A British friend recently offered me a prized contact from her Manhattan address book – no, not her heavily-in-demand colourist but, instead, her milliner. Trust a Brit to brandish¹ that kind of number, I thought. Hat-wearing is a quintessentially British affair, hence the creations of master British milliners such as Philip Treacy and Stephen Jones.

近日，一位英国朋友把她曼哈顿通信簿中的某重要电话无偿给了我——不，对方并非她那位异常抢手的染发师，而是她的女帽设计师。我觉得英国人显摆那类电话号码大可放心。喜欢戴帽子是英国人的典型特色，所以英国能诞生菲利普•崔西(Philip Treacy)和斯蒂芬•琼斯(Stephen Jones)这等著名女帽设计师也就不足为奇了。

As the sporting summer gets under way – from England’s Royal Ascot to polo in the Hamptons – a growing number of international customers, particularly from the US, are approaching British hatters.

随着当前夏天运动季紧锣密鼓地进行——从英格兰的皇家爱斯科赛马会(Royal Ascot)到汉普顿斯(Hamptons)的马球运动——越来越多的国际客户（尤其是美国客户）不断接洽英国帽子设计师。

“Americans are especially interested in hats since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011, and since seeing the younger royals wear hats so frequently,” says Gina Foster, a London-based milliner who designed the red pillbox hat worn by the duchess during their recent state visit to New Zealand. “I don’t think hats ever went out of fashion, but the audience is much broader now.”

“自从威廉王子与凯特王妃(Duke and Duchess of Cambridge)2011年大婚以及亲眼目睹英王室的年轻一代频繁戴帽子以来，美国人对帽子的兴趣尤为浓厚，”伦敦女帽设计师吉娜•福斯特(Gina Foste)说，她为凯特王妃设计了红色礼帽，近日，凯特王妃就戴着这顶帽子对新西兰进行了国事访问。“我认为女帽永远不会过时，只不过如今关注者更多了。”

Foster, 38, who studied under Philip Treacy, has been making hats for 12 years. Her international clients come from the US, Mexico, Brazil and Australia. She has also designed a collection of five hats for the 2014 racing² season that were inspired by the interior of London’s Goring³ Hotel.

今年38岁的福斯特曾受教于菲利普•崔西门下，迄今从事女帽设计已有12年。她的国际客户来自美国、墨西哥、巴西以及澳大利亚。她还为2014年的赛马季设计了五顶女帽，它们的设计灵感就源自伦敦戈林酒店(Goring Hotel)的室内装修。

“Hats are part of English dress and culture, but we have an international audience that is seduced⁴ by glamour⁵ – and there is nothing more glamorous⁶ than a hat,” says Foster’s mentor⁷ Philip Treacy, whose numerous customers have included the late style-setter Isabella Blow, Lady Gaga and Madonna. (He also designed the much mocked hat worn by Princess Beatrice at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding; her sister Eugenie sported a less controversial Treacy design.)

“女帽是英国服装及文化的组成部分，但有些国际客户痴迷于我们英国美不胜收的时装————而且魅力最大的莫过于女帽，”福斯特的恩师菲利普•崔西说，崔西名下的大腕客户数不胜数，其中就包括了已故时尚达人伊莎贝拉•布罗(Isabella Blow)、Lady Gaga以及麦当娜(Madonna)。（他还为比特莱斯公主(Princess Beatrice)设计了那顶在威廉王子大婚时穿戴、受尽冷嘲热讽的帽子；比特莱斯公主的妹妹欧仁尼(Eugenie)则是戴了其设计的另一顶帽子（引发的争议要少一些）参加威廉的大婚。

“When I started at the Royal College of Art, they thought hats were for old ladies, but I thought that was completely insane,” says Treacy. Now he points to a worldwide audience that is “open to seeing hats in a new way”.

“我刚考入英国皇家艺术学院(Royal College of Art)时，时尚界认为帽子只适用于老年女士戴，我当时就认为纯属荒唐之极，”崔西说。如今他认为全球的客户都“以全新的方式看待女帽”。

Kelly Christy is an American milliner whose work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York and has designed for Diane von Furstenberg and Cynthia Rowley. Christy says hats – both classic, such as the fedora, as well as more whimsical headpieces – are back as a chic⁸ and affordable⁹ accessory after the recent downturn. “Now everyone wears them – actors, musicians, models; they complete a fashion look and are more mainstream¹⁰ than ever.”

凯莉•克里斯蒂(Kelly Christy)是美国设计师，她的作品已在纽约史密森•库珀-休伊特国家设计博物馆(Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum)成功展出，还曾为黛安•冯芙丝汀宝(Diane Von Furstenberg)与辛西娅•罗利(Cynthia Rowley)设计过帽子。克里斯蒂说：近几年经济低迷后，各种帽子（既包括软呢帽等经典款式，也包括奇形怪状的帽子）作为既时髦又实惠的配饰卷土重来。“如今所有人都在穿戴它——演员、音乐家、模特，不一而足；它们让时尚行头成为完美的整体，如今更成了时尚主流。”

Ellen Goldstein, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, would agree: “Hats are a way of easing into a fashion statement.” She notes that more Americans are wearing hats to the races and to weddings, as well as in everyday wear, with men in particular routinely wearing baseball caps and short-brimmed fedoras.

艾伦•戈尔茨坦(Seth Goldstein)是纽约美国时装技术学院(Fashion Institute of Technology)教授，他赞同克里斯蒂的观点：“帽子慢慢成了展示时尚风格的方式。”她如今注意到越来越多的美国人日常戴帽外，还戴着它们去参加赛事及婚礼，其中尤以男士为甚，他们经常戴着棒球帽以及窄边软呢帽。

Gabriela Ligenza, another London-based hat designer (see “Boffin tops” below), says Britain’s image as a hat-wearing nation had remained strong, thanks to the influence of figures such as Isabella Blow. “British milliners are slightly quirkier and more daring, but without becoming ridiculous,” she notes.

另一位伦敦帽子设计师加布丽埃拉•利津察（Gabriela Ligenza，参看下图中的“Boffin”帽）说：归功于伊莎贝拉•布罗等时尚达人的影响力，英国作为喜欢戴帽的国家形象依然非常坚不可摧。“英国的帽子设计师稍微有些离经叛道，而且更加敢于创新，但还没有到荒谬绝伦的地步，”她说。

The message, reinforced by such style icons¹¹ and prolific¹² hat-wearers as Daphne Guinness, Anna Dello Russo and Paloma Faith, who has worn Ligenza’s hats, is that “your outfit¹³ really isn’t quite finished without a hat”.

因此，在达芙妮•吉尼斯(Daphne Guinness)、安娜•戴洛•罗素(Anna Dello Russo)以及帕洛玛•费丝(Paloma Faith)等众多喜爱帽子的时尚名媛推波助澜下，如今传达出的时尚信息是：“没有帽子的点缀，您的行头真是美中不足”。

What’s more, as Ligenza points out, fascinators are no longer allowed in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot, which has stimulated¹⁴ demand for contemporary designs.

而且更重要的是，正如利津察所言，如今皇家阿斯科特赛马场已禁止戴着头巾进入，此举大大刺激了当代风格的帽子需求量。

Piers¹⁵ Atkinson, also based in London designs fun, arty hats in the shape of cream slices and cherries for customers in Melbourne, Dubai and Britain. He believes there has never been a better time for talented young designers, and points to the British Fashion Council’s “Headonism” showcase, an initiative to promote young milliners that runs during London Fashion Week in September.

另一伦敦女帽设计师皮尔斯•阿特金森(Piers Atkinson)参照奶油蛋糕与樱桃形状，为墨尔本、迪拜以及本国的客户设计了妙趣横生、附庸风雅的帽子。他认为如今这个时代是才华横溢设计师的黄金时代，并以英国英国时装协会(British Fashion Council)设立的“Headonism”展览室项目为例证明。该项目旨在提携年轻的帽子设计师参加今年九月举办的伦敦时装周(London Fashion Week)。

Also showing at Headonism will be Awon Golding, who grew up in England, Hong Kong and India. This year her designs include eye-catching pieces for Ascot such as one in the shape of an ice-cream cone¹⁶, complete with scoops¹⁷ of soft ostrich¹⁸ feather pom-poms.

Headonism展览室还展出了阿翁•戈尔丁(Awon Golding)设计的帽子，戈尔丁分别在英国、香港以及印度生活过。今年，她设计的作品包括了阿斯科特赛马会上那顶引人注目的蛋卷冰淇淋外形帽子，连同勺子状的软鸵鸟羽毛绒球帽。