知名品牌設計師的故事：一個全新的家

作者：Ian Hylton

翻譯：潘澤彬

Jevon

、Joanne、James

Life in China means a blended family。 Shared cultures and traditions and a whole lot of love！ Top row： my son Bailey and my brother-in-law Leo。 Front row： me， my father-in-law， my wife， and my son Lucien。

My biggest influence as far as style is concerned was undoubtedly my mother。 She not only had impeccable style and taste， but taught me to appreciate art， dance， design， both fashion and interior design， and culture of all types。 International culture。 She also supported my love of all of the above。 There was also another influence， my aunt Selina in New York。 When I was a child， I would visit her during the summers on Long Island。 She was a captivating woman。 It didn’t even need to be any special occasion； or rather， every night was a special occasion， with the way she dressed and carried herself。 I was inspired by them， and fashion has since become my life’s work。

對我的風格影響最大的無疑是我母親。她不僅有無可挑剔的風格和品味，而且教會我欣賞藝術、舞蹈、設計，包括時裝和室內設計，以及所有型別的文化。國際文化。她還支援我熱愛上述一切。還有一個人對我的影響很大，就是在紐約的姨媽 Selina。小時候，每到夏天我都會去長島看望她。她是一個充滿魅力的女性。她的穿著和舉止，不需要任何特別的場合來凸顯，或者說，只要有她在，任何場合都是特別的。我受到了她們的鼓舞，時尚成為我畢生的事業。

My mother-in-law and my wife

In the 2000s， I moved to New York and worked as editor-at-large for a magazine called Suede。 After the project ended， an old friend of mine Tu Ly informed me that the brand Ports 1961 had recently been acquired by a Chinese-Canadian company。 I actually have a long relationship with Ports。 My first contact with Ports started with my friendship with Miki Tanabe， one of the founder’s daughters， and continued with a lineage of dear friends， who would go on to design the collection。 And my personal relationship with the brand started with my dear friends Fiona and Tia Cibani。

十多年前，我搬到了紐約，擔任 Suede 雜誌的自由編輯。專案結束後，我的一個老朋友 Tu Ly 告訴我，寶姿 Ports 1961 這個品牌最近已被一家中加合資公司收購。其實我和 Ports 有著很深的淵源。Ports 創始人的女兒 Miki Tanabe是我的好友，因此我開始接觸這個品牌。我與許多摯友繼續保持聯絡，他們將繼續設計該系列。而我與 Ports 的私交則源於我的朋友 Fiona 和 Tia Cibani。

Tu told me that Ports was looking for a creative director for menswear to relocate to Xiamen。 I had never been to Asia before， but my mother had always emphasized to me the importance of going abroad； after all， that was how she met my father。 My mother was originally from Guyana， and my father Jamaica。 They met while at school in England； I was born in Liverpool。 They decided to relocate our family to Canada on a whim， and so I grew up in Toronto。 When my mother heard I might be going to China， she gave her wholehearted support。 “If you don’t go for me， go for you。” She said that China was the future， just as she believed Canada was the future back then。

Tu 告訴我，Ports 正在尋找一位男裝創意總監，調到廈門工作。我以前從未去過亞洲，但我母親一直強調出國非常重要。畢竟，她就是這樣認識我父親的。我母親來自蓋亞那，而我父親來自牙買加，他們在英國上學時相遇。我出生在利物浦。他們臨時決定舉家遷往加拿大，因此我在多倫多長大。我母親全力支援我去中國。“你就算不為我去，也要為自己去。”她說，未來屬於中國，就像她當年認為未來屬於加拿大一樣。

So I jumped at the opportunity。 I packed a suitcase full of white clothes and a Panama hat， ready for tropical weather。 Xiamen was the Miami of China， or so I had heard。 You can imagine my surprise， then， when I arrived in Xiamen on December 1， 2005， and I was greeted by a damp cold！ Luckily， though， that was just an unusually cold winter。 Xiamen is almost always warm and full of light， and it has an amazing energy。

所以我抓住了這個機會，行囊裡裝滿白色衣服和巴拿馬帽，準備迎接熱帶天氣。我聽說廈門是中國的邁阿密。2005 年 12 月 1 日到達廈門時，迎接我的竟是潮溼的寒風！你能想象我有多驚訝嗎？不過幸運的是，那年冬天是個例外，冷得有些異常。廈門總是溫暖如春，陽光明媚，蘊藏一種驚人的能量。

Home in Xiamen is where the heart is

I quickly fell in love with the city。 I had just come from New York， the city that never sleeps， where there are neon advertisements as far as the eye can see， car horns constantly blaring， crowds crisscrossing。 Xiamen was different。 I didn’t understand the language， which made it feel almost as if I was walking in virtual silence。 And the vibe of the city is leisurely and calm； you work hard but you rest well。

我很快就愛上了這座城市。我從紐約來，那是一個不夜城，目光所及之處都是霓虹燈廣告，汽車喇叭聲不斷，人群穿梭不息。廈門則不同。我不懂中文，只能在城市中默默行走。廈門這座城市的氛圍是悠閒而平靜的。你可以努力工作，盡情休息。

Another thing that amazes me about China is the speed of development。 When I first arrived in Xiamen， Binbei was 60% or 70% bicycles， with very few cars， and there were no lines on the road。 Driving there was what I can only describe as a joyful madness。 Jimei district was just a suburb， with almost nothing there。 But the pace of growth in China is staggering。 Once， I left briefly to go to Europe for three weeks。 When I came back， I called a cab， and I soon noticed that the cab driver was going the wrong way。 Except， he wasn’t going the wrong way； in the space of three weeks， a totally new bridge had been constructed， with over 1000 workers working day and night。

中國的發展速度同樣令我震驚。我剛到廈門時，濱北的馬路上 60-70% 是腳踏車，汽車很少，也沒有地鐵線路。在那裡開車，瘋狂而興奮。集美區只是一個郊區，那裡幾乎什麼都沒有。但中國的發展速度十分驚人。有一次，我離開中國，去歐洲只呆了三個星期。回來時，坐在出租車上，感覺司機走錯了路。不過，我發現他並沒有走錯路，短短三個星期，1000 多名工人沒日沒夜地工作，一座全新的大橋很快落成。

GQ magazine China feature， shot in my office in Xiamen

As much as I loved Xiamen， I hadn’t initially planned on staying permanently。 I thought I would come and experience China for a year or two， and then go back to New York or Europe。 The company and I had the shared ambition to bring the menswear brand back to the West。 The womenswear brand had successfully launched in New York years earlier。 So in 2009， we opened a showroom in Milan， and I split my time between Milan and Xiamen。 We started showing on the Milan runways。 Serendipitously， that year， I met Min， the woman who would become my wife。 Min is a designer who trained in London and was living in Amsterdam at the time。 She had come back to China only temporarily because of an illness in the family， but then she decided she might stay for a year。 That was when we met， and it was a very fast romance。 We got married the next year。

儘管我很喜歡廈門，但起初並沒有打算在這裡長期居住，只想在中國呆一兩年，然後回到紐約或歐洲。公司和我本人有一個共同的願景，就是把男裝品牌帶回西方。女裝品牌幾年前已在紐約成功上市。2009 年，我們在米蘭開設了一個時裝展廳，我在米蘭和廈門之間輾轉，我們的時裝走上米蘭的 T 臺。那一年，我遇到了後來的妻子 Min，我們的相遇是一場偶然。她是一名設計師，在倫敦做培訓，當時住在阿姆斯特丹。因為家人生病，她回到中國，後來決定可能會呆上一年。就在那時，我們相遇了，浪漫來得非常快。認識第二年我們就結婚了。

Our dads at our wedding on Gulangyu

In true West Indian fashion， I invited all of my friends and family to the wedding。 I didn’t think they would all come， though， so we didn’t plan on having a big wedding。 But to my surprise， all 150 of my invitees RSVPed yes！ They were coming from all over the world， from England， Canada， Jamaica， to celebrate with us。 Fiona and Alfred， the owners of Ports， very generously offered to host the wedding at their villa on Gulangyu， where we had a beautiful and emotional wedding。

我們舉行了一場西印度式的婚禮，邀請了所有親朋好友參加，但我認為他們不會都來，所以婚禮並沒有打算辦得很大。但出乎意料的是，150 位親朋好友都接受邀請。他們從世界各地，包括英國、加拿大、牙買加，遠道而來祝福我們。寶姿 Ports 的所有者 Fiona 和 Alfred，非常慷慨地獻出他們位於鼓浪嶼的別墅，我們在那裡舉行了一場美麗而感人的婚禮。

What made China even more special was being able to share it with my family。 In the early years， my mother and father used to come to China regularly to visit me。 And my son Bailey from my first marriage also came to China many times。 When he was 12 and living in Vancouver， his school was on strike， and after going through three supply teachers within two months， I was fed up with the situation。 I decided， literally overnight， to bring him to China。 That was his first time in Xiamen； he went to Xiamen International School for a year， and went back and forth between Xiamen and Canada for the next few years。 He spent holidays and Christmases in China， too。 He grew to love Chinese culture and the Chinese language， so much so that after he graduated high school， he came back for his gap year to learn the language。

我家人與中國也產生了千絲萬縷的聯絡，這讓中國在我心中有了更加特殊的意義。早些年，我父母經常來中國看我。而我與前妻的兒子 Bailey 也多次來到中國。他 12 歲時，住在溫哥華，學校正在罷工，兩個月內換了三個代課老師，我受夠了。幾乎是一夜之間，我就決定把他帶到中國來。那是他第一次來廈門，他在廈門國際學校學習了一年，接下來的幾年裡在廈門和加拿大之間來回奔波。他也在中國度過假期和聖誕節。他越來越喜歡中國文化和中文，所以高中畢業後，來中國學習一年中文，才去上大學。

Elle Decor China feature on our home in Xiamen

Splitting my time between China and Milan became challenging， because Min and I were newly married， and I had to spend half my time in Milan。 In 2013， I started making plans for how we could be together more full time。 Min had founded a brand in 2010 called Ms MIN， which was growing， and needed my expertise。 So in 2014， I decided to leave what I was doing and work with my wife full time。 I came to China to work and stayed for Love。 Now， I am permanently in Xiamen。

如何分配在中國和米蘭的時間，對我而言是一大難題。因為我和 Min 是新婚，所以我一半的時間都得呆在米蘭。為了能相處更久，2013 年我開始為今後做打算。Min 在 2010 年創立了一個叫 Ms MIN 的品牌，這個品牌正處於成長期，需要我的專業知識保駕護航。所以 2014 年，我決定放下正在做的事情，全心全意與妻子一起工作。我為了工作來到中國，卻為愛留了下來。現在，我永久居留在廈門。

Of course， there are still things I miss。 When my father was here， he taught our cook how to make curry the way our family makes it。 It’s funny， though。 I may have grown up in Toronto， but I feel like my roots have shifted。 I actually feel more comfortable now in Xiamen than I do in Toronto， and I’ve started a family and a life here。 I am home here in Xiamen。

當然，我仍然有想念的東西。我父親在廈門的時候，他教我們的廚師如何製作咖哩，才有家的味道。這很有趣。我是在多倫多長大的，但我覺得我的根已經不在多倫多了。我感覺居住在廈門比多倫多更舒服，我在這裡組建了家庭，過著嚮往的生活。廈門就是我的家。

I love travel and culture。 It is my life， my destiny。 China is a magnificent nation。 I only hope to share more of its beauty， incredible history， and culture with the world。

我喜歡旅行和文化。這是我的生活，我的命運。中國是一個偉大的國家。我只希望能與世界分享它的美麗，以及它那令人驚歎的歷史和文化。

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