Mission: How do you pronounce that designer’s name?

June 2008 at 12:32 pm · Filed under The Fashion Closet

Have you ever wondered or pondered how to pronounce a designer’s name like Louboutin or Givenchy?

Well, here is a how-to pronounce guide, so that the next time you’re out with your BFFs imagine how impressed they’ll be when you’re tossing around your new designer vocab.

  1. Abaeté: Ah-bye-ah-tay
  2. Agnes B: Ah-ni-ess Beh
  3. Alejandro Ingelmo: Allay-handro In-gel-mo
  4. Alexandre Herchcovitch: Ah-le-zan-dreh Hair-ch-co-vich
  5. Andrew Gn: Andrew Jen (rhymes with “ten”)
  6. Andy Thê-Anh: An-dee Tay-Ann
  7. Anya Hindmarch: Ahn-ya Heind-march
  8. Arthur Mendonça: Ar-thur Men-doe-sa
  9. Badgley Mischka: Badge-lee Meesh-ka
  10. Balmain: Bal-mah
  11. Bottega Veneta: Bo-tega Ven-e-ta
  12. Bulgari: Ball-gah-ree
  13. Burberry Prorsum: Bur-bur-ree Pror-some
  14. Carolina Herrera: Caro-leena Hair-era
  15. Cesare Paciotti: Che-sah-ray Pah-cho-tee
  16. Chaiken: Chay-ken
  17. Christian Lacroix: La-Kwa
  18. Christian Louboutin: Loo-boo-tin (“tin” rhymes with the French word “vin”)
  19. Diane von Furstenberg: Fur-sten-berg (pronounced as spelled)
  20. Dolce & Gabbana: Dole-ch-aye Ga-bon-na
  21. Dries Van Noten: Drees Van Know-ten
  22. Ermenegildo Zegna: Er-men-a-geel-do Zen-ya
  23. Etienne Aigner: Eh-tee-yen On-yay
  24. Gareth Pugh: Gareth Pew
  25. Giles Deacon: Jy-els Dee-kin
  26. Givenchy: Jee-von-shee
  27. Giambattista Valli: Gee-ahm-battista Valley
  28. Hedi Slimane: Eddy Sli-mahn
  29. Hermès: Air-mez
  30. Hervé Léger: Air-vay Lay-jay
  31. James Perse: James Perse (as in a lady’s purse, not ‘pierce your ear’)
  32. Joeffer Caoc: Joe-fur Kay-ock
  33. Junya Watanabe: Joon-ya Wah-tah-nah-bay
  34. Lambertson Truex: Lam-bert-son Tru-ex
  35. Lanvin: Lon-vin (“vin” also rhymes with the French word for “wine”)
  36. L’Wren Scott: Le-ren Skot
  37. Loewe: Low-ev-ay
  38. Louis Vuitton: Loo-ee Voo-ee-ton
  39. Madame Gres: Madame Gray
  40. Marchesa: Mar-kay-sa
  41. Mainbocher: Maynbo-shay
  42. Moschino: Mo-ski-no
  43. Monique Lhullier: Mo-neek Loo-lee-ay
  44. Narciso Rodriguez: Nar-siss-so Ro-dree-gez
  45. Nicolas Ghesquière: Ni-co-la Guess-ki-air
  46. Olivier Theyskens: Oli-vier Tay-skins
  47. Pierre Cardin: Pee-air Car-dain
  48. Proenza Schouler: Pro-enza Skool-er
  49. Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren (as in Lauren the girl’s name, not Sophia Loren)
  50. Rei Kawakubo: Ray Kah-wah-koo-bo
  51. Rodarte: Ro-dar-tay
  52. 6267: Six-two-six-seven (not Sixty-two-sixty-seven)
  53. Sonia Rykiel: Sonia Ree-kee-eel
  54. Sophia Kokosalaki: So-fee-a Ko-ko-sah-lah-kee
  55. Thakoon: Ta-koon
  56. Thierry Mugler: Tee-air-ree Moog-lay
  57. Tibi: Tbi (not Tee-bee)
  58. Tocca: Toe-ka
  59. Versace: Ver-sah-chee
  60. Vionnet: Vee-oh-nay
  61. Yohji Yamamoto: Yo-jee Ya-ma-mo-to
  62. Yves Saint Laurent: Eve San Lor-ron
  63. Zac Posen: Poe-zen

Chicly Yours,
The Chic Spy

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

37 Comments »

  Chic and Charming wrote @ June 2008 at 7:32 pm

Genius post! Every girl should know this!

Reply
  Ms. P&C wrote @ June 2008 at 4:59 pm

Love it! So very clever…

Reply
  Diabolina wrote @ June 2008 at 11:46 pm

love this.

great blog!

Reply
  nuvonova wrote @ July 2008 at 6:55 am

Hello!
This is great but I must correct Moschino. I did an internship there, and it is..

Mos-keen-o .. if you can tell the difference? But then again, it might vary depending on ones accent!

Reply
  D wrote @ July 2008 at 8:25 am

you forgot Yves Saint Laurent

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ July 2008 at 10:52 am

I believe the pronounciation of Mo-ski-no is the same sound of Mos-keen-o.

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ July 2008 at 10:53 am

Thanks D, I have added Yves Saint Laurent. Good spot, how could I have missed someone who was a major influence on the fashion industry!

Reply
  Cynthia wrote @ August 2008 at 12:56 pm

How do you pronounce Perse in James Perse? Is it just like “purse”, or something else?

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ August 2008 at 2:00 pm

Hello Cynthia, great question! Actually, it is pronounced in two slight variations. Purse is one of them (as in a lady’s purse) and the other is the first ‘e’ in Perse is pronounced like the ‘e’ in the word pet. I hope that helps. Thanks for responding!

Reply
  Lynn wrote @ August 2008 at 6:45 am

Growing up in the 80s, the pronunciation of Aigner was always butchered. What is the correct pronunciation of Etienne Aigner ?

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ August 2008 at 12:17 pm

Hello Lynn, the pronounciation for Etienne Aigner is Eh-tee-yen On-yay. Another good one I missed. Thanks for the comment.

Reply
  Laura wrote @ September 2008 at 12:49 pm

Hi. How about Lambertson Truex? Thanks!

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ September 2008 at 3:52 pm

Hello Laura,

Richard Lambertson and John Truex are known the world around for their luxurious handbags and accessories. How could I miss this one? The pronounciation is as it looks, Lam-bert-son Tru-ex. Thanks for the comment!

Reply
  Lauren wrote @ September 2008 at 9:16 am

THANKS! that was sooo helpful! now i know how to say “givenchy”!!

Reply
  etienne wrote @ October 2008 at 4:21 am

awesome! :) you are a genius. how about versace? ver-sa-shay?

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ October 2008 at 11:49 am

Thank you Etienne, good call on Versace!

Reply
  Katie wrote @ November 2008 at 4:13 pm

This list is very helpful, but how do you pronounce Balmain?

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ November 2008 at 9:13 am

Hello Katie,

Good one! The pronounciation of Balmain is Bal-mah. I will add it to the list.

Thanks for asking!

Reply
  Darcy wrote @ November 2008 at 4:08 pm

What about Diane von Furstenberg?

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ December 2008 at 2:46 pm

Great question Darcy! Diane von Furstenberg is pronounced as it looks. Fur-sten-berg.

Reply
  Amanda wrote @ December 2008 at 10:23 pm

This is soooo cool! I absolutely LOVE this blog idea! I’ve been so embarrassed that I didn’t know how to pronounce some of these names, and now I’ve got something to go by. THANKS!

Reply
  Kate wrote @ March 2009 at 5:48 am

Very cool !
Please, how do you pronounce L’Wren Scott ?

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ March 2009 at 11:05 am

Hello Kate,

The pronunciation for L’Wren Scott is Le-ren Skot. Thanks for visiting.

Reply
  e wrote @ March 2009 at 12:45 am

this is great! I keep hearing people say Ralph Loren and want to say HE’S AS AMERICAN AS IT GETS! LAUREN, PEOPLE!!! :)

Reply
  Liz wrote @ March 2009 at 4:52 pm

Great blog, very helpful. For Hermes and Herve Leger though the first part isn’t pronounced “air”, it’s more like “ehr”

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ March 2009 at 10:57 am

Hello Liz,

Thanks for the heads up. I wanted to use the easiest recognizable pronunciation for readers.

Reply
  Renee wrote @ April 2009 at 8:40 pm

Hi I wana know the correct pronounciation for tis brand – Anges B…Anya Bay..? or Ag-nes B…? sigh…

Reply
  Renee wrote @ April 2009 at 8:42 pm

oops spellin mistake.. shld b *Agnes B*

Reply
  weassekeego wrote @ April 2009 at 5:06 pm

cool sitename man)))
————————
signature: http://xabul.ru/

Reply
  sabamuddy wrote @ April 2009 at 12:22 pm

great domain name for blog like this)))
————————
signature: http://semev.ru/

Reply
  sabamuddy wrote @ April 2009 at 2:28 am

Hello, I can’t understand how to add your blog in my rss reader
————————
ad: http://ponon.ru/zcf729t

Reply
  Khita wrote @ May 2009 at 6:41 pm

this has been very educational. seriously.

Reply
  jimmy wrote @ May 2009 at 1:07 am

hey i was wondering how would you pronounce alexandre herchcovitch

Reply
  Saadia wrote @ May 2009 at 11:04 pm

U forgot abt. D&G.

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ July 2009 at 8:33 am

Thank you Saadia! The pronounciation for Dolce & Gabbana is Dole-ch-aye Ga-bon-na.

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ July 2009 at 8:41 am

Hello Jimmy! Alexandre Herchcovitch is pronounced Ah-le-zan-dreh Hair-ch-co-vich.

Reply
  Mignon A. Gould wrote @ July 2009 at 8:46 am

Hello Renee, Agnes B is pronounced ah-ni-ess-beh.

Reply

Your comment

HTML-Tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>