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How to say 'Louis Vuitton' and other designers' names
louis vuitton outlet onlineThe hyper-critical gaze of fashionistas around the world focuses on Britain this week for London Fashion Week. But if you're planning to venture an opinion on whether Alexa Chung's liking for long skirts will spark a wider trend, you'd better be able to pronounce the names of the top designers.It's what separates the dedicated followers of fashion from the casual observers - whether you say Louis Vwee-ton or Louis Vee-ton, or even Lewis Vee-ton.The international nature of the world of fashion can sometimes complicate researching fashion-related pronunciation for the BBC Pronunciation Unit. Our policy for company names is, where possible, to recommend the pronunciation the company itself prefers.However, if there is a fashion house with multiple corporate offices around the world (such as Milan, Paris, New York and Tokyo), pronunciations used within the company itself can sometimes differ across languages.Another point for us to consider is that many companies are named after a particular individual's name, and the pronunciation of the name itself and the company are not necessarily always the same.With foreign names in general, we consider the opinion of the speakers of the relevant languages and ask them how they pronounce it in the original language and how they might expect it to be anglicised.For company names, we then consult official sources, such as press offices at the company's headquarters, to enquire about their preferred pronunciation. We also speak to boutiques of the brands in this country to see if there are any established anglicisations that the brands go by in the UK.
louis vuitton outlet online storeA mouthful (All the pronunciations given below are written in BBC Text spelling; stressed syllables in upper case, -uh as "a" in ago.)An example of this is the pronunciation of the fashion house Balenciaga. Balenciaga is named after its founder, Basque designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. He was widely know in Spain by the Spanish pronunciation of his name, bal-en-thi-AA-guh (-th as in thin, -aa as in father). The company is now owned by a French company, so a gallicised pronunciation is also a possibility.After speaking to the corporate offices in Paris and the boutique in London, we found the company itself prefers the pronunciation bal-en-si-AA-guh (-s as in sit) in English language contexts.Miu Miu, part of the Prada fashion house empire, is pronounced MYOO-myoo (-my as in music, -oo as in boot). Other Italian designers with names that can be a mouthful include Ermenegildo Zegna, pronounced air-men-uh-JIL-doh ZEN-yuh (-air as in hair, -j as in Jack, -y as in yes), Giambattista Valli, pronounced jam-bat-EE-stuh VAL-i (-j as in Jack, -al as in pal), Francesco Scognamiglio, pronounced fran-CHESS-koh skon-yam-EEL-yoh (-y as in yes) and Gianfranco Ferre, pronounced jan-FRANK-oh ferr-AY (-j as in Jack, -ay as in say).Designers based in Paris include Christian Lacroix, pronounced kreest-YAA(NG) laa-KRWAA (-aa(ng) as in French blanc, -aa as in father), Lebanese designer Elie Saab, pronounced ELL-i SAAB (-aa as in father) and influential Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto, whose name is pronounced YOH-ji yam-uh-MOH-toh (-oh as in no, -j as in Jack, -established anglicisation).
louis vuitton outlet storeThe French fashion powerhouse Louis Vuitton is sometimes anglicised as LOO-i VWEE-ton by some native English speakers, but we recommend the company's own preferred pronunciation, LWEE vwee-TO(NG) (-w as in wet, -o(ng) as in French bon).American designers Anna Sui, pronounced, AN-uh SWEE, Isaac Mizrahi, pronounced IGH-zuhk miz-RAA-hi (-aa as in father), and Ralph Lauren, pronounced RALF LORR-uhn (-orr as in sorry), are familiar faces at London Fashion Week.And finally, here are the pronunciations of some of our own British designers: Jaeger is pronounced YAY-guhr (-y as in yes, -ay as in say) and Hussein Chalayan is pronounced huuss-AYN chuh-LIGH-uhn (-uu as in book, -ay as in say, -igh as in high).Seven men have been jailed for a bid to smuggle cocaine with a street value of ￡4.5m through Heathrow Airport.The men were part of a gang which hired baggage workers to help smuggle 12kg of cocaine from Brazil in September 2009.Mark Oliver, 30, Malcolm Bax, 31, Andrew Robinson, 46, and Michael Hopkins, 51, were found guilty of knowingly importing the drugs.Anthony Rouse, 53, Charles Oliver, 29, and Anthony Cenci, 24, admitted to the same charges at Croydon Crown Court. Mark Oliver was previously convicted and jailed for stealing three Louis Vuitton suitcases belonging to Victoria Beckham in 2001. The luggage, containing designer clothes and items worth ￡90,000, had gone missing at the airport.It was later found at the back of his van and a jury found the former binman guilty of handling stolen goods.
louis vuitton handbags outletHe was sentenced to 15 months in a young offenders' institution.Orange suitcase Rouse, of Addison Way, Uxbridge, who is unemployed, was the mastermind who carried out the crime with the help of brothers Mark and Charles Oliver, both unemployed, who knew people in a baggage handling company at the airport, Metropolitan Police said.The Class A drugs were imported from Brazil on 27 September 2009 on board a flight to London Heathrow and placed in a large orange suitcase.Det Insp Robert Boggon, from the Serious and Organised Crime Command, said: "More than ￡4m worth of cocaine, which was no doubt bound for London's streets and beyond, has been removed from circulation. "We work tirelessly to keep drugs off the streets by bringing criminals like these to justice."Rouse was jailed for 13 years, while Mark Oliver, of Poplar Road, Ashford, was jailed for 19 years, his brother Charles Oliver, of Clare Road, Staines, was jailed for 12 years.Malcolm Bax, of Clandon Avenue, Egham, who was a supervisor at an airport baggage unit, was jailed for 15 years.Andrew Robinson, an unemployed man, of Worple Avenue, Staines, was jailed for 13 years.Michael Hopkins, who is unemployed, of De Havilland Way, Staines, was jailed for nine years while Anthony Cenci, a baggage handler of Bower Way, Cippenham, Slough, was jailed for 10 years.
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