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每件Polo衫背后都有一个故事

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Every piece of clothing has a story: There's far more to a $155 polo shirt than a yard of fabric, four buttons and a length of thread.


每件衣服背后都有一个故事：一件价值155美元的polo衫，可远非三英尺布、四颗纽扣和一捆线那么简单。



The tale of a KP MacLane polo shirt offers a rare look inside the planning and global transactions behind the clothes people wear. To begin, though, there is an actual KP MacLane -- Katherine, who founded the brand with her husband, Jared MacLane.


下面，就让我们通过一件KP MacLane品牌polo衫从创意到环球贸易的过程，窥探一下衣服在被人穿上身前都经历了些什么。但在正式开始前，让我们先来认识一下这个品牌的创始人吧：凯瑟琳•麦克莱恩(Katherine MacLane)和她先生贾德•麦克莱恩(Jared MacLane)。



The MacLanes met while working as sales managers at Hermes in Beverly Hills. They shared a fondness for polo shirts, and their closets were full of versions by Ralph Lauren, Hermes, Lacoste, J.Crew, Vineyard Vines and others. When they decided to move to Atlanta and launch an entrepreneurial venture last year, their minds went to those polos. 'From the beginning, we knew we love classic pieces,' says Ms. MacLane. Mr. MacLane adds, 'We want to take it to the next level.'


麦克莱恩夫妇是在贝弗利山(Beverly Hills)的爱马仕(Hermes)任销售经理时相识的。两人兴趣相投，均酷爱polo衫，橱柜里摆满了拉夫•劳伦(Ralph Lauren)、爱马仕、鳄鱼(Lacoste)、J.Crew、Vineyard Vines等品牌货。去年他们决定移居亚特兰大进行创业时，两人都想到了polo衫。凯瑟琳说，"一开始我们就知道我们锺爱经典款。"贾德接着说道，"我们希望将它提升一级。"



A notable facet of the fashion industry is that the barriers to entry are low. Etsy is full of items sewn in someone's spare bedroom. Many big-name designers started small. Thakoon Panichgul sold his first collection from an upturned trash can in a lower-Manhattan warehouse, and Zac Posen sold his concept from his parents' living room.


时尚界有一个显著的事实：进入门槛很低。Etsy上就充斥着很多人在自家备用卧室里缝制的产品。很多知名设计师也是从小单做起的：塔库恩•帕尼克歌尔(Thakoon Panichgul)在曼哈顿下城某处仓库一个倒置的垃圾桶上卖出了他的首批作品，扎克•珀森(Zac Posen)则是在其父母的起居室内成功推销了自己的设计理念。



While that gives new entrants hope, it also creates a big risk. Stores are full of clothes from brands that disappear too quickly to recall. Standing out is a challenge.


类似的成功故事给了新手们无限憧憬，但也隐含着巨大的风险。服装店里充满了各式各样的品牌，有些品牌只是昙花一现。想要脱颍而出，绝非易事。



Yet the MacLanes believed there was one shirt that hadn't yet been made: a polo that could cross from sport to the office. Their concept would forgo a logo so the shirt could be dressed up with a blazer. The women's version would have a slightly longer, more flatteringsleeve and a lengthier buttoned placket.


但麦克莱恩夫妇坚信有一款衬衫还未面市：一款从运动场到办公室都能穿着的polo衫。按照他们的理念，这款衬衫胸前不绣商标，可以跟宽松运动外衣搭配着穿。女款的袖子比男款略长、更花哨些，带纽扣的领口开口也更长一些。



'I just wanted to be able to see my jewelry and have it open without being too revealing,' says Ms. MacLane.


凯瑟琳说，"我是想能露出佩戴的首饰，但又不过分暴露。"



They planned to sell it the way they had sold luxury products -- with attentive service and attractive packaging. They would sell online initially and wholesale to stores later. Products would launch individually, with a men's polo next.


麦克莱恩夫妇计划参照以前销售高档服装的方式销售这款polo衫──温馨的服务和美观的包装。他们准备先在网上销售，然后批发给零售店。每款产品都单独推出，男士polo衫将在下一步推出。



Reality hit when they started looking for a fine cotton fabric and mother-of-pearl buttons. 'We knew from our experience at Hermes that the best fabrics come from France and Italy,' says Mr. MacLane. Yet it took six months to find a source for a soft, well-draped fabric that was free of potentially harmful dyes and finishing chemicals.


当他们开始搜寻优质的纯棉布料和珍珠母贝纽扣时，就遇到了现实问题。贾德说，"根据以前在爱马仕的经验，我们知道最好的布料出自法国和意大利。"饶是如此，他们还是花费了六个月时间才找到一种柔软舒适的布料的供应方，这种布料能够经受住染整过程中化学品可能造成的伤害。



Cotton fabrics turned out to be stiffer and harder to dye than some blends, and the planned pique weave looked too casual. Cotton prices soared in a global shortage last year. They settled on a cotton-modal blend (modal is a form of rayon) that offered a soft feel, attractive drape and absorbed color well. From a factory near Paris, it cost $6.80 a yard -- less than the $9 a yard for cotton fabric but more than some $5-a-yard blends they had investigated.


纯棉布料较一些混纺布料更难上色，原定的凹凸织法看上去也太过休闲。去年，全球供应短缺导致棉花价格大幅上涨。最后，他们选择了一种棉和莫代尔混纺布料，莫代尔是一种人造纤维。这种布料手感柔软、悬垂性佳且易上色。巴黎附近有家工厂报价每码6.80美元，比9美元一码的纯棉布料价格低廉，但比他们考察过的其它一些混纺布料5美元的报价要高。



Their plans for fine buttons changed as well. Mother-of-pearl cost $1 a button. Samples broke and chipped during wear and laundering. The MacLanes were using four buttons rather than two (three on the longer placket, plus an extra), raising the cost per shirt. They found a durable plastic button with a shell-like sheen for three cents each. 'We're calling this the practical approach to luxury,' Mr. MacLane says.


他们对纽扣的挑选计划同样发生了变化。每颗珍珠母贝纽扣的成本为1美元，样品在穿戴和洗熨过程中出现了破损甚至碎裂的情况。一般polo衫都是两颗纽扣，但麦克莱恩夫妇准备在每件polo衫上用四颗纽扣（加长版领口上用三颗纽扣，另外一颗为备用扣），这会增加polo衫的单位成本。后来，他们找到一种既带有贝壳般光泽又经久耐用的塑料纽扣，每颗的成本只要三美分。贾恩说，"我们称之为奢侈品的务实手段。"



Finding a factory to sew the shirts was challenging. The MacLanes wanted to manufacture in the U.S. 'There's been a big shift to things that are made locally, and we wanted to be a part of that,' he says.


要找到一家能够缝制polo衫的工厂也是颇费周折。麦克莱恩夫妇打算在美国生产。贾恩说，"选择本地制造的产品已经成为一种新趋势，我们希望自己的产品也是本地制造的。"



The first New York factory they approached refused to submit a bid. The owner believed they would take his patterns and samples and send them to China for production.


他们在纽约接洽的第一家工厂最后拒绝报价。这家工厂的老板认为麦克莱恩夫妇会拿着他造出来的款式和样衣到中国寻找代工厂。



They found a willing Brooklyn factory and set to making samples. Planned grosgrain ribbon inside the hem made the 'tennis tail' -- a longer back shirttail -- curl up. They substituted simpler cotton tape. Fully enclosed French seams, often used in men's shirts, looked bulky with the stretchy fabric, so they chose a simpler 'overlock' stitch that looked finished yet trim.


后来，麦克莱恩夫妇在布鲁克林找到一家愿意合作的工厂，才终于进入打样阶段。这时又遇到了问题。原计划在褶边内侧使用丝带，但结果导致"网球服式后摆"（较长的衣服后摆）发生上卷。最后他们改用了简便一些的棉织带。而由于面料弹性强，常用于男士衬衫的全封闭的法式缝法看起来过于厚重，于是他们选择采用了简易的包缝法，既不影响美观又能保持轻逸。



When picking packaging, they worried that boxes would become landfill waste. One afternoon, Ms. MacLane pulled out a laundry bag in which she was storing some scarves. It was from the Sea Island, Ga., hotel where the couple had been married. 'She said, 'Oh my God, how about if we sent a shirt in a laundry bag?' And I was like, 'That's brilliant,'' Mr. MacLane recalls.


在选择外包装时，麦克莱恩夫妇认为使用盒子会给客户造成浪费。某日下午，凯瑟琳无意中找出一个她用来装丝巾的洗衣袋。那是他们夫妇在乔治亚州海洋岛（Sea Island）举办婚礼的酒店的洗衣袋。贾恩回忆道，"当时凯瑟琳叫道，'噢，我们把衬衫装在洗衣袋里怎么样？'而我的第一反应是'这个想法太绝了。'"



It took several iterations to get their logo -- a colorful bird -- stitched on the linen bag in the exact Pantone hues they'd selected. From their work at Hermes, they knew Vietnam has a reputation for producing great hand-embroidery, so they decided to make the bags, which cost $3, at a factory there. But they had to send samples back and forth to get the thread colors right.


他们的商标──一只色彩斑斓的小鸟──也是几经修改方才定稿，按照他们选定的潘通色调缝制到亚麻布袋子上。根据在爱马仕获得的经验，麦克莱恩夫妇知道越南的手工刺绣非常有名，所以他们决定在越南一家工厂生产这些成本为3美元的包装袋。工厂寄样给他们后，又经过来来回回的多次沟通，绣花线的颜色才用对。



The hang tags come from a printer outside of Atlanta, using string from a Texas firm.


衣服吊牌由亚特兰大郊区的一家印刷厂负责打印，吊牌用的绳子则由德克萨斯州一家公司供应。



Ultimately, the cost of materials and labor for each shirt added up to $29.57. This brought into sharp focus the cynicism of the New York factory owner who had predicted they would take his work to China. Factories in China, they found, would produce similar shirts -- without the MacLanes' choice of materials -- for as little as $1 or $2.


最后，每件衬衫的用料和人工成本合计为29.57美元。难怪麦克莱恩夫妇找的第一家纽约工厂的老板会怀疑他们想偷梁换柱，用中国的代工厂。如果不考虑麦克莱恩夫妇精挑细选的材料，中国厂商生产类似衬衫的成本只要1-2美元。



Using standard industry markups, the MacLanes set the wholesale price for the women's polo at $65 and the retail price at $155. (Retailers in the U.S. mark up wholesale prices of ready-to-wear by roughly 2.2 to 2.5 times.)


按照业内通行加价标准，麦克莱恩夫妇将女士polo衫的批发价定在65美元，零售价定在155美元。美国零售商一般按批发价的2.2-2.5倍左右销售成衣。



From those profits, the MacLanes pay themselves, cover marketing and overhead, invest in development -- and pay for shipping to customers, for whom ground shipping is free.


除了支付自己的薪酬，麦克莱恩夫妇还将盈利用于支付营销费用、管理费用和企业再发展投入，以及为客户免费提供的送货服务。



Finished shirts are sent to their home in Atlanta. There, they juggle caring for their 10-month-old son with fulfilling daily orders. 'We knew how to fold,' Ms. MacLane says. 'We'd both been at Hermes.'


成品衬衫会被发往麦克莱恩夫妇在亚特兰大的家中。在那里，他们游刃有余地一边照顾10个月大的儿子，一边处理日常订单。凯瑟琳说，"我们知道如何应对，我们俩可都在爱马仕工作过。"



Christina Binkley


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