奢侈品数十年来一直在中国充当行贿者输送利益的工具，直到两年前中国政府出手切断了源源流向政府官员手中的精美礼品流——也堵住了滚滚流向奢侈品企业的财源。
Luxury goods were the currency of Chinese corruption for decades, until Beijing stepped in two years ago to block the flow of fine baubles into the hands of government officials – and stem the flood of profits into the coffers of luxury goods companies.
在中国政府倡导节俭运动之际，爱马仕(Hermès)是为数不多的继续在中国市场保持繁荣的奢侈品牌之一，它最著名的是备受追捧的铂金包(Birkin)和凯莉包(Kelly)。
Hermès, the luxury dynasty best known for its sought-after Birkin and Kelly handbags, is one of the few luxury brands that has prospered despite Beijing’s abstemiousness campaign.
爱马仕首席执行官、家族企业继承人埃克塞尔•杜迈(Axel Dumas)说：“迄今为止，没有迹象显示我们的业绩受到了任何影响。”
“So far we haven’t seen any impact on our figures,” says Axel Dumas, chief executive of Hermès and scion of the founding family.
这家法国公司没有披露它在中国内地的销售数据，但该公司2014年上半年在亚洲的销售额（不算日本）增长了17%，其竞争对手路威酩轩集团(LVMH)同期同地区销售额仅增长3%。
The French company does not break out mainland sales, but sales in Asia (excluding Japan) rose 17 per cent in the first half of 2014, while first-half sales for its rival LVMH in Asia (excluding Japan) were up only 3 per cent.
此外，尽管眼下中国奢侈品市场整体不景气，但爱马仕在中国内地的首家“爱马仕之家”9月在上海揭幕，这是全球继巴黎、纽约、东京和首尔之后的第5家。
And despite the generally gloomy atmosphere around luxury in China these days, in September Hermès opened its first mainland maison , in Shanghai, to complement those in Paris, New York, Tokyo and Seoul.
这个时机看上去或许糟糕透了，但杜迈丝毫也不担心，也许这不过是作为家族企业第六代传人的自信在起作用。不过他的乐观更有可能反映了一个更为重要的基本事实，这个事实揭示出，面对10年来最严峻的奢侈品市场环境，这家法国奢侈品集团为何能继续在“中央王国”创出良好业绩。
It might seem like the worst time to do such a thing, but Mr Dumas is not in the least bit worried. That could just be the self-confidence that comes with representing the sixth generation of the company’s founding family. But it is more likely that his optimism reflects a more important underlying fact about why the French luxury group continues to do well in the middle kingdom, despite the most challenging luxury market conditions in a decade.
爱马仕代表着中国希望拥有的风格：不只是成为一个有钱没品位的新富国家，更要成为一个富裕得有内涵、奢华得低调的国家。
Hermès represents what China aspires to be: not just another nouveau riche nation with more money than taste, but a country of sophisticated affluence and understated extravagance.
杜迈认为，形势对爱马仕将越来越有利，因为中国消费者超越了用奢侈品牌来炫耀的阶段，开始喜欢品味奢侈品牌的内涵。
Mr Dumas thinks time is on the company’s side, as Chinese consumers outgrow their tendency to show off with luxury brands and develop an appetite for savouring them.
大多数零售业分析师认同上述看法：中国消费者越来越青睐小众顶级品牌，比如爱马仕，对印有醒目logo的大众奢侈品牌热度下降，比如爱马仕的竞争对手路威酩轩集团和古驰(Gucci)。
Most retail analysts agree: Chinese consumers are growing keener on niche top-level brands such as Hermès and less fond of logo-laden, mass luxury rivals such as LVMH and Gucci.
咨询公司科尔尼(AT Kearney)驻香港的零售部合伙人唐仕德(Torsten Stocker)表示：“中国高端消费者的喜好在发生变化，他们开始青睐不那么招摇的东西，爱马仕经典的风格恰好迎合了这种趋势。”爱马仕中国区总裁曹伟明也表示：“两三年前，我们就注意到了一些变化，那时反腐运动还未开始，市场开始自然地转向青睐更雅致的风格，消费者更懂得品牌的内涵，而不是为了炫耀而消费。”
Torsten Stocker, retail partner at consultancy AT Kearney in Hong Kong, says: “Hermès’ more classic style fits well with the high-end Chinese consumer’s shift to less ostentatious items.” Cao Weiming, Hermès head in China, agrees: “Two to three years ago, we started to see some changes, even before the anti-corruption campaign began, as the market moved naturally toward greater sophistication, where consumers are more brand-knowledgeable than show-off.”
完成这种转变需要花些时间；不过爱马仕引以为豪的就是，它有的是时间。
That transformation will take time; but that is one thing the French house prides itself on having.
它花许多年时间来训练自己的工匠。购买铂金包的轮候时间简直就是遥遥无期。它甚至花了7年时间来建上海的爱马仕之家。
It takes many years to train its craftsmen. It takes forever to get through the waiting list to buy a Birkin bag. It even took seven years to build the Shanghai maison.
杜迈指出，他的家族与中国的渊源能追溯到很久以前：20世纪初，许多法国作家和艺术家对“远东”怀有向往，他奶奶就出生在那个年代，生前喜欢打麻将。
Mr Dumas points out that his family’s connection with China stretches a long way back: his grandmother, who was born in the early 20th century, when many French writers and artists indulged a passion for the “far east”, was a fan of mah-jong.
在北京的专卖店里，中国传统元素随处可见，包括马年主题餐具。
Gestures toward that Chinese heritage pepper the Beijing store, including horse-themed dinnerware for the current lunar year of the horse.
事实上，爱马仕如此渴望赢得这个市场，以至于它在4年前推出了自己的中国奢侈品牌——“上下”。这个品牌非但不为自己的中国风感到遗憾，反而极力突显这一点，这在内地品牌中是少有的。
Indeed, Hermès is so keen on winning over this market that four years ago it launched its own Chinese luxury brand, Shang Xia – one of the few mainland brands that celebrates its Chineseness, rather than apologising for it.
“上下”设计的每一件衣服、珠宝、家具和工艺品，都有一个故事：羊绒毡服，灵感来自蒙古游牧民族使用羊毛制作的毡子；“天梯”项链，由和田玉等4种材质制成，灵感来自古时中国人夏天贴身穿着的吸汗竹衣。
Everything in the Shang Xia collection of clothing, jewellery, furniture and objets d’art has a story: a cashmere felt coat is inspired by the wool felt saddle blankets used by Mongolian horsemen; a jade “ladder to heaven” necklace echoes the bamboo undergarments worn in imperial China to keep heavy ceremonial fabrics away from sweaty skin.
它是第一个由欧洲领先奢侈品集团从零开始打造的中国时尚品牌。将它打造为一个成功品牌需要花些时间，甚至数十年。
It is the first Chinese lifestyle brand built from the ground by a leading European luxury house. Making it a success will take time, even decades.