Agnes b—Queen of black with colorful life 黑色女王多彩生活：艾格尼丝b
“无论是设计或生活，我都是踏踏实实做自己喜欢的事！” 这就是我们的艾格尼丝b（Agnes b）小姐。她19岁已诞下双胞胎，翌年就与爱人分开，这样的人生可以怎样？她毕业于卢浮宫学院（Ecole du Louvre），读的虽不是设计，但独特的风格已为她赢来第一份工作，就是在《ELLE》杂志当小编。在那里，她对时装的兴趣得以启蒙，两年后就离开了沉闷的文字工作，转投Dorothée Bis门下，做自己喜欢的设计工作，就算薪水低，没有假期也在所不计。
1975年，她在34岁时建立了CMC（Agnes b的前身），同年在Rue du Jour开设第一家店，好友成为她第一批忠实的顾客。Agnes的风格是恒久和略显中性，所以在1981年，她设计的男装也面世了。两年后，她在纽约的苏豪（Soho）区开设第一间海外店，其他商品陆续面世。今天我们可以买到印上Agnes b签名的童装、孕妇装、手表、包、鞋、护肤及化妆品，购物之余可以在她的咖啡厅休息一下，或买束花点缀家居，一切与自然美好的东西都可以在她的店里找到。也许因为生于法国，培育了她对艺术、电影和音乐的热爱，看见她的作品，就像读懂她的情趣，一生追求简单完美。今天不单在世界各地可买到她的产品，她关爱社会的行动也惠及世上有需要的角落，特别是艾滋病病人。
最早识欣赏 Agnes 的亚洲地区应是日本，因为法国和日本有一条无形的纽带连结着，特别是20世纪90年代，每个女孩子必有一件Agnes 的横间条T裇，或是一件黑色的圆领按扣针织外衣，那间条是由肩膊下开始的，所以特别容易记认。今天虽然全球拥有超过200间分店，但Agnes 家族并没有忘本，仍然把大部分的生产制造放在家乡，这都是饮水思源的好见证。
“To me, there is a consistency between the fact that the clothes are made here and what I am, what I do, what I love to do”. So it is quoted from our Agnes b. She gave birth to twins when 19. And next year she separated with her lover, and so what would be her life then? She graduated at Ecole du Louvre. Though she did not choose design, her individuality helped her find a job in E lE working as an editor. Inspired by fashion, she quitted after 2 years and worked in Dorothée Bis. Even though the pay was low and had not many holidays, she was keen at it.
In 1975, she was 34, and she established a company CMC, a former Agnes b entity. The same year she opened a shop at Rue du Jour and good friends became her first lot of clients. Agnes b's style is long lasting with a touch of unisexuality. Hence in 1981, she designed menswear. After 2 years, she opened a shop in Soho, US. And afterwards, she had a lot of shops set up overseas. Today we can buy her print logo “Agnes b”whatever in kidswear, maternity wear, watches, bags, shoes, skin care products. After shopping we can either rest at her café corners or buy flowers from them. You can find natural beauty things inside her shops. Perhaps she was brought up in France, she has fostered a good sense of art and admiration of movies and music. So when you view her product, you can understand her taste and she longs for simplicity, and you can find her products across the globe. Besides business, she also cares about social issue particularly in the area of aids.
The first Asian country which admires Agnes b is Japan because France and Japan has an invisible good linkage of relationship. In the 1990s, every girl would wear stripe-T by Agnes, or a black crew-neck of a sweater with snap buttons, and the stripes started below the shoulder line. Today, her shops has more than 200, but most products of Agnes are made in France to express the sense of belonging.
Agnes b, a woman who understands and enjoys the art of life.
Agnes b， 一个懂得享受生命艺术的女人。
Shop in Hong Kong: Shop 256, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong
香港地址： 香港金钟太古广场256店
Illustration/插图： Alice Cheung Suk Ying