访谈录 2008-09-20&09-22 设计师Michael Kor的时尚嗅觉

We are backstage with Michael Kors just moment before the show, I notice up there says something about the most glamotous beach bums¹ in the world.

Boy, isn't that my fantasy and I don't know, maybe everyone's.To me, you know it's interesting now, it's funny, I guess since the internet, you know,now more and more people especially in New York and L.A. who, you know, they live in the heaven and see around. While in L.A. people are/ malleable² and I'm like, wait a minute, what am I doing wrong.

Rough life.

 Right,exactly. So you know, there's definitely, I wanted this to be very American, I think there are too many, honestly there are too many collections in New York that try to look to European and I think that Hey, we invented the way the world dresses. You know Americans invented the idea of comfort and speed and easiness, so it's really very much about that, you know /, architecture, but again architectutre that's kind of user-friendly. It's close to get too architecture or sometimes can get a little frightening. But it's all about optimism.

I took a look at some of the shoes over there, they did have an architectural feel to them, but they were still very user-friendly,kind of as you said. Tell me a little bit about that the fun-architectural heel.

Well you know the odd thing is , you know, it's shoes, I don't know a woman on the planet who doesn't say, I wanna be taller, I wanna be taller.But of course, you know, the crazy high heels are first of all, not that easy to walk in. So we really dealt with the sculptural platforms and I wanted to keep them sporty, though. So kind of the architectural bottom and then you have this sporty top of the shoe, so it's great with the dress but it's queer with jeans. You know because again isn't that really the idea I think today a fashion that is versatile³, so you can mix it where and however you want to wear it. And again, it's the Yin and Yang, you know, it's the architecture with the sporty, there's always something that makes it kind of user-friendly.

You are the first person who's ever taught me about the fashion map that is you buy and invest a piece that you wear a thousand times versus⁴ buying something cheap and wearing it once, you are making a good investment. Do you still think about investment pieces especially in this economy, but even when you are designing something more glamorous⁵?

I think that that's the one thing that we are finding more and more and more, you know, it's not about just the classic because if it's super-classic, you're like I have a city in the closet, so that doesn't turn me on. But then if it's so out there, you know, I'm gonna wear it once, so right now I think that with this economy people want something that is fresh and exciting, changes their wardrobe but still has versatility⁶ and fabric⁷ is key. So I always say when you buy the best-quality you can buy and also, we talked about acro-fashion and what's green. Well it's certainly not green to buy cheap, cheap clothes, wear them once and throw them out.What's green is to buy something that is beautifully made, beautifully crafted and wear it for years.You know, that's what's green.

Everyone is also talking about the election of cores of politics and fashion. People are asking is it really fair to be qusetioning the personal style of someone like Sarah Palin, they're even talking about the first ladies. How important is fashion in politics?

I don't know that it's about fashion her saying politics.Nor do I know that it should be.Ultimately I think it's about the what works on camera. So that's not about the fashion with the capital F.It's about, you know, really I think what also can make a person feel more confident.

 But I always say,you know, what I do is, you know, kindda give you a visit to the shrink without going to the shrink. And you know politicians are so /. So if they are wearing the right suit or the right dress or the right color or the right tie, that could make them feel better, and hey, they can perform at a debate better,you know, in all of those things that you think are important. But fashion with the capital F, you know, I'm not voting for a fashion designer or a stylist, you know, I want someone who's smarter than me and not quite as absorbed in fashion. That's what's important to me.

1 bums   

n. 游荡者，流浪汉，懒鬼，闹饮，屁股 adj. 没有价值的，不灵光的，不合理的 vt. 令人失望，乞讨 vi. 混日子，以乞讨为生

参考例句：

• The other guys are considered'sick" or "bums". 其他的人则被看成是“病态”或“废物”。
• You'll never amount to anything, you good-for-nothing bums! 这班没出息的东西，一辈子也不会成器。

2 malleable   

adj.(金属)可锻的;有延展性的；(性格)可训练的

参考例句：

• Silver is the most malleable of all metals.银是延展性最好的金属。
• Scientists are finding that the adult human brain is far more malleable than they once thought.科学家发现成人大脑的可塑性远超过他们之前认识到的。

3 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

4 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

5 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

6 versatility   

n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能

参考例句：

• Versatility is another of your strong points,but don't overdo it by having too many irons in the fire.你还有一个长处是多才多艺，但不要揽事太多而太露锋芒。
• This versatility comes from a dual weather influence.这种多样性是由于双重的气候影响而形成的。

7 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。