The Future of Fashion Doesn’t Involve Owning Any Clothes未來的時裝：無衣也時尚

Fashion is not what it used to be. Rewind only five or six years ago， when we had just passed the peak of the fast fashion explosion. Boohoo1 had recently gone public， snapping up2 eCommerce upstarts Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal， adding gasoline to their online growth. Established fashion giants were turning their Fashion Week venues into stage shows， with Chanel displaying its latest collection in a giant airline terminal and Tommy Hilfiger building an entire indoor mini-beach， complete with boardwalk3.

時尚界已今非昔比。時光倒流到五六年前，那時我們剛經歷快時尚急劇擴張的巔峰期。英國電商品牌Boohoo剛剛上市，搶購了電商新貴Pretty Little Thing和Nasty Gal，助力其壯大線上業務。老牌時尚巨頭們將時裝周秀場變成了實景舞臺，比如香奈兒在一個巨大的航站樓里展示其最新系列，湯米·希爾費格則打造了一整個室內迷你海灘，還配上了木板路。

Now， this whole model is under intense scrutiny. The whole industry is under a review of conscience， with consumers opening their eyes to the sustainability problem.

而現在，整個模式正受到仔細審視。整個行業都在反思，消費者也開始關注可持續發展問題。

What does this mean for the future of fashion？

這對時尚行業的未來有什么影響？

Clothing utilization is on the decrease across the globe. According to the Ellen McArthur Foundation， the average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago and even more so in high-income countries. In a world where we see each other more online than face-to-face， an emerging ‘wear it once’ culture is being bolstered by the rise of style-conscious social media users. Stories were rife of Instagram influencers buying items once for an outfit photo， before returning them again.

全球的服裝使用率都在下降。艾倫·麥克阿瑟基金會給出的數據表明，與15年前相比，一件衣服的平均穿著次數減少了36%，而在高收入國家，情況更為嚴重。當今世界，我們更頻繁地通過網絡而不是面對面地交流，出現越來越多追求時尚的社交媒體用戶，推動了新興的“次拋衣服”文化。照片墻的網紅為了拍一張穿搭照片而買衣服再退貨的故事比比皆是。

Buying patterns were moving towards extending the life cycle of clothing. Whilst trying to break from the monotony of a Zoom-friendly top with sweatpants below， many consumers are also lacking an ‘occasion’ to dress up. At the same time， people also want to buy less. Industry giants like H&M have responded with conscious collections， in-store recycling points and even the launch of COS Resell4 marketplace. However， although these are great initiatives， all of these still encourage a linear model of consumption and a continued purchase in some form.

如今，消費者的購買模式正朝著延長服裝生命周期的方向發展。一方面我們想要改變Zoom上衣配休閑運動褲的單調穿搭，但另一方面許多消費者也缺少值得精心打扮的重要場合。與此同時，人們也趨向精簡消費。像 H&M 這樣的行業巨頭也順勢推出“環保自覺行動系列”和店內衣物回收點，甚至創建了COS Resell二手平臺。然而，所有這些雖然都是很好的舉措，卻鼓勵了線性消費模式和某種形式的持續購買。

Is it possible to own more outfits， without creating more？

我們能否在不生產更多衣服的前提下，擁有更多衣服？

One of the fashion disruptors aiming to solve that question is By Rotation， a social fashion rental app where users can rent their own luxury clothes and accessories to other fashion lovers.

服裝租賃應用程序By Rotation是著力于解決這一問題的時尚顛覆者之一， 用戶可以將自己的奢侈品服裝和配飾出租給其他時尚愛好者。

Founded in 2019 by Eshita Kabra， By Rotation ticks a wealth of boxes5 for conscious consumers， satisfying the ‘wear it once’ phenomenon， whilst also giving users a chance to reduce their impact on fashion production， spend less and earn their own money whilst doing it.

埃希塔·卡布拉在2019年創立了By Rotation ，它滿足了有環保意識的消費者的很多需求，既迎合了大家想穿“次拋衣服”的心理，又讓用戶有機會在減少對服裝生產的影響和縮減消費的同時賺到錢。

“We’ve created a social network for people to monetize and share their style and wardrobes with each other，” says Kabra. “Many rentals have been occurring for social engagements and weddings， as well as smaller occasions such as dinners， birthdays， interviews or even a walk in the park！”

卡布拉表示：”我們為人們創建了一個社交網絡，讓他們可以將自己的時尚品位和衣櫥貨幣化，并和他人分享自己的時尚品位和衣櫥。許多人租賃衣服都是為了參加社交活動或婚禮，又或是參加晚宴、生日聚會、面試甚至去公園散步等次要場合！”

The social nature of the app adds an extra level of service to the user experience， with individuals often able to respond to tailored requests， such as sending items on the same day. The online dynamic between users also improves discovery for “rotators，” who often follow and rent from the same person multiple times—essentially a perfect style and size match.

該應用程序的社交屬性為用戶額外增添了一層服務體驗，常有人能夠回應定制化的需求，如當天發貨。用戶之間的線上互動也可以幫助“輪轉租戶”快速找到合適的服裝，他們經常會關注和多次租用同一個人的衣服——因為這個人的穿搭品味和尺碼跟他們基本完全相符。

It’s not just the services that are shifting toward digital

不僅僅是服務數字化

Renting and sharing clothes is one idea， but what if the clothes don’t exist in real-life at all？ Don’t worry， I’m not talking about an Emperor’s New Clothes situation but the concept of digital fashion.

租借和共享衣服是一種理念，但如果這些衣服在現實生活中根本不存在呢？別擔心，我說的不是皇帝的新衣，而是數字時尚這一概念。

Digital fashion is essentially virtual clothing using 3D software to build a true-to-life6 garment that can be visualized and simulated to look and move like real clothing. Whilst you can’t physically wear it—it currently leans more towards the category of digital art—there appears to be a genuine market for it.

數字時尚本質上是指一種虛擬服裝，使用三維軟件制作出仿真服裝，可視化和模擬技術使它們的外觀和穿著貼合度與真實服裝無異。雖然你無法真的穿上它——它目前更傾向于數字藝術的范疇——但它似乎真正有一定的市場。

The idea of digital fashion has been around for some time. Notorious for spawning innovation， the gaming industry has been unknowingly seeding virtual fashion demand for a while. From the basics of picking your hair color & style of the Nintendo Wii Mii’s right through to Apple Memoji’s and customizing villagers in Animal Crossing.

數字時尚的概念已經存在了一段時間。眾所周知，游戲產業具有催動創新的能力，早已在不知不覺中為虛擬時尚需求播下了種子。比如，從任天堂Wii游戲機為虛擬玩家形象Mii 挑選發色和發型的基礎功能，到蘋果的擬我表情，再到《動物森友會》中的定制村民形象。

DressX， the first international digital fashion multi-brand retailer， went live in 2020. Founded by Daria Shapovalova and Natalia Modenova， the LA-based brand highlights today’s changing purpose of fashion in our lives.

DressX 是首家國際數字時尚多品牌零售商，于2020年上線。這個總部位于洛杉磯的品牌由達麗婭·沙波瓦洛娃和納塔利婭·莫德諾瓦共同創立，突出了如今我們生活中時尚不斷變化的宗旨。

With 60 designers on board and more than 700 items available on the platform， DressX has served thousands of orders. Customers purchase a digital item and receive a custom image of them wearing it. By purchasing digital fashion， consumers can finally be seen in high-end looks that they otherwise may not have access to， let alone afford.

目前，DressX平臺上有60位設計師和700多款商品，已經完成了數千份訂單。顧客購買一件數字商品，就會收到一張本人穿著該服裝的定制圖片。通過購買數字服裝，消費者終于可以看到自己身著高檔服飾的形象，而這些服裝是他們現實中無法接觸到的，更不用說買得起了。

The design and production processes can take anything from a couple of days to several months depending on the initial idea， designer experience， and the complexity of the items. Not dissimilar to the construction of a designer couture gown， except with far less waste， energy and air miles.

虛擬服裝的設計和生產過程可能需要幾天到幾個月不等，這取決于最初的設想、設計師的經驗和產品的復雜程度。這與設計師高級定制禮服的制作過程并無兩樣，只是產生的廢料、損耗的能量和累積的飛行里程要少得多。

Digital fashion is essentially designed to dress our digital selves， which are now more prominent than ever. The majority of DressX customers come from Instagram and other content platforms， like TikTok and Twitter.

數字時尚本質上是為了裝扮我們的數字自我，而現在我們越來越重視自己的數字形象。DressX的大部分客戶來自照片墻和其他內容營銷平臺，如抖音海外版TikTok 和推特。

“We already see more specific cohorts emerging，” says Shapovalova. “Digital clothing is especially useful for micro influencers of all kinds—from language coaches tod2b799e2bb9fa9d107fff27b9eccc5664c364d79dc441b4c9eec00188176e2fc financial advisors， active travelers7， tech people—they all see the value in digital assets. Micro influencers share content in their social media at least once a week and for each ‘public appearance’ like this they would need new clothes that could be easily replaced with digital clothes.”

沙波瓦洛娃說：“我們已經看到了更多特定群體的出現。數字服裝特別適合有一定粉絲數量的微型網紅，從語言教練到財務顧問、主動出行者、科技人士，都意識到了數字資產的價值。這些微型網紅每周至少在社交媒體上發布一次內容，每次這樣的‘公開亮相’，都需要換新衣，而新衣可以很容易用數字服裝取代。”

Gone are the days of wearing a beautiful， expensive and impractical item for an occasion. An outfit that is picture-perfect until the sun goes down， or the wind picks up. Shapovalova also identifies an opportunity for selfie-loving travelers and party-goers. “Instead of packing outfits for every special occasion， they can now travel with the most comfortable and practical basics， make pictures in the most incredible place and still elevate their photos with fashionable digital clothes.”

為了出席特殊場合買一件華而不實的衣服的日子一去不復返了，那種衣服只有在太陽下山前或大風刮起前才適宜拍照。沙波瓦洛娃還發現數字服裝同樣適合喜歡自拍的旅行者和派對愛好者。“他們不用再為每一個特殊場合帶一大包衣服，現在可以穿著最舒適、最實用的基礎款去旅行，在最美的景色前拍照，仍然能用時尚的數字服裝提升照片的觀感。”

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

1英國一家超快時尚（ultra-fast fashion）電商平臺，由馬哈茂德·卡馬尼（Mahmud Kamani）和卡蘿爾·凱恩（Carol Kane）于2006年創立，主要面向年輕女性，出售自有品牌的服裝、鞋子和配飾等。 2 snap up搶購。 3 boardwalk（沿海灘鋪成的）木板路。

4 H&M旗下高端時尚品牌COS推出的二手平臺。

5 tick the box在符合條件的方框里打勾，引申為“滿足需求”。

6 true-to-life栩栩如生的；逼真的。

7 active traveler以步行和騎行為主的出行者，采用這種出行方式可增加身體活動量，比依賴汽車和公共交通的短途被動出行更有益健康。