Enter some men’s wear departments these days, and you could be forgiven for thinking Christmas has come early. Velvet jackets, the stuff of end-of-year-dinners and festive get-togethers, festoon the rails even before the inevitable racks of tinsel, cards and wrapping paper have appeared in stores。

　　随便走进几家男装店，恍然感觉圣诞已然到来。这也不怪你，通常岁末年终赴宴以及节庆欢聚时才穿的天鹅绒夹克已经琳琅满目地摆满了货架，甚至比亮箔、卡片和包装纸年复一年的上架时间还要早。

　　The current crop of velvet jackets, however, has a rather more casual feel, more blazer in style rather than resembling something pulled from the black tie or evening wear section. Designers from Giorgio Armani to Dolce &Gabbana and Gucci have taken this luxurious, louche fabric and brought it squarely in to the daylight。

　　但是，当前这批天鹅绒夹克更具休闲与运动风格，而非随意模仿半正式礼服和晚装款式。从乔治·阿玛尼(Giorgio Armani)到杜嘉班纳(Dolce &Gabbana)以及古姿(Gucci)，设计师们都认可了这种原本属于公子哥穿的奢侈面料，并让它堂而皇之地登堂入室。

　　　Case in point: her predecessor at Gucci, Tom Ford, a man at home in a glossy velvet jacket, whose current eponymous men’s wear campaign features actor Nicholas Hoult (who appeared in the film Ford directed, A Single Man) in a zingy midnight blue velvet blazer complete with jaunty playboy cravat, a pair of sultry shades, and a flock of psychotic ravens perched on his shoulders for effect. Available in eight colours, from emerald green to ruby red, ebony and aubergine, Ford’s blazers are cut from fine Italian velvet (the “daytime” version – yes, there is a “daytime” version – retails for a cool ?2,370, the evening version for ?2,290)。

　　举个例子：汤姆·福特(Tom Ford)是贾娜妮之前的前任古姿创意总监，在家喜欢穿亮光色天鹅绒夹克，他目前举行了以其名字命名的男装推介会，主打款以男演员尼古拉斯·霍尔特(Nicholas Hoult，曾出演福特导演的影片《单身男子》(A Single Man))为偶像，穿的是活力四射的午夜款蓝色天鹅绒运动夹克，配以时髦的牛仔围巾，佩戴一副让人想入非非的遮阳镜，模特肩上还蹲了几只“精神不正常”的乌鸦以增加视觉效果。福特设计的运动夹克(哦，本系列还有“日款”，零售价卖到了让人咂舌的2370欧元，晚装款零售价则为2290欧元)由上等意大利天鹅绒面料裁剪而成，共有8种颜色的款式面市，从翠绿、宝石红、乌黑到紫红色不等。

　Gucci and Tom Ford are not alone in their velvet blazer adoration. Giorgio Armani offers a classic two-button style in black velvet with deep lapels (1,400)； Dolce &Gabbana, with its navy single-breasted blazer (605, from Harvey Nichols)； and Etro, courtesy of a neatly tailored jacket in deep purple velvet (830) have also fallen for this style. Angelo Galasso, an Italian men’s wear designer with a store in London, has velvet shoes to match his silk-lined, piped-edged, five-pocket velvet jackets with working cuffs (1,750)。

　　并非只有古姿与汤姆·福特钟情于天鹅绒运动夹克。乔治·阿玛尼也推出了一款经典的黑色两粒扣深翻领天鹅绒夹克(售价为1400欧元)；杜嘉班纳则推出了海军服风格的单排扣运动夹克(夏菲尼高(Harvey Nichols) 百货店的售价为605欧元)；埃特罗(Etro)也附庸风雅，不失时机地精心推出了制作精良的深紫色运动夹克(售价为830欧元)。意大利男装设计师安吉洛·加拉索(Angelo Galasso)在伦敦设有分店，他设计了带工作袖套、以丝绸作里衬，再用天鹅绒鞋来搭配的五个口袋的滚边型天鹅绒夹克(售价为1750欧元)。

　　British designers are no less enthusiastic, albeit in a slightly more low-key way, from Paul Smith London’s easy-cut jacket (425) to Ede &Ravenscroft’s ready-to-wear smoking jackets in a variety of rich shades (550). Savile Row is also softening to the smoking look. “We have at least one bespoke velvet jacket going through at the moment,” says Patrick Grant of Norton and Sons. “But velvet is a tough cloth to work with. Smoking jackets are one of those items in a man’s wardrobe that can be spectacular when well-cut and well-made, but can also be spectacularly bad if poorly cut。”

　　英国设计师虽说显得较为低调，但热情也丝毫不减： 从Paul Smith London推出的简易款夹克(售价425英镑)到埃德和拉芬斯克洛夫(Ede &Ravenscroft)推出的的多款现成的强色调晚便装(售价为550英镑)。专注男子高级纯手工定制的萨佛街(Savile Row)也放下了架子，向休闲风格转型。“我们目前至少已有一款全定制天鹅绒夹克正在推介，” 诺顿父子(Norton &Sons)的帕特里克·格兰特(Patrick Grant)说。“但天鹅绒是种很难伺候的面料。男士衣柜里有上几套裁剪了得、制作考究的晚便装会让人增辉出彩，但若是裁剪功夫拙劣，做出的夹克穿在身上会惨不忍睹。”

　This hasn’t stopped the high street, including Banana Republic, COS, and Marks and Spencer, from attempting its own version of the casual velvet equation. As Andy Rogers, brand director at British high street chain Reiss, says: “Velvet is a strong men’s wear look for us this winter and the velvet blazer is a distinct move towards a more luxury approach to tailoring。”

　　这并没有阻止包括Banana Republic、COS，以及玛莎(Marks and Spencer)等名牌在内的“高端服装界”( high street)推出自己休闲系列服饰的努力。正如英国时装连锁店Reiss的品牌总监安迪·罗杰斯(Andy Rogers)所说的：“天鹅绒是今冬男装的主打面料，运动夹克是成衣业走更加奢侈风格的标志性举动。”

　　Just consider the testimony of one London-based financial services director, who admits: “My girlfriend bought me a grey velvet jacket from COS to smarten me up. The first time I wore it I felt a little too overdressed, a bit too try-hard, but now I throw it on with a T-shirt and jeans and don’t give it a second thought. I’ve had a few compliments too, which can’t be bad。”

　　听听伦敦金融服务业的某主管是如何评说的，对当前的时装界风向就略知一二了，他坦承：“女友在COS给我买了一件灰色运动夹克，想让我穿后帅气十足。第一次穿的时候，自我感觉有点讲究过头了，有点太过造作了，但如今我就随意配穿T恤和牛仔裤，并不太刻意追求该如何搭配。这样的穿法也有人夸奖，他们是发自内心的说好。”