THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO PRONOUNCING FASHION BRANDS

How do you pronounce Louis Vuitton? Is the E silent in Rodarte? Your most pertinent pronunciation queries resolved.

Anna Sui

Correct pronunciation: ah-na swee. The ‘ui’ is pronounced like a ‘w’.

Balmain

Correct pronunciation: bal-MAH-n. Refrain from placing too much emphasis on the ‘n’ sound, as ‘n’ should be pronounced softly in French names like Balmain and Lanvin. This is not to be pronounced like the Sydney suburb, ‘Balmain’.

Christian Lacroix

Correct pronunciation: kris-ti-an luh-kwa. ‘Lacroix’ is French, so the ‘r’ is pronounced like a ‘w’ and the ‘x’ is silent.

Comme Des Garçons

Correct pronunciation: comb dey gar-SON. The ‘n’ is pronounced softly and ‘s’ is silent.

Dior Homme

Correct pronunciation: dee-OAR om. The ‘h’ is silent.

Dries Van Noten

Correct pronunciation: dreeze van not-en. The ‘s’ is pronounced like a ‘z’ sound, like the ‘s’ in ‘ease’.

Givenchy

Correct pronunciation: jee-VOHN-shee. The ‘G’ is soft and the ‘i’ in French has a more rounded pronunciation. The ‘ch’ is pronounced soft, like ‘chaise’ rather than ‘chair’. In French, the emphasis is placed on the second syllable (in this case, ‘ven’).

Hermès

Correct pronunciation: ehr-mez. Hermès is French, so the ‘h’ is silent. While usually in French if a word ends in ‘s’ it is silent, the grave accent on the second ‘e’ means that the ‘s’ is very softly pronounced.

Hervé Léger

Correct pronunciation: ehr-VAY ley-JAY. As with Hermès, the ‘h’ is silent. In French, the ‘r’ in ‘er’ is not pronounced — instead it helps to soften the ‘e’. As with the aforementioned rule about emphasis on the second syllable of each word, the ‘vé’ and ‘ger’ needs a slight emphasis when pronounced. The ‘g’ is pronounced soft in French when preceding an ‘e’.

Jean Paul Gaultier

Correct pronunciation: JHON Paul GOH-t-ay. To help with pronunciation, remember that ‘Jean’ is the French equivalent of ‘John’. The ‘l’ in ‘Gaultier’ is silent and the ‘t’ is relatively short.

Lanvin

Correct pronunciation: lohn-vahn. The ‘lan’ is not to be pronounced as in English but more like a soft ‘lon’ sound. The ‘vin’ is pronounced slightly shorter and sharper than the first. The ‘n’, like in ‘Balmain’ is soft. The two ‘n’s in Lanvin are meant to be only softly pronounced.

Loewe

Correct pronunciation: Lo-EE-vay. Although it is a Spanish brand, the name is German (it was started by a German craftsman, Enrique Roessberg Loewe). In German, the ‘w’ is pronounced as a ‘v’.

Louis Vuitton

Correct pronunciation: lou-ee VWEE-tah-n (soft ‘n’). Remember — silent ‘s’!

Marchesa

Correct pronunciation: mar-KAY-sah. The name is taken after an Italian socialite, which explains why the ‘c’ is hard and the ‘h’ is silent.

Monique Lhuillier

Correct pronunciation: mo-NEEK loo-lee-air.

Moschino

Correct pronunciation: moss-KEY-no. The ‘c’ has a hard sound, like a ‘k’ (like ‘ski’) and the ‘h’ is silent.

Nicholas Ghesquière

Correct pronunciation: NEE-ko-la GUESS-key-air. The ‘s’ in Nicholas is silent because it is the last letter in the world. ‘Qui’ is pronounced as ‘key’ in French and ‘ere’ is pronounced like ‘air’.

Olivier Theyskens

Correct pronunciation: o-LIV-ee-air TAY-sken-s. The ‘t’ is hard and the ‘h’ is silent.

Proenza Schouler

Correct pronunciation: pro-enza SKOO-ler (again, a hard ‘c’ sound and a silent ‘h’). The ‘ch’ is pronounced similarly to the ‘ch’ in ‘school’.

Rochas

Correct pronunciation: row-SHAH. The ‘s’ is silent.

Rodarte

Correct pronunciation: row—DAR-tay. The ‘e’ is pronounced, making it a three syllable word.

Saint Laurent

Correct pronunciation: san lor-RAUN. Again, remember the silent ‘t’ in French. For the designer, ‘Yves’ is pronounced ‘eeves’.

Schiaparelli

Correct pronunciation: SCAP-a-reli. The ‘c’ has a hard sound, and the ‘h’ is silent, like with Moschino.

Thakoon

Correct pronunciation: tuh-KOON. ‘T’ is hard with a silent ‘h’.

Vionnet

Correct pronunciation: vee-oh-nay. The ‘t’ is silent, but since it comes after the ‘e’, it means the ‘e’ needs to be pronounced.

Zegna

Correct pronunciation: ZANE-ya. The ‘g’ is mostly silent.