I love commercials and advertisements. In Japan, you couldn’t help but learn to love them, as they only got progressively weirder throughout my years there. And, when visiting the United States (and even now), I still love to watch the commercials on cable TV.

Perhaps it just invokes the nostalgic feelings of the excitement of travel I felt when I was younger, but especially in fashion, the campaigns have increased in creativity levels by tenfold as the landscape and concepts of fame, popularity and celebrity have evolved.

The latest one I particularly enjoyed was Loewe’s “Decades of Confusion” campaign starring Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy. 

In the video, Plaza is at a spelling bee, moderated by Levy, in which she only has to spell one word: Loewe. The catch, though, lies in how the brand’s name is actually pronounced (lo-weh-ve). As four different versions of Plaza — one from the ‘70s, ’80s, the ’90s (which wore a Loewe Amazona bag) and a 2024 version donning the brand’s Fall/Winter 2022 collection — failed to spell out the word, it reminded me of a fun twist on the iconic 2018 Versace tribute, in which the whole video featured models saying the word “Versace.” In the full campaign, though, models lined up whispering into each other’s ears until finally Gigi Hadid turned to the camera and said, “It’s Versace (ver-sa-che), not Versace (ver-sa-chee).”

It’s weird, though, that pronunciation of brands has become such a large part of the luxury fashion world. Although some are very hard to initially guess the pronunciation if you don’t speak the language of the brand’s origin, such as Jacquemus, Loewe, Saint Laurent or Givenchy, I wonder if part of it also comes down to respect.

Discussions about respect and effort go hand in hand with names that are difficult to pronounce, which in our demographic means non-English names. Actress Uzo Aduba, who has won Emmys and a SAG award for “Orange is the New Black” and “Mrs. America,” shared on X, formerly known as Twitter,  that when initially wanting to change her Nigerian name to something “easier to pronounce,” her mother told her: “If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky, Dostoyevsky, & Michelangelo, they can learn to say Uzoamaka.” 

It’s odd, though, because when looking at the names above, it seems that learning these names and indoctrination into dinner room conversations comes with status and prestige. People and phrases such as “Ptolemy” and “je ne sais quoi,” despite their international origins, haven’t stopped people from correcting our pronunciation of the words.

So, then, why can’t we get the names of fashion houses right? 

It is almost as if our stubbornness has been supplemented for correctness, as what we sound out in our heads has to be right unless proven otherwise. I can’t help but think about when I would pronounce Margiela wrong, or when Elizabeth Berkley confidently pronounced Versace as “ver-sayce” in the film “Showgirls” (1995) — even if it was intentional for her character. 

I can almost guarantee that not a day goes by where we don’t see, think or hear the name of a luxury fashion brand. I believe the level of respect these houses don’t get with the care applied to the pronunciation and honoring of their name is because the general industry they are placed in has tiers that are appreciated with respect. 

Clothing companies and shopping habits all differ in tiers as people view fashion in three main ways: a necessity (clothing itself), a business (clothes as a value) and an art (clothes as expression). 

While style breakdowns happen under each category, it is not as distinct as art which often exists in the same plane, but only differs according to author rather than industry interpretation. For example, we think of it as postmodern, renaissance or contemporary versus “home art,” “DIY-able” or “for museum use only.” 

This is similar to why the names behind the brands are more often forgotten if the designer isn’t creating for their own label. Of course, it is obviously easier to remember “Jeremy Scott” rather than “Jeremy Scott for Moschino,” and yet, this attribution still flies out the window when the name is non-American. Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini is designed by Lorenzo Serafini, but the length and “complexity” of the name often means a brush off of attributing its complexity to its international status and an assumption of a brand name. 

I’m not calling for a twice-yearly exam on fashion houses and pronunciation, but I am asking you to be more mindful. These names have gotten to their status for a reason — and even if they hadn’t, something as simple as correct pronunciation is something everyone deserves.

To be noticed is something that we take for granted, because we don’t tend to crave attention, but rather appreciation. The world hears you and echoes out what you have to say, so speak with care, with love and with intent. 

Hadyn Phillips is a junior writing about fashion in the 21st century, specifically spotlighting new trends and popular controversy. Her column, “That’s Fashion, Sweetie,” runs every Wednesday.