米兰是时尚界人士的大舞台。2月底，在一个在米兰举行的多民族时装大秀场上,两位华裔新锐设计师的作品特别引人注目——他们是Jessica 和Kevin。他们推出的品牌JeKe，成为这个秀场的压轴品牌。

JeKe品牌的设计师Jessica 和Kevin是一对意中混血姐弟，生于意大利。从小耳濡目染，天生就懂意大利和中国，因此他们的时装设计中很好地融贯了中西元素，这种“特别”也成为了一道亮丽的风景线，在米兰国际时装周上大放异彩。

当JeKe的LOGO在大屏幕出现时，全场爆发了热烈的掌声。新锐设计师Jessica和她的母亲华人设计师徐月娟跟随模特一起登台。Jessica领取主办方颁发的奖项时，徐月娟发表感言。她眼里泛着泪光，有些激动。时光荏苒，如今儿女的这场首秀，让她想起了24年前她在米兰时尚舞台的那场首秀。

祖籍浙江青田的徐月娟，凭借自己过人的才华和勤奋，在高手云集的欧洲时尚圈赢得了“怪才”设计师的称号，也为华人设计师在欧洲赢得了一席之地。

在业界，她还有“剪刀手”的美誉。她曾代表意大利政府在上海世博会参展；她是美国前总统克林顿以及众多意大利政要的高级定制设计师；她是第一个走进米兰时装俱乐部的中国女人，同时也是被俱乐部第一个吸收为会员的华人。该俱乐部主席大卫·墨西拿称赞说：“徐月娟的成功打破了米兰时装俱乐部的格局，她用自己的智慧敲开了时尚之都的大门，我们为有这样一个新会员感到骄傲和自豪！”

在中国越剧中找到设计灵感

在出国前，徐月娟曾在温州学越剧。“那时候看着戏曲演员穿着水袖长裙，觉得女孩子穿上古代的服装简直太美了。渐渐地，我喜欢上了服装，就在温州专门学习了服装设计。”

在温州的这段经历，为徐月娟打下了坚实的基础。

“那时候，休息时间大家都流行看日本动画片，像一休哥之类的。我都不看，而是去帮人家做义工。我一家一家地去裁缝店敲门，问他们要不要义工。我不要钱，只是要去学习。”徐月娟说，自己的缝烫技术都是在那个时候学会的。到了欧洲以后，这些技术就全部派上了用场。

1990年，徐月娟来到了时尚之都意大利米兰从事服装设计。语言障碍使得她一开始只能和华人进行沟通。一次偶然的机会，一家意大利服装设计公司看中她的才华，聘请她设计衣服。从此，她敲开了意大利时尚界的大门。

要得到顶尖品牌汇聚的欧洲设计界的认可，并不是一件容易的事情。但徐月娟身上流淌着浙商永不服输的血液，越受到质疑，她越要证明自己的实力。

较劲的女人，爆发力不可想象。那段时间，她为设计如痴如狂，向当时的未婚夫提出了一个很“苛刻”的要求：“我要在意大利开出第一场秀后才会跟你结婚。”

1995年，她举办了自己的首场个人服装秀，大获成功。第二天，才是她的结婚典礼。那之后不久，她和意大利籍的丈夫创立了一家属于自己的服装品牌：Delves-JK。

“Delves-JK是很精致漂亮又很特别的百分百意大利制造。”法国知名时尚杂志《Rendez－Vous》这样评价Delves-JK。Delves-JK追求100%的意大利手工制作，精湛的手工工艺加上高端面料和严丝合缝的细节，使得意大利经典服饰散发出新的光彩。

“我的设计里面有东方的元素，整个又是西方的气质。”徐月娟介绍，Delves-JK曾多次同Louis Vitton、Armani、Dior等一线大牌一起登上《Rendez－Vous》杂志，受到众多时尚评论者的好评。“很多外国人说，这个设计师的作品确实有东西，东方西方的元素都在里面。所以，时尚杂志会把我的原创作品跟Dior放在一起。”徐月娟说。

致力于搭建中意文化桥梁

大约两年前，笔者在意大利威尼斯与徐月娟有过一次畅聊。她在米兰市中心有高端定制的时尚工作室，但她一年中大部分时间都是在博洛尼亚度过，抛开世俗的繁杂，她更享受在这个安静的地方寻找设计灵感。

她的丈夫多纳蒂·德尔维斯说：“我一直很钦佩我的妻子，她一直坚持着，为自己的理想和抱负努力着。”

天道酬勤，徐月娟多年的努力并没有白费，她的设计得到了众多同行的认可。意大利时装设计师克劳迪娅·德赛迪说：“我一直很欣赏她独特的风格，将意大利和中国两种不同的文化巧妙融合。”

得益于中国的日渐强大，中国风开始在时尚界盛行。徐月娟将中国古典服饰的特色与欧洲时尚相结合，这种原创风格在欧洲高端定制界大受欢迎。很快，徐月娟成了红人，她设计的服装迅速跻身于世界高级时装之列。

意大利素有“设计王国”之称。这个国度活跃着约40万华商，他们中的很多人在从事着与时尚相关的产业。徐月娟是意大利华商的杰出代表。

徐月娟告诉笔者，中国越来越强大，中国风在国际上也越来越受欢迎，欧洲时尚圈或将涌现更多华人设计师。

随着中国综合国力的提升，越来越多的华商进入并“改造”了意大利的主流产业，见证浙江人在意大利的崛起。浙江人的事业在意大利形成了两个典型的市场，一个是面向全欧洲的罗马华商贸易中心，另一个则是位于托斯卡纳地区普拉托市的意大利制造中心。20多年来，浙江人活跃的商贸活动在帮助普拉托巩固欧洲纺织中心地位的同时，还把它拓展成为一个欧洲的快时尚中心。

徐月娟说，希望能把自己的设计理念和经验带回中国，让中国消费者更好地了解意大利高端时尚的概念，也希望通过她的努力搭建中意文化的桥梁。　　

Xu Yuejuan: Chinese Fashion Designer in Italy

A native of Zhejiang, Xu Yuejuan arrived in Milan, Italy in 1990 and firmly established herself as a fashion designer there in Milan, Italy by staging her first fashion in 1995 and launching the Italian fashion brand DELVES-JK.

She is the first Chinese national admitted into the Milan Fashion Club. Her business designs and makes upscale custom-made cloths for high-end clients including the ex-president Clinton of USA and some Italian government officials. She displayed her brand on behalf of the Italian government at Shanghai World Expo in 2010. Her upscale clothing operation is wholly manually tailored. The custom-made clothes are characterized by, among other things, deluxe fabrics and greatest attention to smallest details.

Two years ago I met Xu Yuejuan in Venice and had a long talk with her. She operates a studio in Milan but she spends most of her time in Bologna where she enjoys serenity and seeks inspiration.

She wanted to be a fashion designer when she was a young teenager learning to be a Yueju Opera artist. “The softness and ethereality of the long sleeves of the costumes really fascinated me,” she recalls. She fell in love with these costumes in the ancient style. She started learning about fashion design. Aware that design was only part of the fashion, she wanted to learn the practical part of the fashion. That is, she also wanted to be a tailor who could turn all beautiful design ideas into real things. So while her classmates amused themselves with Japanese animation films on television in their spare time, she visited tailor shops in Wenzhou to see if these tailors would accept her volunteer work for free. All the practical expertise she learned at these tailor shops helped her in Italy.

After her arrival in Milan, she had difficulties in finding a designer’s job. As the language was a problem, at first she could only deal with Chinese customers. Then accidently an Italian fashion design business spotted her talent and employed her. It wouldn’t be easy for her to be recognized in Milan where top designers gravitate. She worked hard. And her 1995 solo fashion show was a huge success, putting her name on the map of Milan. The day after her fashion show, she married Donati Delves, an Italian engaged in fashion business. The husband adores and admires Xu for her hard work and ambition. 

Xu’s design integrates the elegance of the East and the West. Her brand has been discussed alongside with famed brands such as LOUIS VUITTON, ARMANI, and DIOR in RENDEZ-VOUS, a French fashion magazine.

As China is becoming increasingly important in business, Xu has increasingly added Chinese elements into her design. She makes a difference in the fashion business that defines Milan. As a matter of fact, the Chinese business community in Italy has a population of 400,000, with a great number of them engaged in two business realms. The business people from Zhejiang play a key role in a trade center in Rome and in the garment industry in Prato. In the talk I had with her two years ago, she predicted that Chinese fashion designers would become increasingly prominent in the European fashion industry. She is one of these Zhejiang businesspeople who have helped reshape industrial Italy. 

Xu Yuejuan has won professional awards and she has exhibited her brand in China. In February, her daughter Jessica and her son Kevin launched their brand JeKe in a fashion show held in Milan. Both the daughter and the son are now fashion designers, carrying on her mission started in the 1990s.

(Executive Editor: Xinyu Xie)