"Givenchy is "jee-von-shee": Pronunciation of Famous Fashion Designers' Names

With my love for fashion i have come across numerous names of designers which are very hard to pronounce especially French ones. Sometimes, i'd rather write them down or not mention them at all because i don't want to risk having to pronounce the name wrong and later and embarass myself in front of other people who knows how to say them correctly.

Last night, i trying to think of a nice unique name for a cat, in case i've really decided to have a cat here in my place. First i thought of Channel but then i think its a bit common, then comes Lacroix, McQueen, Balenciaga, even Karl! haha

Most of the designers that came to mind are those that are difficult to pronounce so i search around the net to find out how to pronounce them.

The Chic Spy has a list of designer names and how to pronounce them.

On the other hand, The Imperial Hotel Management College have video/audio streams on Youtube on how to pronounce names such as Hervé Léger, Lanvin and Comme des Garçons.

This is very helpful and is a must-know for everyone who's into fashion.

Here's a sample stream from IHCCA's youtube channel:






CLICK HERE FOR MORE PRONUNCIATION STREAMS

Here's the complete list of pronunciation found on The Chic Spy:

Abaeté: Ah-bye-ah-tay

Agnes B: Ah-ni-ess Beh

Alejandro Ingelmo: Allay-handro In-gel-mo

Alexandre Herchcovitch: Ah-le-zan-dreh Hair-ch-co-vich

Andrew Gn: Andrew Jen (rhymes with “ten”)

Andy Thê-Anh: An-dee Tay-Ann

Anya Hindmarch: Ahn-ya Heind-march

Arthur Mendonça: Ar-thur Men-doe-sa

Badgley Mischka: Badge-lee Meesh-ka

Balenciaga: Bah-lin-cee-ah-gah

Balmain: Bal-mah

Bebe: Bee-bee

Bettye Muller: Beh-tee Meu-ler

Bottega Veneta: Bo-tega Ven-e-ta

Bulgari: Ball-gah-ree

Burberry Prorsum: Bur-bur-ree Pror-some

Carolina Herrera: Caro-leena Hair-era

Cartier: Kar-tee-aye

Cesare Paciotti: Che-sah-ray Pah-cho-tee

Chaiken: Chay-ken

Chanel: Shuh-nail

Christian Lacroix: La-Kwa

Christian Louboutin: Loo-boo-tahn

Dana Buchman: Day-nah Buck-man

Dior: Dee-or

Dries Van Noten: Drees Van Know-ten

Diane von Furstenberg: Fur-sten-berg (pronounced as spelled)

Dolce & Gabbana: Dole-ch-aye Ga-bon-na

Dries Van Noten: Drees Van Know-ten

Emilio Pucci: Eh-mi-li-oh Poo-ch-ee

Ermenegildo Zegna: Er-men-a-geel-do Zen-ya

Etienne Aigner: Eh-tee-yen On-yay

Furla: Fer-luh

Gareth Pugh: Gareth Pew

Gianfranco Ferre: Gee-an-fran-co Fr-aire

Giles Deacon: Jy-els Dee-kin

Givenchy: Jee-von-shee

Giambattista Valli: Gee-ahm-battista Valley

Gucci: Goo-chee

Hedi Slimane: Eddy Sli-mahn

Hermès: Err-mez

Hervé Léger: Air-vay Lay-jay

Issey Miyake: Ee-seh Mi-yah-key

Jean Paul Gaultier: Zhan Paul Go-tee-aye

James Perse: James Perse (as in a lady’s purse, not ‘pierce your ear’)

Joeffer Caoc: Joe-fur Kay-ock

Junya Watanabe: Joon-ya Wah-tah-nah-bay

Lambertson Truex: Lam-bert-son Tru-ex

Lanvin: Lon-vahn or Lon-vawn

L’Wren Scott: Le-ren Skot

Loewe: Low-ev-ay

Louis Vuitton: Loo-ee Voo-ee-ton

Madame Gres: Mah-dam Gray

Marchesa: Mar-kay-sa

Mainbocher: Maynbo-shay

Moschino: Mo-ski-no

Monique Lhullier: Mo-neek Loo-lee-ay

Narciso Rodriguez: Nar-siss-so Ro-dree-gez

Nicolas Ghesquière: Ni-co-la Guess-ki-air

Olivier Theyskens: Oli-vier Tay-skins

Pierre Cardin: Pee-air Car-dain

Prada: Prah-da

Proenza Schouler: Pro-enza Skool-er

Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren (as in Lauren the girl’s name, not Sophia Loren)

Rei Kawakubo: Ray Kah-wah-koo-bo

Rodarte: Ro-dar-tay

6267: Six-two-six-seven (not Sixty-two-sixty-seven)

Sonia Rykiel: Saun-ya Ree-kee-eel

Sophia Kokosalaki: So-fee-a Ko-ko-sah-lah-kee

Tapeet by Vicini: Ti-peet by vi-ch-ee-knee

Thakoon: Ta-koon

Thierry Mugler: Tee-air-ree Moog-lay

Tibi: Tbi or Tu-by (not Tee-bee)

Tocca: Toe-ka

Ungaro: Oon-ga-ro

Versace: Ver-sah-chee

Vionnet: Vee-oh-nay

Yohji Yamamoto: Yo-jee Ya-ma-mo-to

Yves Saint Laurent: Eve San Lor-ron

Zac Posen: Poe-zen

Next time you don't have to feel afraid of telling your friends how much you like the latest collections from Balmain, Jean Paul Gaultier or Hermès. haha! ENJOY!