylish way of life.21. portray: 描述，描繪；beguilingly: 迷人地，吸引人地；sybaritic: 貪圖享樂的，驕奢淫逸的。

It was a fashion moment on a global scale.“A whole generation bene fitted from the media glow,” says American-born Sonnet Stan fill, the curator of the V&A exhibition. “They were the go-go22. go-go: 活躍的，時髦的。years.”But according to the curator, Italian glamour amounts to much more than hype23. hype: 大肆宣傳（或吹捧）。or a media moment: “Real Italians care passionately about their appearance,” she insists.

Stan fill points to the quintessentially Italian custom of the passeggiata that she observed when she lived in Florence.24. quintessentially: 典型地，標準地；passeggiata: 流行于意大利的一種露天表演。The daily ritual of the early-evening stroll or promenade is embedded in Italian society,and self con fidence is intrinsic.25. promenade: 散步，閑逛；embed: 扎根于；intrinsic: 內(nèi)在固有的?！癐t’s a kind of street theatre, there is an element of posing,” she says. It’s a way to see and be seen, according to Stan fill, and its participants are always groomed, well dressed,completely pulled together to fare la bella figura, to make a good impression or cut a dash is fundamental to the Italian image.26. 斯坦菲爾認為這是一種觀察別人和表現(xiàn)自我的方式，其參與者都精心打扮、穿著入時，齊心協(xié)力打造一場美形主義（bella figura）視覺盛宴；要給人留下好印象或在人前大出風頭是意大利人形象的基本特征。groom: 使整潔，打扮；fare: 進行；cut a dash: 大出風頭。

First craft

The nation’s trademark swagger goes hand in hand with its long tradition of craftsmanship27. craftsmanship: 技藝。. In the financial district of Milan, says Stan fill, the men are meticulously turned out in their bespoke, immaculately tailored, silk-lined suits, carefully coordinated softleather belts and shoes, silk pocket squares and ties.28. meticulously: 一絲不茍地，精心地；bespoke: 定做的；immaculately: 完美地；pocket square: 口袋方巾。And in Italian tailoring29. tailoring: 裁縫業(yè)，成衣業(yè)。there are many regional variations of detail. Italian tailoring has reached worldwide status over the past half century.

It’s certainly true that the Made in Italy label is still sought after worldwide, particularly in the past two decades. As Sicilian designer Fausto Puglisi tells BBC Culture: “Italian craftsmanship is totally unmatchable. And in Italy it is something that is extremely connected to society—people don’t just do it for the money,they do it because they love it.” Tuscany, for instance, is the region to go for leatherwork, he says. “It’s amazing: they treat leather like silk.”

So what does glamour mean today to Puglisi and to the everyday lives of Italians? “Glamour is something deeply attractive, something strong related to beauty, and I de finitely believe in beauty. For us Italians it must be something we grew with, it’s part of our taste and culture, in our approach to life. Look at art, sculpture and the architecture: from the Roman Empire to contemporary, they’re still part of our everyday life.” Reality or fabulous mythology?30. fabulous: 難以置信的，極好的；mythology: 神話。In the end, Italian glamour is probably a bit of both.And according to Puglisi, it’s ultimately about passion. As an Italian designer, he says: “fashion is your obsession, fashion is the only boyfriend or girlfriend you can have in life. There is nothing else.”