Don’t call ‘Chanel’ ‘Channel’ – eurgh

Sitting on a sun lounger in a million degree heat, I came across an Instagram snap of how to pronounce designers names the CORRECT way (god forbid you pronounced ‘Chanel’ as ‘channel’!). It made me chuckle.

You can picture an innocent shopper walking into Hervé Léger and calling it Her-vee Leg-er much to the dismay of a snoopy shop assistant (we’ve all experienced a stuck-up employee who rolls her eyes as customers peer at a label and put the expensive cashmere top away…).

But really, who cares? Why does it matter if a brand name is pronounced incorrectly? Just because someone doesn’t know how to say Balmain correctly (refer to the dictionary above) it doesn’t mean they’re some uneducated fool. So, why are some people so judgemental when people say a brand name without paying attention to the ‘é’ or ‘è’? I mean, how many people know how to pronounce Gisele Bündchen correctly? I reckon about 37% of the population…if that (wild guess, guys, wild guess).

Anyway, when I came across this post I couldn’t help but laugh at the snobbyness of a handful of candidates in the industry. Some people condemn these designer (and break-the-bank) labels as having ridiculous names, which is understandable when you’re looking at an impossible long word with multiple accents. However, those that snigger when Marchesa is pronounced incorrectly need to have a reality check. There’s no need to think you’re better than everyone else just because you know Lanvin is pronounced as Lon-vaun.