梅根的婚紗宣言:我不只是王妃,我就是我

It was absolutely simple: pure, sculptural, with a wide boatneck, long sleeves and sweeping train.

絕對的簡單：純潔、如同雕塑、寬敞的船領、長袖、曳地裙裾。

It was Meghan Markle’s wedding dress. It was haute couture by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy, a British woman who was the first female designer of the storied French brand. And it was everything people had hoped.

這是梅根·馬克爾(Meghan Markle)的婚紗。是克萊爾·韋特·凱勒(Clare Waight Keller)爲紀梵希(Givenchy)設計的高級定製服裝，這位英國女士是這家法國傳奇品牌的首位女性設計師。這滿足了人們的一切期望。

It was not a Cinderella choice, not one that spoke of fantasy or old-fashioned fairy tales, but one that placed the woman proudly front and center. It underscored Ms. Markle’s own independence by divesting her of frippery, while also respecting tradition and keeping her covered up. It celebrated female strength in the rigorous nature of its line — six exactingly placed seams — the substance of its fabric (double-bonded silk cady), and the choice of designer: a British woman who, as a statement from Kensington Palace read, had “served as the creative head of three globally influential fashion houses — Pringle of Scotland, Chloé, and now Givenchy.”

這不是一個灰姑娘的選擇，也不是什麼奇幻故事或老式童話，而是驕傲地把女人放在最前面，放在最中心。它強調了馬克爾自身的獨立性，沒有讓她穿上華而不實的虛飾；同時又尊重了傳統，把她的身體遮蓋起來。它以縝密的縫線（有六處嚴格佈置的接縫）；面料質地（雙層卡迪絲綢）以及對設計師的選擇來歌頌女性的力量——設計師是一位英國女性，正如肯辛頓宮發佈的聲明，她“曾在普林格(Pringle of Scotland)，蔻依(Chloé)和紀梵希這三傢俱有全球影響力的時尚品牌擔任創意總監。”

It had an edge of Hollywood: Givenchy, after all, was the house made famous by Audrey Hepburn, and Ms. Markle’s dress had a Hepburn feel, acknowledgement of her former career as well, perhaps, of a role model who devoted her post-film career to UNICEF.

這件婚紗之中有一絲好萊塢的意味：畢竟紀梵希是由奧黛麗·赫本(Audrey Hepburn)捧紅的品牌，而馬克爾的裙子也有赫本的感覺，或許是在暗示她以前的職業模特生涯，她息影后便全心爲聯合國兒童基金會(UNICEF)工作。

And it extended a hand across the water: to Europe, where Ms. Waight Keller takes the Eurostar twice a week to her maison — Givenchy also, by the by, made Ms. Markle’s wedding shoes, which are silk duchesse satin, and the bridesmaid’s dresses — and to all the countries of the Commonwealth, which were represented in Ms. Markle’s veil.

它將一隻手伸過大海，向歐洲致意，韋特·凱勒需要每週兩次從歐洲出發，乘坐歐洲之星，來到馬克爾的宅邸——紀梵希順帶還要定製馬克爾的絲綢公爵緞婚鞋和伴娘裙——此外也是在向所有英聯邦國家致意，它們被體現在馬克爾的頭紗裏。

Five meters (that’s a little over 16 feet) long and made from silk tulle, the veil was “a vision Meghan and I shared,” according to a statement from Ms. Waight Keller. It was embroidered with the flowers of all 53 Commonwealth nations along the edge, each one different, to represent the roles Ms. Markle and Prince Harry will assume as Youth Ambassadors to the wider British world. Also included were wintersweet, a British flowering plant, to represent Kensington Palace and Ms. Markle’s new home, and the California poppy, her home state’s flower. And it was held in place by Queen Mary’s diamond and platinum bandeau tiara, made in 1932 with a centerpiece of a diamond brooch from Queen Mary’s wedding in 1893, which had been lent to Ms. Markle by the queen and described a “a flexible band of eleven sections.”

頭紗長5米，由絲綢薄紗製成，韋特·凱勒的聲明說它是“梅根和我共同的想象”。它的邊緣繡着全部53個英聯邦國家的花朵，每一朵都不相同，它們代表着馬克爾和哈里王子將在更廣泛的英聯邦世界裏擔任的青年大使角色。頭紗上還有英國開花植物臘梅，代表着肯辛頓宮和馬克爾的新家；以及來自馬爾克家鄉加利福尼亞的州花花菱草。它由瑪麗王后的鑽石白金束髮頭冠固定住，這隻頭冠是以1893年瑪麗王后婚禮上佩戴的鑽石胸針爲主體，在1932年改制而成的，由女王借給馬克爾，被稱爲“一根有彈性的十一節束帶”。

“Flexible” being a word that this couple, and this wedding, has managed, to everyone’s great surprise, to attach to the formerly-perceived-as-entirely-rigid royal family.

這對夫妻以及這場婚禮，給被視爲徹底僵化的王室所帶來“彈性”，出乎所有人的意料。

“As a British designer at a Parisian haute couture house, and on behalf of all of us at Givenchy who have been able to experience such an extraordinary process of creativity, I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished and grateful to Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Kensington Palace for allowing us to be part of this historical chapter,” said Ms. Waight Keller in her statement.

“作爲一個巴黎高級時裝品牌的英國設計師，並且代表紀梵希參與這一非凡創造過程的所有人，我對我們完成的工作感到非常自豪，感謝梅根·馬克爾、哈里王子和肯辛頓宮，讓我們成爲這一歷史篇章的一部分，” 韋特·凱勒在聲明中說。

Speaking of surprise though, perhaps the most surprising thing of all was that in this age of rampant leaks and gossip, Ms. Markle had managed to keep all of this completely secret. In all the rumors that had swirled around The Dress — with the Daily Mail announcing with confidence it was Ralph & Russo and Page Six claiming rather Stella McCartney and book makers putting odds on Burberry and Erdem Moralioglu (indeed, the Royal College of Art mistakenly tweeted out that Mr. Moralioglu had actually made The Dress, before having to amend the news and acknowledge it was another of their alumna, Ms. Waight Keller) — Ms. Waight Keller’s name had never even once come up.

說到意外，也許最令人驚訝的是，在這個泄漏與流言甚囂塵上的時代，馬克爾設法做到了徹底保密。《每日郵報》(Daily Mail)充滿自信地宣佈這件婚紗是由Ralph ＆ Russo設計的；《第六版》(Page Six)聲稱它是由史黛拉·麥卡特尼(Stella McCartney)設計的；博彩公司則下注博柏利(Burberry)和艾爾丹姆·莫拉里奧格(Erdem Moralioglu)。事實上，皇家藝術學院(Royal College of Art)錯誤地發推稱莫拉里奧格製作了那件婚紗，之後不得不修改新聞，並承認設計者是他們的另一位校友韋特·凱勒——在圍繞着它的所有謠言中，韋特·凱勒的名字甚至從未出現過。

In the end, Ms. Markle did exactly what she promised: she brought change and out-thought us all, in her dress as in her entire wedding ceremony. Long may such smart symbolism continue.

最後，馬克爾確實實現了她的承諾：她的婚紗，乃至她的整個婚禮，帶來了改變，並出乎我們所有人意料之外。願這種聰明的象徵手法能繼續下去。

And the symbolism did not stop with the new Duchess of Sussex and her dress. There were all sorts of fashion statements being made by family and guests at this wedding, seemingly in honor of Ms. Markle, this marriage and what the marriage represents.

採納象徵符號的並不只是新蘇塞克斯公爵夫人和她的服裝。在這場婚禮上，家人和嘉賓都有各種各樣的時尚表述，似乎是爲了向馬克爾，向這份婚姻，乃至向婚姻的意義致敬。

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, for example, was wearing Alexander McQueen — the same brand she wore to her own wedding, and one designed by Sarah Burton, yet another female British creative force.

例如，劍橋公爵夫人凱瑟琳(Catherine)穿了亞歷山大·麥昆(Alexander McQueen)，她在自己的婚禮上也穿了這個品牌，她的婚紗由另一位英國女性創意中堅莎拉·伯頓(Sarah Burton)設計。

Indeed, British women designers were everywhere: Both Amal Clooney, in mustard yellow silk cady with a side drape, and Oprah Winfrey, in tiers of peach sustainable viscose, were wearing Stella McCartney, who is known for both her feminism and sustainability, causes close to Ms. Markle’s heart. Priyanka Chopra was in Vivienne Westwood, and Victoria Beckham was in — well, Victoria Beckham.

事實上，英國女設計師在婚禮中無處不在：阿瑪爾·克魯尼(Amal Clooney)穿了側面帶褶邊的芥黃色絲綢卡迪長裙，奧普拉·溫弗瑞(Oprah Winfrey)穿了桃色可持續粘纖層疊長裙，它們都是由以女權主義和可持續性著稱的史黛拉·麥卡特尼設計，這些精神與馬克爾非常貼近。樸亞卡·喬普拉(Priyanka Chopra)穿了薇薇安·韋斯特伍德(Vivienne Westwood)，維多利亞·貝克漢姆(Victoria Beckham)穿的是——喔，維多利亞·貝克漢姆。

Meanwhile, yellow and new grass green were the dominant colors: on the Duchess of Cambridge; Doria Ragland, Ms. Markle’s mother, wore an Oscar de la Renta coat and dress the shade of fresh pea shoots; and the queen, in bright lime green and lemon Stewart Parvin with a lilac print and trim.

同時，黃色和新草綠色是主要色調：比如劍橋公爵夫人；馬克爾的母親多裏婭·拉格蘭(Doria Ragland)穿了鮮豆苗色調的奧斯卡·德拉倫塔(Oscar de la Renta)外套和長裙；女王穿了帶有淡紫色印花和裝飾的鮮檸綠和檸黃色的斯圖爾特·帕文(Stewart Parvin)套裝。

All of which, if we are going the semiological route (and we should since the forever import of this wedding has escaped no one), are colors that signal optimism, happiness and a new dawn. Let them shine.

如果我們用符號學來分析這一切（我們應該這樣做，因爲象徵意義已經被永久引入了這場婚禮，誰也逃不過），這些色彩都預示着樂觀、幸福和又一個黎明的到來。讓它們繼續閃耀吧。