陳韋廷譯
For a sector rooted in change, fashion has often proved surprisingly resistant to rewrite. Consider, for example, one beloved refrain of the last decade in boardrooms and backrooms alike: that Milan was the least creative of the four fashion capitals, run by old names, dominated by big money and lacking any support from a crumbling establishment.
對於一個深植於變化的行業來說，時尚反倒能常常聞風不動，令人驚訝。舉個例子，過去10年間在會議室與密室中有這麼個常被重複的的老哏：米蘭為四大時尚之都中最沒有創意的，由老品牌人物把持、受大資金宰制，而且未獲搖搖欲墜的既存體制任何支持。
By contrast, London was considered a breeding ground of avant-garde young things lauded as faces of the future, and Paris, all creative conceptualism and glamour, the zenith of the seasonal calendar. Pity the poor young Italian designer, struggling to break through.
It may be time to rethink the stereotype.
相較之下，倫敦被認為是前衛年輕事物的孕育之地，而這些事物被稱為未來的風貌，而巴黎則是所有創意概念與魅力之所在，是季節性日曆之巔。這些可憐的、努力尋求突破的年輕義大利設計師則令人感到同情。
也許是到了修改這些刻板印象的時候了。
Government funding, coupled with Vogue Italia-driven initiatives such as Who Is on Next?, competitions that nurture and showcase the country's young blood, have helped spar what may be seen as a 21st-century fashion renaissance in Italy.
"Things are changing fast, and the issues of the past are now behind us," said Carlo Capasa, president of the Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana, the industry organization that is spearheading expansion by helping designers with funding, show spaces and contacts. "We are really focused on getting our brands of tomorrow into the spotlight today. I honestly believe that Italy today is a great place for a young designer to be."
政府的資金支持，再加上時裝雜誌Vogue義大利版所推動的活動，如培養及展現該國年輕新血的競賽Who Is On Next?，已激起了可能被視為義大利21世紀時裝文藝復興的火花。
產業組織「義大利國家時裝商會」藉由幫助設計師獲得資金、展出場所及人脈的方式，帶領這個行業進行擴展，該組織總裁卡羅．卡帕沙說：「事情正在快速變化，昔日的問題已成過去。我們非常專注於讓我們明日的品牌成為今日的焦點。我由衷認為，今天的義大利對年輕準設計師來說是個很棒的地方。」
Fostering the future of Italian fashion is seen as one key to surviving the country's well-documented rocky macroeconomic climate. Total revenue generated by the Italian fashion industry was more than 61 billion euros, or nearly $68 billion, in 2014. Once the final figures for 2015 are totaled, analysts estimate revenue will have risen 7 percent last year, to 65 billion euros.
So it was no coincidence that Milan Fashion Week opened with a lunch hosted, for the first time, by an Italian prime minister — in this case, Matteo Renzi.
已有足夠資料證明義大利總體經濟環境相當艱困，而開拓時裝業的未來被視為義大利存活下來的一大關鍵。2014年，義大利時尚產業整體營收超過610億歐元（將近680億美元）。待2015年最終數字統計出來，分析師估計去年營收將上升7%至650億歐元。
因此，米蘭時裝周首度以義大利總理主持的午餐會揭幕，絕非出於偶然。目前的總理是馬泰奧．倫齊。
"Historically, Italy has just not been a place ready for new things — it never has been," said de Vincenzo, 38, who spent 13 years at Fendi before winning the Who Is on Next? competition and gaining investment for his brand from LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2014.
現年38歲的馬可．文森佐說：「從歷史上看，義大利一直不是為新事物做好準備的地方，從來就不是。」他在贏得Who Is On Next?比賽，並在2014年獲得LVMH酩悅軒尼詩路易威登集團投資他的品牌以前，曾在Fendi工作13年。
