How Do You Say?

Jun 22, 2007 @ 9:14am

fash book.jpg
How do you pronounce Gareth Pugh, anyway?

You asked and Faran answered (Pugh is said like pew), and then we thought - designers are difficult, and maybe we need a cheat sheet - or else face the fate that Faran once witnessed, when a fashion director heard a potential assistant say "Ralph Lauren" and never asked them back.

For designers with French names, remember that in Francais you say "er" as "ay" so: Gaulti-ay is a couturi-ay.

In French you don't pronounce the "s" at the end of a word, so Comme des Garcons is com day gar-sohn, Yves is Eve, Hermes is air-maze (you don't say the first h at the beginning of a French word), and Rochas was Ro-sha.

And:

Abaete is ah-bye-ah-tay.
It's Caro-leena Herrera, not Caro-lie-na Herrara.
Nicolas Ghesquiere is Ni-co-la Guess-key-air
Givenchy is jhee-von-shee
Ralph Lauren, like the girl's name!
Monique Lhuillier is Monique L'oo-li-ay
Christian Louboutin is Christian (with a light n) Loo-boo-tahn
Marchesa is Mar-kay-sa,
Moschino is Mo-ski-no, not moschino like the cherry
Dries van Noten is pronounced Dree-s
Raf Simons is Raff See-mon
Hedi Slimane is Eddy Sli-mahn
Olivier Theyskens is Olivi-ay Tay-skins

Now: can anyone who speaks Japanese tell me how to say Rei Kawakubo? Thanks.

--ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 9:33AM

As silly as I feel asking this, how do you pronounce Proenza Schouler? I always missed the part of the Target commercial where they said their name...

posted by designage

Jun 22, 2007 9:33AM

i think it is actually JES-key-air!... (lightly combining the last two syllables)

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 9:36AM

the Schouler is pronounced like
School-er

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 9:36AM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's "Pro-en-za Skoo-ler"...

posted by B

Jun 22, 2007 9:42AM

i thought it was Gay-ski-air

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 9:44AM

With Japanese you usually accent the first syllable instead of the 2nd or 3rd, which is a mistake almost every non-Japanese speaker makes.

So it's Ray KAH-wah-koo-boh. It sounds peculiar because in Japanese the surname comes before the given name, so the sound seems misplaced in English when the names are switched around.

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 9:44AM

It's not.

posted by kenbot

Jun 22, 2007 10:09AM

This is the best post ever. Very informative!

posted by helen

Jun 22, 2007 10:24AM

for the vintage-lovers:

courreges = core-rejh
schiaparelli = ska-pa-relly or shap-a-relly
vionnet = vee-oh-nay

now i need someone to tell me how to pronounce Mainbocher

posted by mm

Jun 22, 2007 10:25AM

i love you all for this sooo much

posted by Phoebe

Jun 22, 2007 10:26AM

Thank you! One of my top 10 pet peeves is people who say Ralph Laur-enn as if it makes them high class by saying it. Cmon, he's not from some spectacular foreign land, he's a nice Jewish boy from New York!

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 10:55AM

Mainbocher=Main-bo-shay
I went to a Hamish Bowles lecture and he said "Main-bo-shay, or to most people, Mainbocker" hahahah

posted by michope

Jun 22, 2007 10:56AM

LOVE this thanks! how do you pronounce Tibi? I've heard that its "Tie - Bee"

posted by Chels

Jun 22, 2007 10:57AM

Hermes would actually be "er-mehz."

The accent grave (the one pointing to the left) makes it an "eh" sound, instead of the "ay" sound, which an accent egu (pointing right) makes.

posted by Laia

Jun 22, 2007 11:08AM

That's funny that you post this because there's a little snippet in July's Vogue about how to pronounde Nicholas' last name. I always thought it was with the G sound and not with the J sound... the article didnt clarify it, of course, but i think i like the G sound better. haha. so thats how ima do it.

And Tibi is pronounced like tv.

posted by Toni

Jun 22, 2007 11:14AM

To be fair, "Ralph Lau-REN" rolls of the tongue more nicely than "Ralph LAU-ren" which is probably why many people get it wrong.

posted by Toni

Jun 22, 2007 11:16AM

Also, just because it has always driven me crazy, and I've heard people insist on both ways....

Bebe

Bee-Bee or Bay-Bay?

posted by Phil

Jun 22, 2007 11:17AM

And it's pronounced GAH-puh, not just GAP.

posted by kim

Jun 22, 2007 11:19AM

designage is right. ghesquiere should actually be pronounced "jes-care." it was in an article in this month's vogue about the met costume institute ball.

posted by AFG

Jun 22, 2007 11:32AM

B: Hey, just because he's a man designing women's wearing doesn't mean we should make any assumptions about his sexuality! :)

Thanks to the person who provided insight into Rei Kawakubo's name. I've always said it "Ray", but in my research online I found some dissenters who insisted it was "Reh-eh" so I thought I'd ask for clarification.

posted by Laia

Jun 22, 2007 11:33AM

the article didnt really say either way though... god i wish fashion file was still on tv... LETS ASK TIM BLANKS!

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 12:03PM

Balenciaga???

posted by Coquette

Jun 22, 2007 12:10PM

Nice! One quibble: it's air-MEZ, to rhyme with the candy Pez. It would be "maze" if the accent on the final "e" went up to the right.

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 12:13PM

Anna Sui?

Like Chop Suey?

Anna Sue (like a country girl with pig tails)?

HELP!

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 12:15PM

anna swee

posted by JC

Jun 22, 2007 12:30PM

Always get confused with Lanvin, how is it really said?

posted by Laia

Jun 22, 2007 12:36PM

lan-van? i think

posted by jack

Jun 22, 2007 12:56PM

balenciaga is the ultimate bitch, i didnt know how to say it until i met someone who worked there. and ghesquiere is said J.

posted by Jessica

Jun 22, 2007 1:01PM

Balenciaga is pronounced: Bah-Len-See-Aw-Gah.

Lanvin: Lahn-Vain.
Just don't over enunciate the 'n's. They're somewhat silent.

Proenza Schouler: Pro-En-Za Skoo-Ler.

Kevin Aucoin: Keh-Vhyn Oh-Kwan

Narciso Rodriguez: Nar-Siss-O Ro-Dree-Gez.

I'm pretty sure this is how you pronounce them, but I'm not one-hundred-percent.

And how do you pronounce Hussein Chalayan? I think it's Who-Sane Sha-La-Yan but I'm not sure.
And also is Rodarte pronounced with the e sounding like an accent aigue?
Is it Ro-Dart-Ay or Ro-Darte?

posted by mary

Jun 22, 2007 1:03PM

how could you not understand how to pronounce balenciaga?

posted by guest

Jun 22, 2007 1:21PM

I swear this must be taken from that Vogue article in 1990something that explained how to pronounce Ungaro.

This post makes me miss the good old days of Style with Elsa Klensch on CNN, who had excellent enunciation.

posted by jaclyn

Jun 22, 2007 2:12PM

balenciaga is definitely bah-len-see-ah-gah, not aw-gah, unless you're from staten island.

and thank you especially for hedi slimane!

posted by Anonymous

Jun 22, 2007 2:14PM

As for Rei Kawakubo, in Japanese you don't really pronouce "ei" like "ay"--it's more of a prolonged "eh" sound.

posted by Courtney

Jun 22, 2007 3:07PM

To Toni- It's bee-bee, it's taken from "To be or not to be".

posted by geneva

Jun 22, 2007 3:13PM

I think it's Ro-DART, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

My secret shame is that I ALWAYS want to say "NarcisCO" instead of "Narciso." I know it's wrong. It just comes out.

posted by astralgirl01

Jun 22, 2007 3:22PM

Ah! Can we finally settle how to properly say the "Vuitton" portion of Louis Vuitton?

You'd be surprised how many times I've heard it mangled. Sigh.

posted by kenbot

Jun 22, 2007 3:26PM

re: balenciaga. I've heard both ba-len-see-ah-gah and ba-len-chee-ah-gah, so I can understand the confusion.

posted by K

Jun 22, 2007 3:29PM

Maraschino cherries. And I've always pronounced it something like Ray-ee.

posted by heather

Jun 22, 2007 3:51PM

There's no way Balenciaga is ba-len-chee-ah-ga. It's not Italian. Cristobal Balenciaga was a Spainard. Therefore it should be, as said earlier, ba-len-see-ah-gah or, if you want to get technical, ba-len-thee-ah-gah, like you're lisping in the middle of the word.

posted by Cassette Love

Jun 22, 2007 3:54PM

"I think it's Ro-DART, but I wouldn't bet money on it."

Rodar-tay, I believe; it's their mother's maiden name.

Schiaparelli
Skap-a-rel-li. In this case, the Italian pronunciation of "schia" is a "sk" sound. When you're at the Nars counter, check out "Skap Pink".

posted by AFG

Jun 22, 2007 4:10PM

Ro-dar-tay.

Ba-len-see-ah-ga

I guess I will never really feel confident saying Rei Kawukabo's name

posted by B

Jun 22, 2007 4:25PM

AFG: haha i didn't mean it like that! tho there's no doubt about it :P

posted by Anonima

Jun 22, 2007 4:37PM

Actually "schia" in Italian is pronounced "skYAAH" as opposed to "ska." The "i" sound is still there. Still rhymes with "ska" though.

So it would be: skYAAHp-a-REL-li

posted by emma glamour

Jun 22, 2007 4:39PM

Actually, 'er' and 'é' are not pronounced 'ay' in French - only Americans do that and it sounds hilariously American. In French this sound is pronounced sort of with your lips spread really far apart, like your broadest smile (just to show it in the extreme), which doesn't work with 'ay'.
And 'è' or 'ere' is an e like in 'entry'.

This website has sound files of all the vowels and some example words containing the particular sound, on the second and third page you find further combinations of vowels: http://www.myteacherinparis.com/alphabet/french-vowels-2.html

Also, I'm pretty sure Ghesquiere is not pronounced 'j' but 'g' - the 'gh' spelling serves the same function as 'gu' (as in the English word 'guess').

Happy practicing!

posted by ae

Jun 22, 2007 4:52PM

I interviewed with Ralph Lauren out of college and the interviewer pronounced it "Lau-wren" repeatedly, leading me to the impression it could be pronounced either way.

posted by emilia

Jun 22, 2007 5:15PM

courtney, please - bebe is Farsi for Queen
the founder manny is persian

posted by casey

Jun 22, 2007 5:17PM

As far as Ralph L goes, read The End of Fashion by Teri Agins they talk all about the Lauren to Law-ren thing there.

Vuitton- "Vii-ton" soft n.

Thanks for the post! I never new how to say Nicolas Ghesquiere! I always just avoided it. :)

posted by jaclyn

Jun 22, 2007 8:37PM

i thought vuitton was vwee-ton, but very subtle with the vwee.

posted by arcadia

Jun 22, 2007 8:38PM

great post. here are some more i found in one of my magazines:

Yigel Azrouel
ee-GAHL az-roo-EL

Behnaz Sarafpour
ben-AHZ sah-raf-POOR

Andrew Gn
AN-droo GEN

Proenza Schouler
proh-EN-zuh SKOO-ler

Rodarte
roh-DAHR-tay

Costello Tagliapietra
ko-STEL-oh TAG-lee-uh-pee-AY-trah

Thakoon
tah-KOON

Olivier Theyskens
oh-LIV-ee-ay TEY-skins

posted by Fauchon Junkie

Jun 22, 2007 11:17PM

any pointers on where the accents on Bottega Veneta go?

pointers for where to get their goods for less than astronomical prices will be asked at a later post

posted by sergio jimenez

Jun 23, 2007 3:17AM

How do you pronounce Miu Miu? I just avoid it.

posted by Courtney

Jun 23, 2007 3:35PM

emilia please. We are both right. From their website:
"It is pronounced "bee-bee." bebe was founded as a San Francisco boutique in 1976 by Manny Mashouf, the company's Chairman and Founder. The name bebe was selected because it represented the philosophy of the time ("to be or not to be") as well as other multilingual meanings including the Persian name for the queen in a deck of cards and the Turkish word for woman.

Next time know your facts before you start telling other people they are wrong.

posted by melanie

Jun 23, 2007 3:40PM

bot-TE-ga VE-ne-ta, but i´m not sure about the veneta part, could be ve-NE-ta too, but in bottega the accent is defly on the second syllable.

posted by guest

Jun 23, 2007 5:18PM

ooh i can actually contirbute something!
i just did a project with behnaz sarafpour
and she pronounces her name
Beh-noz Saraf-four (no 'p' sound)

posted by BB (pronounced Bee Bee)

Jun 23, 2007 6:48PM

I always feel BCBG is pronounced like the French letters, (bay say bay jay more or less) because it's an acronym for Bon Chic, Bon Genre yet people on TV like Robert Verdi say Bee Cee Bee Gee.

posted by V

Jun 23, 2007 11:06PM

I think for BV it's supposed to be bot-TE-ga ve-NE-ta...I could be wrong.

I think people pronounce BCBG because they're literally saying the letters out...and when you're pronouncing the alphabet, it's bee, cee, gee..etc.

posted by aemilia

Jun 24, 2007 4:33PM

courtney, you believe everything you read ? please!
the "to be or not to be" reference was a legal defence used when Manny was being sued by Danskin for copyright infringement for the short lived stores he opened on Union st and Embarcadero One called dancing/not dancing.
since that suit was found in Danskins favor in 1984 or 1985, it is curious that they would still feel the need to use the Shakespere quote.
the rhinestone logo t-shirts are awful, but kudos to manny on the expansion of the brand and still controlling 75% of the stock.

posted by yoko

Jun 26, 2007 8:16AM

Ray KAwaKUbo

posted by Liz

Jul 01, 2007 7:20PM

why can't we just call ralph lauren, ralph lipschitz? its his original (real) name...he just didn't want a jewish-sounding name. oh well.

posted by guest

Jul 08, 2007 3:41PM

Courtney, Emilia, PLEASE.

regardless of the history, it's still pronounced BEE BEE so why are you fighting?

emilia, give it a rest.

posted by guest

Jul 26, 2007 6:42PM

Yes. I agree. Anyway.

Rei Kawakubo is Re-i Kah-wah-kuh-boh. The name 'Rei' is actually considered only two letters in the Japanese alphabet (Katakana) so Re-i as in Re-ee but soft. I am part Japanese so I'm positive. :)

Really? Sarafpour is Saraf-foor?

Rafe Totengco - Rah-fee Toh-teng-koh. The ng like in bring and sang.

Yohji Yamamoto - Yoh-jee not Yowji.

Andrew Gn - Andrew Gh-en

Loewe - Loo-wee-vay

Bea Valdez - Bay-ah Vhal-DEZ like the candy Pez. I've heard Valdeez oh well.

posted by R. Gray

Aug 03, 2007 12:19PM

Is the "i" in Max Azria long or short?
And Salvatore Ferragamo hard or soft "g"?

posted by Hazel

Oct 12, 2007 11:22AM

FYI, fashion pips.. Monique Lhuillier is not french. She's actually a FILIPINO from a rich clan in Cebu, Philippines.