TRANSLATION | Eugenia Yang
夢回 1960年，時尚界的輪回走到了上世紀 60年代，而就在這個秋冬，眾多一線品牌都不約而同「重提舊事」般用起了復古元素。在拍攝與採訪的過程，《enya Fashion Queen》將帶領依珊穿越一場 60年代的時空長廊，演繹一個復古時尚女伶。
變與不變
「我很喜歡跟團隊一起工作，覺得很好玩，比較難的是眼神，如何看鏡頭，也是我在學習的地方。」蔡依珊越來越意識到，人與人之間的連接是重要的，採訪也更願意打開了。她聊到自己變化的原因，「其實我一直是自我懷疑的，這些年社會給我太多。」在矛盾的力量中，她有很多糾結，表面上波瀾不驚，也很深沉很克制，但是在這種外表下，內心其實是非常火熱的。採訪中，她笑說自己很像瑪麗蓮夢露，她需要自我獨處的時間，去釋放壓力，尤其在疫情下大家都生活在同一個屋簷，很少有自己的空間，蔡依珊說每天會在床上放鬆深呼吸，靜下來讓不愉快的念頭過去，幻想自己喜歡的顏色，幾分鐘的沉澱對她來說很重要，眉頭紓壓的感覺，轉身透入到另一件事情，將注意力轉移，這就是蔡依珊真實的日常。採訪中你會發現有時她會停下來思考，或是停頓，她說未經修飾的不流暢是一種個人特色，甚至尷尬也是一種社交方式，因為這才是有溫度的，你會發現這種未經修飾的不流暢讓每個人看上去都更加真實了。
BRUNELLO CUCINELLI 灰色流蘇針織裙、灰色鏤空 Monili 毛衣。
60年代的浪漫
她聊到很喜歡60年代著名導演伍迪‧艾倫製作的《午夜‧巴黎 Midnight in Paris》，以法國巴黎為拍攝背景，主角逢每晚午夜的鐘聲響起，會搭上一輛古董標緻汽車來到不同年代，和舊現代的藝術家畢卡索、超現實主義畫家達利、知名的小說家海明威等會面聊天互動。戲中的人總都以為自己存在的時代很差勁，那些完美的故事、藝術甚至情感在過往的時代才會存在的鮮豔，卻忘了一點最重要的事：「也許現今並不完美，但人生就是如此的不完美。」每一個人心中都藏著一個黃金年代，但都不屬於這個年代，嚮往更早的年代，對於現在都會有不滿，蔡依珊笑說，「女生的地位以前很可憐，我不會想要回去，我嚮往未來。」或許就如同戲中 Gil 也驚覺到若將所有的「過往」活成了「現今」，你未來在某個時間點必然會再度期盼著另一個「過往」，因為你從來不會對於「現在」滿意，所以該做的其實就是好好珍惜現在的生活，將每個現今都盡力活得精采而讓自己稍稍的滿意，那也足矣。對於蔡依珊而言，「人生無常，你無法去控制很多事情，所以自然一點好，有機會就把握，該休息就休息。」
早熟的她
話題聊到平常看的脫口秀，蔡依珊眼睛忽然一亮：「我超愛！我在國外唸書孤單的時候就很喜歡看紅髮的Conan O’Brien笑一笑，外國人的幽默我不一定會笑，就像外國人的鬼片跟我們都不一樣，他們偏噁心、殺人類型，我們是比較真實半夜可能會想到女鬼要出來那種，但是 Conan O’Brien 是會讓我笑出來，因為他很喜歡自嘲，現在也喜歡 James Corden 因為很可愛胖胖的英國人，還有 Trevor Noah 她是南非人，講很多政治的東西，但她很聰明。」蔡依珊不滿足於此，她聊到很喜歡的Tina Fey，突然讓氣氛來到了最高點，Tina Fey 雖然沒有自己的秀，她是從 Saturday Night Live 一個美國電視節目走入大眾視野，很多喜劇演員都是這邊出來的。或許真正的英雄主義，是認清了生活本質後還熱愛生活。閉上眼，一切又回到她當學生的時候，一切都要自理，學會生活，學會生存，學會與自我對話，在很多人看來蔡依珊在婚姻照顧家庭都很順手，其實是因為在國外時訓練出來的，「那時候除了念書，因為是博士班要自己教書賺生活費，然後我是拿獎學金，所以工作、課業、生活都要兼顧，學習安排時間，那一段經歷讓我現在比較知道怎麼去做，變的比較務實與從容。」
DIOR 玫瑰塔夫綢襯衫。
創新之路
四年前創立了炆久之芯，近期又與好友一同經營的「頑聚」藝廊開放式的空間，主要展覽公仔與雕塑為主，蔡依珊希望能搭建一個平台，讓不同年代的人都會被吸引。作為手機控的蔡依珊說，每一次在念小孩子玩手機時自己都怪不好意思，講起時下新媒體的快節奏，之於她而言每一個年代都有其使用的工具和平台，社交媒體創造了一個新的傳播時代，每個人都能做自己的代言人，就如同安迪‧沃荷的經句：「每個人都有15分鐘的時間成名。」，安迪‧沃荷起步於錄像機時代，它創造了在那個時代的一種全新的個人傳播方式，而這種方式，遲早被更加直接的形式取代。而現在就是這個時刻，攝影團隊在一旁為依珊側錄全新的 Vlog 單元頻道，未來還計畫成為一名全方位的主持人，她沒有太多的思考，就讓一切隨著時間推進。
Like returning to the Swinging Sixties, the industry had set its mind on the previous century. This fall, many major brands have collectively incorporated vintage features in their latest collections. Through our cover shoot and interview, enya Fashion Queen decides to take Patty Tsai down memory lane and revisit icons of the Sixties.
To Change or not to Change
“I like working with my team. It’s a lot of fun but it’s also difficult to know how to look at the camera. That is something I’m still learning.” Patty has come to the realization that the connection we share with others is essential, which is why she is opening up more in her recent interviews. Speaking of her changes, she admits that society’s expectations had caused her self doubt. On the surface, Patty is calm and reserved. However, deep down, she is a passionate person. During our interview, she jokingly says she is a lot like Marilyn Monroe. Due to the pandemic, everyone is forced to stay at home together. But as someone who needs to spend time in solidarity, Patty has acquired the habit to meditate in bed. Through each deep breath, her mind is calmed, her imagination roams free in her favorite colors and soon, any unhappy thoughts are up in the air. After collecting her thoughts, she then turns her attention to what she needs to work on at the moment—this is the most true-to-life portrait of Patty’s everyday life. As our interview carries on, sometimes she takes a few seconds to come up with a response. Patty believes that being naturally inarticulate is a special characteristic. Perhaps even awkwardness can be a way of socializing with others because that is what’s considered as real and authentic.
A Sixties Romance
Woody Allen’s iconic film Midnight in Paris is one of Patty’s favorite films. Set in Paris, the film follows protagonist Gil Pender who travels back in time to a different era every night after midnight passes and meets famous figures like Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Ernest Hemingway and more. The characters in the film are never satisfied with what they have. It is as if the perfect stories and the right emotions only exist in the past and never in the present. And yet, we always forget one important thing: our present is not perfect because that is the way of life. There is a golden era that resides in everyone’s heart, one that does not belong to our time. When asked if she would ever want to travel back in time, Patty smiles and says, “Women back then suffered quite a lot so I don’t think I would want to go back. Instead, I want to travel to the future.” Similar to what Gil realized by the end of the film, even if our ideal past became the present, there will still be another past that we long for, a cycle that started all because we are never satisfied with the current state. So instead, what we should do is cherish what we have and try our best to live every moment of our life to the fullest. “Life is unpredictable and it’s practically impossible to try to control it. So live naturally, seize every opportunity that comes in your way and take the breaks you deserve.”
A Precocious Girl
Patty’s eyes instantly light up when she is asked to talk about the late-night talk shows she likes to watch. “I’m a huge fan! When I studied abroad and felt lonely, Conan O’Brien’s show helped me get through those hard times. I don’t usually find American humor appealing—similar to their horror films, they are just very different from the horror films we see in Taiwan—but I laughed out loud watching his talk show. James Corden is another one of my favorite hosts whose British humor is just so on point. And South African comedian Trevor Noah too. He talks about politics a lot and I can tell he’s really smart.” Patty continues on and mentions Tina Fey. Although Tina Fey does not have her own talk show, she was casted on Saturday Night Live, where many comedians wave made their fame. Perhaps real heroism comes from an unconditional love for life. As our conversation carries on, we are taken back to the time when Patty was still a student, a time where she learned to take care of herself, live life, survive and see the beauty in solidarity. Many people are amazed by how good she is at taking care of her family and marriage; it is all a result of her time spent abroad. “In addition to finishing my study, I also had to earn my living expenses through teaching since I was on scholarship. So I had to find a balance between work, academics and life by learning to delegate my time. That experience taught me how to deal with life and turned me into someone who’s more pragmatic and unruffled.”
Journey of Innovation
Having founded Wunjo four years ago, Patty is now also running Wanju Gallery—a place for exhibiting collectibles and sculptures—with her friends. She aspires to build a platform where people of all ages can enjoy. As someone who is often occupied with her phone, Patty admits that she felt embarrassed every time she asked her kids to get off the phone. Speaking of the fast paced media industry, she believes that each era has its own set of tools and platforms that can be used for communication. Without doubt, social media has created a new way for us to communicate and has become a place where everyone can be his or her own spokesperson, just like Andy Warhol once said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” He started at a time where videography was a brand new method to connect with other people. And yet, it is almost certain that this method will soon be replaced by something more straightforward and advanced. As we are conducting our interview, Patty’s team is shooting a behind the scenes video log for her new YouTube channel. In the future, she is also planning on becoming a host. But for now, Patty is not thinking too much and is simply going with the flow to see where it will take her.