????不久前，為時(shí)裝秀制作座位表還是一個(gè)非常粗糙的過(guò)程。在紐約敲定的一個(gè)主計(jì)劃可能需要穿越半個(gè)地球，傳真給一位設(shè)計(jì)師審批。隨后，這位設(shè)計(jì)師會(huì)在上面做一些標(biāo)記，半天后再發(fā)回來(lái)。最后一分鐘添加的人選往往需要用手寫(xiě)在嘉賓名單上；嘉賓回函也需要通過(guò)電話一一確認(rèn)。

????“我們要使用大量的紙張，而且時(shí)間效率也是個(gè)問(wèn)題，”KCD公司執(zhí)行副總裁拉奇納?沙阿說(shuō)。這家時(shí)裝公關(guān)公司時(shí)常幫助卡爾文?克萊恩(Calvin Klein)和湯米?希爾費(fèi)格(Tommy Hilfiger)這類大品牌組織走秀活動(dòng)。

????隨后，時(shí)裝界遇到了埃迪?米隆。2004年，米隆來(lái)到KCD公司紐約辦事處，從一位職員的電腦中提取了一個(gè)病毒。（出生于馬拉維、在英國(guó)長(zhǎng)大的米隆是一位計(jì)算機(jī)維修工和軟件開(kāi)發(fā)人員。KCD公司從米隆在紐約市四處張貼的小廣告上知道他這號(hào)人物。）他隨即成了這家公司的一名技術(shù)顧問(wèn)。米隆在KCD公司每年兩次于紐約、倫敦、米蘭和巴黎組織的數(shù)十場(chǎng)時(shí)裝秀上隆一次次地目睹了這些公關(guān)人員為確定誰(shuí)坐在哪里而疲于奔命的情形。

????“他們需要50名員工制作一份文檔，拍照，掃描，然后傳真至巴黎，”米隆回憶說(shuō)?！拔艺f(shuō)，‘我可以在電腦上搞定這一切，它會(huì)跟視頻游戲一樣好玩?！?/p>

????這就是Fashion GPS的起源。目前，大多數(shù)高端時(shí)裝秀都在通過(guò)這個(gè)平臺(tái)創(chuàng)建座位表，這些時(shí)裝秀的每一場(chǎng)都有可能催生數(shù)億美元的經(jīng)濟(jì)影響。這款由米隆設(shè)計(jì)的專有軟件可以讓多場(chǎng)時(shí)裝秀的主辦方同時(shí)在一張圖表工作。沒(méi)錯(cuò)，它就是時(shí)裝版的谷歌文檔(Google Docs)。

????時(shí)裝界的安娜?溫圖爾和坎耶?韋斯特們可以被拖放至適當(dāng)?shù)淖?，座位分配可以在走秀過(guò)程中通過(guò)一款iPad應(yīng)用實(shí)時(shí)改變，“主要取決于誰(shuí)來(lái)了，誰(shuí)沒(méi)來(lái)，”米隆說(shuō)。他還面向秀場(chǎng)觀眾開(kāi)發(fā)了GPS雷達(dá)系統(tǒng)(GPS Radar)。這款智能手機(jī)應(yīng)用不僅能追蹤請(qǐng)柬、座位分配表，還可以實(shí)時(shí)更新秀臺(tái)的最新畫(huà)面。此外，他還試用了一下類似機(jī)場(chǎng)的自動(dòng)檢錄技術(shù)和RFID（無(wú)線射頻識(shí)別）標(biāo)簽。在最新一場(chǎng)克里斯汀?迪奧(Christian Dior)時(shí)裝秀上，他就把RFID標(biāo)簽嵌入嘉賓的紙質(zhì)邀請(qǐng)函之中，從而讓這些腳蹬高跟鞋的觀眾無(wú)需片刻遲疑就可以落落大方地穿過(guò)接待生。

????他說(shuō)：“這樣做在歐洲行得通，他們希望收到一張看得見(jiàn)，摸得著的邀請(qǐng)函?！?/p>

????對(duì)于設(shè)計(jì)師來(lái)說(shuō)，F(xiàn)ashion GPS一舉“改變了秀場(chǎng)的游戲規(guī)則，”唐娜?卡蘭(Donna Karan)時(shí)裝公司全球傳訊事務(wù)高級(jí)副總裁阿里扎?利希特說(shuō)?！拔覀冞^(guò)去不得不給每位嘉賓發(fā)電子郵件，通知他們的座位號(hào)。現(xiàn)在，我們只需要輕輕一點(diǎn)，就可以同時(shí)把座位安排表發(fā)送給500個(gè)人?！?/p>

????盡管時(shí)裝界在幾乎所有其他方面都特別注重形式，但就Fashion GPS而言，功能強(qiáng)大絕對(duì)是一個(gè)福音?！盁o(wú)論從哪個(gè)角度來(lái)看，它都提高了這個(gè)流程的效率，” KCD公司的沙阿說(shuō)?！八屛覀兛梢园研乃挤旁谄渌虑樯?，而不是整天為誰(shuí)應(yīng)該坐在哪兒這件事忙得焦頭爛額。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：葉寒

????

????Not long ago, making a seating chart for a fashion show was a pretty ugly process. A master plan hashed out in New York might be faxed halfway around the world to a designer for approval, where it would be marked up and sent back half a day later. Last minute additions to the guest list were made by hand; RSVPs were collected by phone.

????"We were using so much paper, and time efficiency was also an issue," said Rachna Shah, the executive vice president of KCD, a fashion publicity firm that helps organize runway shows for major labels like Calvin Klein (PVH) and Tommy Hilfiger.

????Then the fashion world met Eddie Mullon. In 2004, Mullon arrived at KCD's New York office to extract a virus from a publicist's computer. (The company found out about the Malawi-born, Britain-bred computer repairman and software developer through flyers he had posted around the city.) He became a technology consultant for the firm and watched them struggle to figure out who would sit where at the dozens of shows they organized in New York, London, Milan, and Paris twice a year.

????"They would have 50 people working on a document, taking a picture, scanning it down and faxing it to Paris," Mullon recalled. "I said, 'I could do this on a computer. It would be like a video game.'"

????This was the genesis of Fashion GPS, a platform that creates seating charts for the majority of mainstream, high-end fashion shows, which can each generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact. Mullon built proprietary software that allows multiple show organizers to work on a chart at once -- think of it as Google Docs for the fashion set.

????The Anna Wintours and Kanye Wests of the world can be dragged and dropped into their appropriate seats, and seating assignments can be changed in real time at the event via an iPad app, "depending on who turned up and who didn't," Mullon said. For show-goers, he developed GPS Radar, a smartphone app that keeps track of invitations, seating assignments, and gets updated with the latest images of what's gone down the runway. He has also experimented with airport-style check in kiosks and RFID tags, which he embedded in the paper invitations for Christian Dior's latest show in Paris, allowing attendees to breeze past receptionists with nary a pause in their stiletto-ed stride.

????"The way that Europe works, they want an invitation that's physical," he said.

????For designers, Fashion GPS has been "game-changing," said Aliza Licht, Donna Karan's senior vice president of global communications. "We used to have to e-mail each guest with his or her show seat assignment number. Now we can send seat assignments to five hundred people at the same time in one click."

????And though fashion favors form in nearly every other regard, for Fashion GPS, functionality has been a boon. "From every standpoint, it's made the process more efficient," said KCD's Shah. "It's allowed us to focus on other things, as opposed to just who's sitting where."