平底鞋 女性主義的時尚

The Page 3 girl is dead. Long live the Page 3 girl. Rumours that The Sun’s topless mascot and author of “news in briefs” was to be retired after her 45-year tenure at the tabloid paper proved unfounded. She bounced back this week, as pert as ever, and as unwelcome a surprise for those journalists who had penned her obituary as it was for the feminists who claimed her demise a victory for women.

《三版女郎》(The Page 3 girl)將不再出版了。《三版女郎》“永垂不朽”！坊間盛傳上身裸露的模特、也是“衆多八卦新聞”纏身的當事人在《太陽報》(The Sun)上持續刊登45年後，會“退隱江湖”，該傳聞事後被證明是謠傳。不久前，三版女郎重出江湖，香豔如故，與那些宣稱其終結乃是女性勝利的女權主義者一樣，這個消息對於那些報道其“壽終正寢”的媒體記者同樣也是始料不及的驚愕。

I was just disappointed not to see how her future incarnations might manifest. The proposition that she could be “scantily clad” in future suggested such quaint possibilities: so very Helen Mirren in Calendar Girls.

我失望的只是沒看到未來三版女郎的真容是啥模樣。未來三版女郎可能“稍有穿着”的提議暗示會出現以下離奇有趣的可能：可能如同《日曆女郎》(Calendar Girls)中海倫•米倫(Dame Helen Mirren)的穿着。

It was not to be. The episode was but a daydream — or, possibly, an artfully directed publicity stunt. Instead, her continued existence remains one of the great anachronisms — and more pitiful clichés — of modern Britain.

但這種情況終究不會出現。這類情節設計只是白日做夢——抑或說可能是精心籌劃的宣傳噱頭。相反，三版女郎會繼續存在下去，仍是現代英國社會存在的時代大混搭，而且是更讓人遺憾的那種。

These are interesting times on the road to emancipation. Recent research from the University of Cambridge finds that the key to longevity and good health might well reside in a brisk 20-minute daily walk, which spells trouble for purveyors of another signifier of oppression: the stiletto shoe.

這些都是實現女性真正解放過程中的有趣時刻。劍橋大學(University of Cambridge)的最新研究表明：健康長壽的祕訣最好是每天快步行走20分鐘，這給另一壓迫性標誌——細高跟鞋——帶來“巨大麻煩”。

The sight of a woman staggering around in ill-fitting heels is another of those pitiful clichés we should surely have grown out of as a society. And yet, it continues to exist. High heels can be a beautiful thing, and I adore them, but few are blessed with the genetic disposition to stride for miles while so shod. Could the new findings be the spur for us to be rid once and for all of “taxi shoes”?

看到穿着不合腳高跟鞋踉蹌行走的模樣，無疑是我們這個社會另一種習以爲常的陳腐舊事。然而，這種境況依然如故。高跟鞋讓女士顯得美麗優雅，本人對此也非常喜歡，但幾乎沒人有先天條件、穿着它健步如飛走上幾英里。這難道還不足以促使我們斷然扔掉這些“行走不便”的新玩意兒嗎？

Thankfully, the fashion industry has seen this coming — and is investing heavily in our future health. The heel may traditionally have been associated with the very height of elegance but its flat counterpart has been making chic inroads for several seasons now. It was officially sanctified at couture last year, when Karl Lagerfeld sent his models on to the catwalk in tweed sneakers at Chanel, and Raf Simons offered a crystal-mesh sneaker hybrid at Dior. A parade of Velcro-strapped, skater, trek-inspired, orthopaedic and otherworldly varieties has walked into our hearts ever since.

謝天謝地，時尚界已付諸實施——正以實際行動爲我們大衆的健康着想。高跟鞋傳統上可能關乎優雅程度之高低，但如今接連好幾個時裝季，平底鞋實現了漂亮逆襲。在去年的高級定製時裝展上，卡爾•拉格菲爾德(Karl Lagerfeld)讓旗下模特腳穿粗花呢運動鞋行走香奈兒(Chanel)秀場，拉夫•西蒙斯(Raf Simons)則推出了迪奧(Dior)水晶網眼混搭式運動鞋。從那以後，維可牢尼龍搭扣、受啓發於滑冰鞋、徒步旅行款、矩形款以及超自然款的鞋履接二連三問世，成爲時尚擁躉的新寵。

And the trend is set to continue. At almost all of the spring accessory presentations in September, the shoe collections were split between heels and flats. Even at those labels usually associated with sky-high podiatric architecture. Even in Milan.

這種時尚趨勢註定會延續下去。去年九月各大品牌舉辦的2015年春季配飾展上，所有鞋履品牌都是高跟鞋平底鞋兼而有之，甚至那些通常主推超高跟鞋的品牌也概莫能外，米蘭時裝週也順應了這股時尚潮流。

“With the amount of travelling and running around that goes on, there’s been an increase in sales and interest for our flats ” says shoes designer Nicholas Kirkwood, before adding: “Women still want something interesting and unique, though.”

“隨着旅行及步行漸趨風靡，平底鞋的銷售量以及消費者的熱度與日俱增，”鞋履設計師尼古拉斯•柯克伍德(Nicholas Kirkwood)說，而後又補充道：“儘管如此，女性仍癡迷於妙趣橫生與不同尋常的鞋履款式。”

Well, obviously. Flats should never be shameful. “I wanted to create flats you don’t have to apologise for,” agrees Edgardo Osorio, founder and creative director of Aquazzura who, despite having founded his line in 2011 in search of “a heel you could dance in”, now dedicates a quarter of his collection to flats. No hideous hiking hybrids here. Ossorio specialises in strappy little shoes. “I want my flats to go from day to night,” he tells me. “I want a woman to wear my flats with jeans and a T-shirt but also with a beautiful Alaïa dress.”

沒錯，這種現象顯而易見。穿平底鞋永遠不會不體面。“我希望設計出時尚擁躉不會感到無地自容的平底鞋，”Aquazzura創始人兼創意總監埃德加多•奧索里奧(Edgardo Osorio)也附和上述說法。儘管2011年他創辦該品牌時，目的是設計出“能翩翩起舞的高跟鞋”，但如今旗下四分之一的產品爲平底鞋。“我希望能設計全天候穿着的平底鞋，”他對我說。“我不但希望上穿T恤、下穿牛仔褲的女性能穿我設計的平底鞋，而且身穿漂亮阿拉亞(Alaïa)連衣裙的女性擁躉也能堂而皇之穿本人設計的平底鞋。”

“There’s been a strong demand for flats in the last two seasons,” says Tabitha Simmons, who launched in 2009 with teetering stilettos but then spearheaded the flat revival with a simple, pointed black-and-white shoe called the Alexa. It now has a cult following — “and we’ve expanded with styles such as the Vera, Daisy Chain and Hermione”, says Simmons. I’ve got my eye on Vera, pointed, ankle-strapped and blessed with a saucily low-cut toe.

“過去接連兩個時裝季，平底鞋需求旺盛，”塔貝莎•西蒙斯(Tabitha Simmons)說，她2009年推出了超高跟鞋，但隨後以一款設計簡單的Alexa尖角黑白鞋引領平底鞋“王者歸來”。這款鞋如今讓時尚擁躉趨之若鶩——“我們隨後又推出了Vera,、Daisy Chain 以及Hermione等多種款式”，西蒙斯說。我比較關注她設計的Vera這款鞋——尖角、腳踝處繫帶，足尖設計成十分時髦的低切式。

Sophia Webster won a British Fashion Award in 2013 for her delightfully eccentric, geometric designs and this season has included a sneaker-style day shoe alongside her spindle heels. “Having just had a baby, I know how much of a necessity everyday flats are,” she explains. Even Paul Andrew, “king of the slingback” and 2014 winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, is feeling lowly. “Flats are about 15 per cent of my collection,” he says. “For pre-fall 2015, I introduced the Rhea flat and it became the collection’s bestseller.”

索菲婭•韋伯斯特(Sophia Webster)憑藉她賞心悅目的幾何形另類設計風格勇奪2013年度英國時尚大獎(British Fashion Award)。這個時裝季，她除了推出細長款高跟鞋外，還設計了運動鞋風格的日常用鞋。“我初爲人母，知道日常平底鞋必不可少，”她這樣解釋道。甚至“露跟女鞋設計之王”、2014年度美國時裝設計師協會與Vogue合辦的時裝基金大獎(CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award)得主保羅•安德魯(Paul Andrew)也表現得很謙恭。“平底鞋約佔本人系列的15%，”他說。“2015早秋季，我加入了Rhea平底鞋，它成爲自己系列最爲暢銷的款式。”

Of course, the French could have told us this years ago. Paris is the spiritual home of the ballet flat, a shoe style that seems mandatory for most women living within the Périphérique, where the cobbled streets are unsparing on one’s feet. An upcoming book, Paris Street Style: Shoes, by Isabelle Thomas and Frédérique Veysset (published in March), calls ballet flats “the little black dress of footwear”. And while Paris-born shoe designer Roger Vivier may have been credited with inventing the stiletto in 1954, it is a flat on which the fortunes of the house now rest. “Our most popular shoe is the Belle Vivier — a flat. And the second is also a flat, the Gommette,” says designer Bruno Frisoni of the label’s signature styles, with their distinctive square detail at the toe. “High heels are a dream,” he adds. “And the flat is a dream come true.”

當然，法國人幾年前就可昭告天下，因爲巴黎是芭蕾平底鞋的精神家園。這種鞋對於生活在環城大道(Périphérique)內的多數女性來說似乎是必備的行頭，因爲鵝卵石街道對她們的腳可是“不留情面”。由伊莎貝爾•多瑪(Isabelle Thomas)與弗雷德裏克•維塞(Frédérique Veysset)合著的書《巴黎街道時尚風情——鞋履大觀》(Paris Street Style: Shoes)於今年三月出版，該書把芭蕾平底鞋譽爲“鞋履中的黑色小禮服”。儘管巴黎出生的鞋履設計師羅傑•維威耶(Roger Vivier)或許可譽爲細高跟鞋的設計鼻祖，他1954年推出的這款平底鞋奠定了其同名時尚品牌大獲成功的基石。“我們旗下最知名的是Belle Vivier平底鞋；知名度緊隨其後的也是一款平底鞋，它就是Gommette，”設計師布魯諾•弗裏索尼 (Bruno Frisoni)說，他是這兩大招牌款式的設計師，他在腳趾處設計了精美獨特的方扣。“高跟鞋就好比黃粱美夢，”他補充道。“而平底鞋就是已成真的美夢。”

A dream come true? Perhaps. Or maybe just a solution — and an elegant one at that — for modern women. Leave the clichés on page 3.

美夢成真了嗎？或許如此。抑或說對於現代女性來說，平底鞋只是務實的選擇——而且是優雅的選擇。還是讓《太陽報》“迂腐”的三版女郎繼續存在下去吧。