(Christian Louboutin shoe)
One thing, I may have neglected to mention was I am obsessed with fashion. My minor was textile and apparel management, and I probably would have made that my major and my profession if I had gone to a school like Parsons or NYU, but being that I went to a state school in the middle of the United States, in the heart of the Midwest, studies in fashion weren't as strong. My school probably had the smallest TAM (that's what we called it) department for a school of its size. As I said, it was a school in the plains of the nation, therefore its main emphasis lay in agriculture-type fields, and journalism--who knew?!
(Goyard bag)
And I loved journalism just as much as I loved fashion, and for a long while, my goal was to pursue a career at a fashion magazine, thus I could combine my love for the two. Ok, so I am here in Columbus, and I am pretty sure Columbus will be my permanent home (I am very happy about this, don't think I regret not moving to NYC for one minute), but I am not going to let that stop me from writing about fashion and everything involved in style, textiles, clothing, trends etc.
One thing I would like to do is start from the basics.
New talent in the form of fashion designers are always being added to the long list of apparel artists, and sometimes it's hard to pronounce the names of these various creatives. For example, Christian Siriano is a newbie to the designer scene; he made his world debut on Project Runway when he was the winner of last season. Now, people can start purchasing items from his collection at Bluefly.com! His name, though, is relatively easy to say, as it's pronounced as you might expect: SEER-ree-AH-no. It's just as hard to pronounce the names of designers that have been around for centuries, Vuitton? Dior? Chanel? Well everyone can pretty much say the names of such popular designers such as those, but what about Commés de Garçon?
(Kate Moss modeling Missoni in an ad)
I was unhappy with the selection of results that come up when you search the internet to find audio pronunciations of these names. It's hard to pronounce them right when it's spelled out, because you are not hearing where to place the emphasis and such. About.com has a great list that I recommend, however, you'd better have a PC to be able to play the sound bites. Being that I have a Mac, it was impossible to hear the audio. Columbus is, as we've covered before, a hub for apparel company headquarters. We have: Limited Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch, Tween Brands, Express, DSW and more housed here! As Columbusers, we need to be able to pronounce various designers' names with ease, to show the elevated and highly-cultured nature of our city. So, we begin, a lesson in fashion:
(Some you will be able to click on and actually hear an audio file, though it seems to only work for PC users)
(Designer Zac Posen and a women in one of his gowns at the Met Costume Gala)
Abaete (ah-BAY-uh-TAY)
Akris (ah-KREE)
Alessandro Dell' Acqua (al-less-SAN-DROH) (del-AH-kwa)
Alistair Carr (al-liss-STARE)
Amsale (AHM-sah-el)
Anna Sui (SWEE)
Ann Demeulemeester (DAY-moo-lah-MEE-stur)
Anya Hindmarch (AHN-yah) (HIND-mark)
Armani Prive (ar-mah-NEE) (pree-VAY)
Badgley Mischka (BADGE-lee) (MISH-kah)
Balenciaga (bah-LEN-see-AH-gah)
Behnaz Sarafpour (ben-NAZ) (sar-raf-POOR)
Bottega Veneta (BO-tay-gah) (VEN-net-tah)
Botkier (boh-KEE-yay)
Burberry Prorsum (BUR-bur-ree)(PROAR-sum)
Bvlgari (bal-GAR-ree)
Cacharel (KAH-sha-rel)
Carolina Herrera (CAR-roh-LEE-nah) (er-RARE-rah)
Cartier (car-tee-YAY)
Cesare Paciotti (kay-sar-rey) (pah-CHO-tee)
Chaiken (SHAY-ken)
Christian Audigier (aw-deh-JAY)
Commés de Garçon (comb-de-GAR-soh)
Dolce & Gabanna (dul-CHAY) (gah-BAH-nah)
Dries Van Noten (drees) (van-NO-ten)
Elie Tahari (ay-LEE) (tah-HAR-ree)
Elie Saab (ay-LEE) (SOB)
Emilio Pucci (em-MEE-lee-OH) (POO-chee)
Emanuel Ungaro (EE-man-yoo-WELL) (un-GAR-roh)
Ermenegildo Zegna (air-mey-ney-jil-doh) (ZANE-yah)
Etienne Aigner (ay-TEEYEN)
Etro (eh-TROE)
Façionnable (fah-sohn-NAH-BLAY)
Giambattista Valli (jee-ahm-BAH-TEEST-tah) (vah-LEE)
Giles (JYE-uls)
Goyard (go-YAR)
Guiseppe Zanotti (jess-SEP-PEE) (zah-NAH-tee)
Hedi Slimane (EDY) (slim-MAHN)
Helmut Lange (HEL-moot) (LAHNG)
Hussein Chalayan (HOO-sane) (SHA-lyon)
Iisli (iss-LAY)
Isaac Mizrahi (EYE-sick) (miz-RAH-HEE)
Isabella Fiore (fee-OR-rey)
Issey Miyake (IZZY) (mee-YAH-kee)
John Galliano (gah-LEE-ah-NOH)
John Varvatos (var-VAY-tows)
Junya Wantanabe (JUNE-yah) (wah-TAH-nah-BAY)
Karl Lagerfeld (LAH-GUR-feld)
Lanvin (LAHN-von)
Les Copains (LEY) (ko-PAH)
Loewe (low-EH-vey)
Longchamp (LAHNG-shamp)
Louis Vuitton (LOO-wee) (VWEE-tuhn)
Marchesa (mar-KAY-sah)
Marciano (mar-CHEE-ah-noh)
Manolo Blahnik (mah-NO-LOH) (BLAH-nick)
Missoni (miss-SOH-nee)
Miu Miu (mew-mew)
Monique Lhuillier (LOO-lee-YAY)
Moschino (moh-SKEE-noh)
Narciso Rodriguez (nar-SEE-SOH)
Nina Ricci (REE-chee)
Piaget (PEE-ah-JEY)
Piazza Sempione (pee-AT-zah) (ZEM-PEE-oh-nay)
Pierre Cardin (pee-AIR) (CAR-dahn)
Proenza Schouler (pro-EN-zah) (SKOOL-ler)
Rafe (RAH-fey)
Rochas (row-KAS)
Roberto Cavalli (kah-VAL-LEE)
Rodarte (ROW-dar-tay)
Roger Vivier (viv-vee-AY)
Roland Mouret (ROW-lan) (MOOR-ray)
Salvatore Ferragamo (sal-vah-TOOR-ray) (fair-rah-GAH-mo)
Sergio Rossi (SAIR-jee-oh) (RAH-see)
Sonia Rykiel (REE-kee-yell)
Swarovski (SWA-rav-skee)
Thakoon (TAH-koon)
Thierry Mugler (TEE-AIR-rey) (moo-GLAY)
Tissot (teh-SOH)
Trussardi (truss-SAR-dee)
Tuleh (TOO-lah)
Veronique Branquinho (vair-ron-NEEK) (BRAHN-kee-noh)
Versace (vair-SAH-chay)
Yves Saint Laurent (EEVES) (SANT) (LOOR-rah)
YSL Rive Gauche (RIV) (GOH-sh)
Zac Posen (ZAK) (POE-zen)
And after browsing the internet, I hope you'll see that my list here is the most comprehensive* and covers names that are not usually addressed in other posts. For example, everyone knows how to say Gucci, Fendi, Prada and Ralph Lauren. But if there's a designer that I haven't covered, PLEASE do leave a comment and let me know...I'll try to come up with the pronunciation for all of us.
*I have many more names that I would like to include, though I found it very very difficult to find the correct pronunciations on the internet. I will do my best to add as I go along, and find more designers to name here.
Share
No comments:
Post a Comment