Advertisement

16 Of The Most Frequently Mispronounced Fashion Brands

Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Jourdan Dunn at a Balmain show.
Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Jourdan Dunn at a Balmain show.

It can be pretty embarrassing mispronouncing the names of some of the biggest influencers in the fashion industry.

However, to be fair, the spelling of the majority of them can be very deceptive, with many people left thinking they may need a lesson in fashion pronunciation to get them right.

RELATED: Can You Guess Who The Most Talked About Model Of Fashion Week Was?
RELATED: Blake Lively Labelled 'Rude' For Crossing Her Legs At Fashion Week

Often, getting those names to roll off the tongue can be daunting but fear not as we've compiled a list of 16 of the most frequently mispronounced words in the fashion industry and the proper way to say them to avoid any slip-ups.

1. Zara

To hear that we had been saying Zara wrong our whole lives was a shocker. If, like us, you thought the proper way to say the Spanish department store name was Zah-Rah, then think again, as apparently it's pronounced Dzah-Dah. We know, it's mind blowing. In the northern region of Spain, 'z's are pronounced with a soft "th" and 'r's are closer to 'd's.

2. Balmain

Not to be confused with the Sydney suburb of Balmain, the label favoured by Kendall Jenner and the Kardashians should be pronounced bal-MAH-n. The trick is to not focus on placing emphasis on the ‘n’ sound, as ‘n’ should be pronounced very softly, nearly leaving it silent.

3. Manolo Blahnik

The shoe brand may look quite tricky to say at first glance but if you break it down, it's pretty simple. Pronounced muh-NO-low BLAH-nick, the 'an' should be said like 'uh. Anderson Cooper is sure not forget this one after being corrected on the pronunciation on live television by none other than Sarah Jessica Parker.

Zara is pronounced Dzah-Dah
Zara is pronounced Dzah-Dah

4. Bvlgari

Pronounced BUHL-guh-ree, we could see how this one could definitely be a hum-dinger if you haven't heard it before. It's all about the 'v' being treated as a 'u' here and pronouncing the 'a' as a soft 'u'.

5. Givenchy

The fashion house, which originated in Paris, is pronounced jee-VOHN-shee. The 'gi' becomes a 'jee', the 'ven' is treated as a 'von' and just think of Cher when you say the 'ch' and sheep when you say 'shee'. Got it?

6. Adidas

The popular sports brand is commonly pronounced 'AH-dee-das,' but in fact should be 'a-DEE-das' with the emphasis on the second syllable.

7. Nike

How could you say this sports brand's name wrong you're probably thinking. Well, it's pronounced 'ni-key' not 'nyke.' Duh!

Hermes runway show at Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2016/2017. Photo: Getty Images
Hermes runway show at Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2016/2017. Photo: Getty Images

8. Hermes

The French fashion label that specialises in leather goods is sometimes pronounced 'her-meez', but should actually be referred to as 'air-mez'.

9. Hublot

The Swiss luxury watchmaker may read as 'hub-lot', the correct way to pronounce the name is 'oo-blow.'

10. TAG Heuer

Not a hard mistake to make, the Swiss watch brand should be pronounced ‘tag haw-yer’ not ‘tag hew-air.’

11. Miu Miu

Some say ‘mee-oo mee-oo’ but you don't want to say that, rather you should be pronouncing their bags as ‘mew-mew.’

12. Louis Vuitton

We weren't born speaking French but you shouldn't get this one wrong. It's ‘loo-ee vi-ton’ not ‘’loo-ee vee-ton’

Cate Blanchett at the Volez, Voguez, Voyagez Louis Vuitton exhibition in Japan. Photo: Getty Images
Cate Blanchett at the Volez, Voguez, Voyagez Louis Vuitton exhibition in Japan. Photo: Getty Images

13. Yves Saint Laurent

Another easy one to mix up, the French fashion house should be referred to as `eve san loh-ron’ not ‘eves saint loh-rent.’

14. Balenciaga

The Spanish designer label born in the Basque Country should be pronounced as it looks, no need to think about it too much, say ‘bah-len-see-ah-gah’ instead of ‘bah-len-chee-aga.’ Besides, it's Spanish not Italian!

15. Jean Paul Gaultier

Mr Jean Paul wants you to say ‘zhon paul go-tee-ay’ not ‘jeen paul gol-tee-er.’

16. Moschino

Ah! That's how you pronounce it! ‘Moss-key-no’ not ‘moss-chee-no.’ Got it!