中文雜誌館的部落格

ALL+互動英語(互動光碟版) 2月號/2011 第75期買到賺到

博客來語言學習-英文分類超值好書

Hot off the Catwalk
平價時尚  掀起素人潮流風
—Ted Pigott
2/1
The fashion world is ever-changing; what is in one season is out the next. Now, however, some companies are taking advantage of the fluctuations* in the fashion industry by embracing1 them.
These days, the hot term on everybody’s lips is fast fashion. It is a phrase used by retailers2 to describe the process of taking the latest fashions and making them available to the public very quickly. In other words, the more quickly a company can get the newest styles off the catwalk and into stores, the sooner the average consumer will be able to enjoy the latest trends. Even better is that the items usually have very low prices.
One brand that has come to symbolize3 fast fashion is Zara. Based in Spain, this company is so efficient that it can take a design from an initial4 idea to a store shelf in only two weeks. The average company creates 2,000 new designs annually;5 Zara comes up with 10,000. This allows Zara to mirror the latest trends in fashion and duplicate* particularly hot items. The company also keeps close tabs on what is being purchased6 in its 4,000-plus stores so that it can keep track of exactly what is popular with its customers.

2/2
Another brand that has become synonymous* with fast fashion is Uniqlo. This Japanese clothing company is best known for its high-quality, low-cost items. Uniqlo, which stands for “unique clothing,” is able to keep its costs low while keeping its designs fresh, mostly by manufacturing7 its clothing in mainland China. Today, Uniqlo stands alone as Japan’s leading retail clothing chain, and it has continued to open outlets8 around the world, including in Taiwan.
H&M is another leading name in the world of cheap chic.* This company began in Sweden but now has more than 2,000 clothing stores worldwide.9 With a stated10 mission of delivering “fashion and quality at the best price,” H&M often teams up with guest designers to offer special limited-edition14 collections. Some famous names the company has worked with are Karl Lagerfeld, Madonna, and Kylie Minogue.
Not everyone is a fan of fast fashion, though. Some critics call it “disposable12 fashion” because the clothing is so cheap it gets thrown away after only a few wears. Much of this waste ends up in landfills,13 and some of the synthetic fabrics14 are not biodegradable.
One thing is clear, however. As long as people want to wear the latest fashions without paying an arm and a leg, fast fashion will definitely remain in style.
Hot off the Catwalk
平價時尚  掀起素人潮流風

1 TUE
時尚瞬息萬變；這一季流行的東西到了下一季就退流行了。然而，現在有些企業積極投入、利用時尚界這種變化無常的特性。
「快速時尚」是近來大家熱烈討論的話題。這是零售業用來描述「接收最新時尚款式並迅速提供給大眾」這個過程的用語。換句話說，一間公司越快在店裡推出伸展台上最新的流行款式，一般消費者便能越快享受最新潮流。更棒的是，這些商品通常都很平價。
一個能代表「快速時尚」的品牌即是Zara。這間公司總部設於西班牙，其效率之高能讓設計從發想到上架只需短短兩週的時間。一般公司平均每年推出兩千款新設計；Zara卻能設計出一萬款。這讓Zara能夠反映最新流行趨勢並複製特別熱門的款式。這間公司也密切注意其四千多間分店中售出的商品，以了解真正受顧客歡迎的是什麼。

2 WED
另一個成為代表快速時尚的品牌是「優衣庫」。這家日本服飾公司以物美價廉聞名。名稱取自「獨特服裝」的優衣庫大部分的生產線設在中國大陸，使其能在保有設計新鮮感的同時，仍能壓低成本。如今，優衣庫在日本零售時裝連鎖市場獨領風騷，並持續在世界各地開設專賣店，其中也包括台灣。
H&M是另一個「平價時尚」的領導品牌。這間公司發跡於瑞典，如今在世界各地已擁有超過兩千家的服飾店。宣稱其使命在於「以最佳價格提供時尚與品質」的H&M經常與客座設計師合作，推出特別限量版系列。像是卡爾．拉格斐（編按：著名國際時裝設計大師）、瑪丹娜和凱莉．米洛等名人都曾與該公司合作。
不過並非每個人都喜歡這種快速時尚。有些人批評這是「用完即丟的時尚」，因為這麼便宜的衣服穿幾次之後就會被丟棄。被丟棄的衣服最後大都進了垃圾掩埋場，而有些合成布料是無法被生物分解的。
然而可以確定的是，只要大家想不花大錢就能穿到最新流行的款式，快速時尚肯定將持續發燒。

《 詳細內文請翻閱NO.75  二月號ALL+互動英語雜誌 》