This summer the silk road is running in a new direction: leading not from India, but from Italy. And men's fashion – from suits to shirts, trousers and even raincoats – is being reimagined in the fabric¹.

今年夏天，“丝绸之路”有了全新路线：并非由印度、而是由意大利引领。男士时装——从西服到衬衣、裤子甚至雨衣——都因真丝而再次充满想象空间。

Ermenegildo Zegna's new Passion for Silk range includes sharply tailored jackets with mother-of-pearl buttons (£1,090), matching trousers (£900) and print silk shirts (£880). “Silk has amazing properties,” says Anna Zegna, image director at the Italian label. “It's versatile² and luxurious³, but it is also the ideal fabric to create a modern, masculine silhouette⁴.”

杰尼亚(Ermenegildo Zegna)新推出的Passion for Silk系列包括了缀珍珠母纽扣的经典款夹克（售价1090英镑），把它用来与裤子（售价900英镑）以及印花丝绸衬衣（售价880英镑）相搭配。“丝绸具有神奇的特性，”意大利品牌杰尼亚形象总监安娜•杰尼亚(Anna Zegna)说。“它功能多样，豪华奢侈，但它也是打造现代阳刚男装的理想面料。”

Etro, too, showed a large number of silk jackets and suits for spring/summer in everything from bold paisley patterns to conservative plain shades of blue-grey in rougher finishes. Silk “is both practical and esoteric”, says creative director Kean Etro. “It takes colour like no other material and adds richness to the cloth; you can achieve all sorts of effects with it. It can be rough or smooth, dull or shiny.”

今年春夏季，埃特罗(Etro)也推出了很多款真丝夹克及西服，从风格大胆的佩斯里印花(Paisley Pattern)款到传统的简约型蓝灰暗纹糙面款式，一应俱全。真丝“既实用又神秘”，埃特罗创意总监基恩•埃特罗(Kean Etro)说。“它的给色效果最出色，同时又能增加面料的华丽，可以呈现出各种效果。它既能糙，又能滑爽；既能阴暗又能光彩照人。”

But will men really wear silk? Aside from the usual feminine associations, it isn't, despite Etro's claims to practicality, the easiest of fabrics⁵ to care for: it stains, wrinkles and let's not mention the dry-cleaning bills.

但男士会真愿意穿真丝衣服吗？尽管埃特罗一再强调其实用性，但除了常把真丝用作女性服装面料外，伺候它并不容易：它不耐脏，容易起皱，更甭提还有不菲的干洗费用。

Zegna clearly believes the answer is “yes”. Indeed, in 2009, the group put its investment where its fibres were, and acquired Tessitura di Novara, a company based in northern Italy that has been producing silks since 1932. Now, together with the main Zegna manufacturing base, the silk range can be spun⁶, dyed, woven and finished entirely⁷ in-house.

杰尼亚明确认为男士会喜欢真丝服装。2009年，它甚至出资收购了自己的真丝面料供应商Tessitura di Novara公司，该公司位于意大利北部地区，自1923年以来一起生产各种丝绸面料。如今，与杰尼亚主要的制造基地精诚合作，从制纱、染色、针织到最终面料的整个丝绸生产过程完全在公司内部完成。

“It was just after we had just finished the current collection that I saw the Passion for Silk campaign from Zegna,” says Etro. “I'm sure people think we get together and decide these things in advance, but I promise you we don't!”

“我们刚刚制作完成当前真丝系列后，才看到杰尼亚的Passion for Silk系列产品的推介活动，”埃特罗说。“我确信大家会觉得我们两家是提前合起伙来决定的这些事，但我向你保证我们并没有这么做！”

In London, Savile Row tailor Richard James has noticed increased demand for silk over the past couple of years, particularly from bespoke⁸ customers. “I'm not sure that men have ever thought of silk as being overly feminine,” he says. “Silk pocket squares, silk linings⁹, silk ties, silk shirts, silk socks ... I'd say men have always embraced silk and used it very cleverly as a means of self-expression. Silk adds a bit of dressiness, so it's perfect for evening wear.”

在伦敦，萨维尔街(Savile Row)裁缝师理查德•詹姆斯(Richard James)注意到真丝需求在过去几年呈上升趋势，尤以定制客户为甚。“男士是否曾把真丝看作专属女性的面料，我不敢肯定，”他说。“口袋用丝绸方巾、真丝里衬、真丝领带、真丝衬衣、真丝袜子……我想说男士一直喜欢丝绸，也一直巧妙地把它用来表现自我。真丝可以增添一丝时髦感，因此用作晚装再合适不过了。”

Silk is also one way to make a statement – see Tom Ford's lilac tuxedo¹⁰ jacket (£2,000), main picture, or Burberry Prorsum's blue metallic¹¹ raincoat (£1,895).

真丝也是品牌展露心迹的方式——诸位看看汤姆•福特(Tom Ford)推出的淡紫色燕尾服外套（售价2000英镑）以及巴宝莉-珀松(Burberry Prorsum)推出的发亮款蓝色雨衣（售价1895英镑）便一清二楚了。

So what about caring for silk? “It's not really more difficult to care for than any other luxury fabric,” says James. “But you've got to look after it. It's not polyester!” Etro, meanwhile, insists that silk is “the hardest-working” of all fabrics, citing its versatility¹².

那么该如何伺候真丝料呢？“真丝料也并不比其它奢侈面料难伺候，”詹姆斯说。“但你必须好好养护，它可不是聚酯面料！”与此同时，埃特罗坚持真丝是所有面料中“用途最广泛”，他指的是它的功能多样。

If pure silk still proves too much of a sartorial¹³ leap, it is an easier sell when mixed with other traditional fabrics. “We often mix it with some wool, to give it body, or cotton for a more casual look,” Etro says.

如果说用纯真丝料做服装以实现巨大飞跃还任重道远的话，那么与其它传统面料混纺后，销售起来则要顺利得多。“我们常把它与羊毛混纺，以增加形体感；要不就把它与棉混纺，以营造更为休闲的风格，”埃特罗说。

James agrees: “Mixing silk with linen¹⁴, wool or cotton gives it more structure and makes it easier to work with. It adds a defining edge to a fabric, giving it lustre¹⁵, which makes for a clean silhouette. Wool and silk blends are popular this season. As are linen and silk blends; the earthiness of linen combines beautifully with the sharpness of silk.”

詹姆斯对此也表示赞同：“把真丝与亚麻布、羊毛或是棉布混纺，纹理感更强，也更容易伺候；同时增加了面料的棱角感，光泽感也更明显，穿上后显得有板有眼。羊毛与真丝混纺料是今年春夏季的流行面料，亚麻布与真丝混纺面料也是如此，亚麻布的质朴与真丝的时髦珠联璧合，相得益彰。”

Silk-mix fabrics that work for every day include navy blazers in a 92 per cent silk/8 per cent linen mix from Piombo (£1,085); one-button blazers in a linen, wool and silk blend from Brioni (£1,435); soft grey single-breasted jackets in a cashmere and silk blend from Loro Piana (£2,195); and jackets in equal amounts of cotton and silk from Sandro (£410).

适合每天穿的真丝混合料服装有Piombo推出的深蓝色运动夹克（92%的真丝与8%的亚麻布，售价1085英镑），布莱奥尼(Brioni)推出的单粒扣运动夹克（由亚麻布、羊毛以及真丝混纺面料制作而成，售价1435英镑），罗洛•皮雅纳(Loro Piana)推出的柔灰色单排扣夹克（由羊绒与真丝混纺面料制作而成，售价2195英镑），以及桑德罗推出的、棉与真丝各占一半的夹克衫（售价410英镑）。

So, check the label of your summer jacket: you could just be wearing a touch of this season's most sought-after fabric and not even know it.

所以，请诸位不妨瞧一下自己夏季夹克的标签：您可能穿着今年春夏季最流行的面料，而自己仍蒙在鼓里呢！