It was absolutely simple: pure, sculptural, with a wide boatneck, long sleeves and sweeping train.
绝对的简单：纯洁、如同雕塑、宽敞的船领、长袖、曳地裙裾。
It was Meghan Markle’s wedding dress. It was haute couture by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy, a British woman who was the first female designer of the storied French brand. And it was everything people had hoped.
这是梅根·马克尔(Meghan Markle)的婚纱。是克莱尔·韦特·凯勒(Clare Waight Keller)为纪梵希(Givenchy)设计的高级定制服装，这位英国女士是这家法国传奇品牌的首位女性设计师。这满足了人们的一切期望。
It was not a Cinderella choice, not one that spoke of fantasy or old-fashioned fairy tales, but one that placed the woman proudly front and center. It underscored Ms. Markle’s own independence by divesting her of frippery, while also respecting tradition and keeping her covered up. It celebrated female strength in the rigorous nature of its line — six exactingly placed seams — the substance of its fabric (double-bonded silk cady), and the choice of designer: a British woman who, as a statement from Kensington Palace read, had “served as the creative head of three globally influential fashion houses — Pringle of Scotland, Chloé, and now Givenchy.”
这不是一个灰姑娘的选择，也不是什么奇幻故事或老式童话，而是骄傲地把女人放在最前面，放在最中心。它强调了马克尔自身的独立性，没有让她穿上华而不实的虚饰；同时又尊重了传统，把她的身体遮盖起来。它以缜密的缝线（有六处严格布置的接缝）；面料质地（双层卡迪丝绸）以及对设计师的选择来歌颂女性的力量——设计师是一位英国女性，正如肯辛顿宫发布的声明，她“曾在普林格(Pringle of Scotland)，蔻依(Chloé)和纪梵希这三家具有全球影响力的时尚品牌担任创意总监。”
It had an edge of Hollywood: Givenchy, after all, was the house made famous by Audrey Hepburn, and Ms. Markle’s dress had a Hepburn feel, acknowledgement of her former career as well, perhaps, of a role model who devoted her post-film career to UNICEF.
这件婚纱之中有一丝好莱坞的意味：毕竟纪梵希是由奥黛丽·赫本(Audrey Hepburn)捧红的品牌，而马克尔的裙子也有赫本的感觉，或许是在暗示她以前的职业模特生涯，她息影后便全心为联合国儿童基金会(UNICEF)工作。
And it extended a hand across the water: to Europe, where Ms. Waight Keller takes the Eurostar twice a week to her maison — Givenchy also, by the by, made Ms. Markle’s wedding shoes, which are silk duchesse satin, and the bridesmaid’s dresses — and to all the countries of the Commonwealth, which were represented in Ms. Markle’s veil.
它将一只手伸过大海，向欧洲致意，韦特·凯勒需要每周两次从欧洲出发，乘坐欧洲之星，来到马克尔的宅邸——纪梵希顺带还要定制马克尔的丝绸公爵缎婚鞋和伴娘裙——此外也是在向所有英联邦国家致意，它们被体现在马克尔的头纱里。
Five meters (that’s a little over 16 feet) long and made from silk tulle, the veil was “a vision Meghan and I shared,” according to a statement from Ms. Waight Keller. It was embroidered with the flowers of all 53 Commonwealth nations along the edge, each one different, to represent the roles Ms. Markle and Prince Harry will assume as Youth Ambassadors to the wider British world. Also included were wintersweet, a British flowering plant, to represent Kensington Palace and Ms. Markle’s new home, and the California poppy, her home state’s flower. And it was held in place by Queen Mary’s diamond and platinum bandeau tiara, made in 1932 with a centerpiece of a diamond brooch from Queen Mary’s wedding in 1893, which had been lent to Ms. Markle by the queen and described a “a flexible band of eleven sections.”
头纱长5米，由丝绸薄纱制成，韦特·凯勒的声明说它是“梅根和我共同的想象”。它的边缘绣着全部53个英联邦国家的花朵，每一朵都不相同，它们代表着马克尔和哈里王子将在更广泛的英联邦世界里担任的青年大使角色。头纱上还有英国开花植物腊梅，代表着肯辛顿宫和马克尔的新家；以及来自马尔克家乡加利福尼亚的州花花菱草。它由玛丽王后的钻石白金束发头冠固定住，这只头冠是以1893年玛丽王后婚礼上佩戴的钻石胸针为主体，在1932年改制而成的，由女王借给马克尔，被称为“一根有弹性的十一节束带”。
“Flexible” being a word that this couple, and this wedding, has managed, to everyone’s great surprise, to attach to the formerly-perceived-as-entirely-rigid royal family.
这对夫妻以及这场婚礼，给被视为彻底僵化的王室所带来“弹性”，出乎所有人的意料。
“As a British designer at a Parisian haute couture house, and on behalf of all of us at Givenchy who have been able to experience such an extraordinary process of creativity, I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished and grateful to Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Kensington Palace for allowing us to be part of this historical chapter,” said Ms. Waight Keller in her statement.
“作为一个巴黎高级时装品牌的英国设计师，并且代表纪梵希参与这一非凡创造过程的所有人，我对我们完成的工作感到非常自豪，感谢梅根·马克尔、哈里王子和肯辛顿宫，让我们成为这一历史篇章的一部分，” 韦特·凯勒在声明中说。
Speaking of surprise though, perhaps the most surprising thing of all was that in this age of rampant leaks and gossip, Ms. Markle had managed to keep all of this completely secret. In all the rumors that had swirled around The Dress — with the Daily Mail announcing with confidence it was Ralph & Russo and Page Six claiming rather Stella McCartney and book makers putting odds on Burberry and Erdem Moralioglu (indeed, the Royal College of Art mistakenly tweeted out that Mr. Moralioglu had actually made The Dress, before having to amend the news and acknowledge it was another of their alumna, Ms. Waight Keller) — Ms. Waight Keller’s name had never even once come up.
说到意外，也许最令人惊讶的是，在这个泄漏与流言甚嚣尘上的时代，马克尔设法做到了彻底保密。《每日邮报》(Daily Mail)充满自信地宣布这件婚纱是由Ralph ＆ Russo设计的；《第六版》(Page Six)声称它是由史黛拉·麦卡特尼(Stella McCartney)设计的；博彩公司则下注博柏利(Burberry)和艾尔丹姆·莫拉里奥格(Erdem Moralioglu)。事实上，皇家艺术学院(Royal College of Art)错误地发推称莫拉里奥格制作了那件婚纱，之后不得不修改新闻，并承认设计者是他们的另一位校友韦特·凯勒——在围绕着它的所有谣言中，韦特·凯勒的名字甚至从未出现过。
In the end, Ms. Markle did exactly what she promised: she brought change and out-thought us all, in her dress as in her entire wedding ceremony. Long may such smart symbolism continue.
最后，马克尔确实实现了她的承诺：她的婚纱，乃至她的整个婚礼，带来了改变，并出乎我们所有人意料之外。愿这种聪明的象征手法能继续下去。
And the symbolism did not stop with the new Duchess of Sussex and her dress. There were all sorts of fashion statements being made by family and guests at this wedding, seemingly in honor of Ms. Markle, this marriage and what the marriage represents.
采纳象征符号的并不只是新苏塞克斯公爵夫人和她的服装。在这场婚礼上，家人和嘉宾都有各种各样的时尚表述，似乎是为了向马克尔，向这份婚姻，乃至向婚姻的意义致敬。
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, for example, was wearing Alexander McQueen — the same brand she wore to her own wedding, and one designed by Sarah Burton, yet another female British creative force.
例如，剑桥公爵夫人凯瑟琳(Catherine)穿了亚历山大·麦昆(Alexander McQueen)，她在自己的婚礼上也穿了这个品牌，她的婚纱由另一位英国女性创意中坚莎拉·伯顿(Sarah Burton)设计。

Indeed, British women designers were everywhere: Both Amal Clooney, in mustard yellow silk cady with a side drape, and Oprah Winfrey, in tiers of peach sustainable viscose, were wearing Stella McCartney, who is known for both her feminism and sustainability, causes close to Ms. Markle’s heart. Priyanka Chopra was in Vivienne Westwood, and Victoria Beckham was in — well, Victoria Beckham.
事实上，英国女设计师在婚礼中无处不在：阿玛尔·克鲁尼(Amal Clooney)穿了侧面带褶边的芥黄色丝绸卡迪长裙，奥普拉·温弗瑞(Oprah Winfrey)穿了桃色可持续粘纤层叠长裙，它们都是由以女权主义和可持续性著称的史黛拉·麦卡特尼设计，这些精神与马克尔非常贴近。朴亚卡·乔普拉(Priyanka Chopra)穿了薇薇安·韦斯特伍德(Vivienne Westwood)，维多利亚·贝克汉姆(Victoria Beckham)穿的是——喔，维多利亚·贝克汉姆。
Meanwhile, yellow and new grass green were the dominant colors: on the Duchess of Cambridge; Doria Ragland, Ms. Markle’s mother, wore an Oscar de la Renta coat and dress the shade of fresh pea shoots; and the queen, in bright lime green and lemon Stewart Parvin with a lilac print and trim.
同时，黄色和新草绿色是主要色调：比如剑桥公爵夫人；马克尔的母亲多里娅·拉格兰(Doria Ragland)穿了鲜豆苗色调的奥斯卡·德拉伦塔(Oscar de la Renta)外套和长裙；女王穿了带有淡紫色印花和装饰的鲜柠绿和柠黄色的斯图尔特·帕文(Stewart Parvin)套装。
All of which, if we are going the semiological route (and we should since the forever import of this wedding has escaped no one), are colors that signal optimism, happiness and a new dawn. Let them shine.
如果我们用符号学来分析这一切（我们应该这样做，因为象征意义已经被永久引入了这场婚礼，谁也逃不过），这些色彩都预示着乐观、幸福和又一个黎明的到来。让它们继续闪耀吧。