Difficult Designer / Brand Pronunciation

[droogist]

Margiela is pronounced in 4 syllables: Mar-jhee-ell-a. I know a number of people who've worked for- and with him, and they all pronounce it that way, so I assume it's correct.

Oh, and yes, you pronounce the "z" at the end of Hermes.

[liberty33r1b]

^thanks for clearing that up. your version sounds most credible....

[StyleIsInUs]

great thread, but I still can't spell Balenciaga, perfectly perfect .... Ball-?-shshshsh?

[chris_daka]

Originally Posted by fashionista-ta

They pronounce it this way in his stores

People stop me pretty often and ask me who made my Christian Louboutin shoes. I pronounce it the French way (took French in college, pronunciation was the only bit that stuck ), and then they ask me to repeat it several times until apparently they get too embarrassed to ask again Perhaps if I pronounced it Loo-bootin (to rhyme with boot scootin')??

Now about Hermes ... I always thought it was Air-may ... that's wrong, there's a Z in there??

Hermes = Air-Mez

[Rachelle]

^ Oh how embarresing.....always pronounced it...Her-mas

[metal-on-metal]

Originally Posted by brian w

phonetically:
kaum days garsawn
(I think)

Close. More like COMB-DAY-GARSOHN (the DAY is not drawn out at all)

[Scott]

I always pronounce it Kom-deh-Gah-son(silent n)....

[Scott]

Originally Posted by droogist

Margiela is pronounced in 4 syllables: Mar-jhee-ell-a. I know a number of people who've worked for- and with him, and they all pronounce it that way, so I assume it's correct.

Yeah,that's how I heard everybody pronounce it when I was in Antwerpen as well. I got so used to this way now,the Marj-eela sounds quite odd to me

So by that,one can only assume it's of Italiano origins...hmmmm

[metal-on-metal]

Originally Posted by Scott

I always pronounce it Kom-deh-Gah-son(silent n)....

Even better. Though I'd slip in a very slight R sound to make it less over-the-top French.

[Scott]

^ I can't help it. I'm going to Paris with the intention of at least pronouncing things correctly. Or will the French find that a put-off too?

[chris_daka]

Originally Posted by Rachelle

^ Oh how embarresing.....always pronounced it...Her-mas

you're beautiful, though, so you have room to make mistakes!

[droogist]

Originally Posted by Scott

So by that,one can only assume it's of Italiano origins...hmmmm

You're right, it is. Margiela is originally from Genk, Belgium. A large percentage of Genk residents are of Italian descent, as during the first half of the 20th century, many Italians immigrated to the region in order to work in the then-thriving coal-mining industry. Just a little history...

[Scott]

Wow! I never knew that,actually! The only things I knew about Genk is that it's in Limburg and not far from Hasselt....and the former home of MMM and Inge Grognard

[Sunkist]

Though I'd slip in a very slight R sound to make it less over-the-top French

Good call...As someone who works with a lot of Europeans, I'd say the biggest mistake people make when pronouncing foreign names is overcomplicating them or sounding too "over-the-top" and therefore unnatural. Sure, make an effort to pronounce names correctly and accent the right syllables, but don't feel bad about still using your "natural" voice.

[travis_nw8]

spanish leather company Loewe is often mispronounced..what is the correct way- i've been told is low-a-vay (?)