Depressed rich kids, Hum, Liberal Youth Ministry, Funguys, 99% IS-, Croak Monsieur, Rototo… Behind these confusing names, it’s hard to imagine that fashion companies are hidden. And yet, they all refer to ready-to-wear or jewelry brands. Faced with the exponential number of labels, collections, fashion shows, finding a good idea to stand out has become the cross and the banner.
If naming your brand with the name of its creator was once the norm in the industry, the mood is more for puns or surprise effects. “The best possible publicity for a label is the interest it arouses and the conversations it sparks. It must arouse curiosity, be the starting point for discussions,” explains Olivier Auroy, who himself knew how to find the right word to define his profession. At the head of an agency namingthe latter appears as “onomaturge”, one who makes words or names things.
A pioneer in the genre, Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo named her brand Comme des Garcons in 1971. This expression inspired Dany Dos Santos and Maxime Schwab, two self-taught designers from Dijon, when they were looking for a name for their chic streetwear brand. “Funny gentleman appeared to us quite naturally. We were looking for something in the vein of Comme des Garcons or Acne Studios, because we didn’t want to use our own names. We were just starting out in the industry and we didn’t really feel legitimate ten years ago as designers. It was therefore difficult for us to display our surnames, underlines Dany Dos Santos. Along the same lines, our slogan “Not from Paris Madame” arouses interest among our customers. »
“There can be a form of humility among certain designers who refuse to use their name, but also a need to protect themselves, because today we are very exposed on social networks,” says Olivier Auroy. Others have also learned their lesson and are not ready to see their baptismal name, which has become a brand, slip away from them (which can happen, particularly in the event of resale). The stylist Hervé Léger or the former shoe designer Karine Arabian, to name a few, have had the bitter experience.
A little something that bothers
A new generation therefore prefers to play the card of derision or second degree, often banishing in the process any idea of glamour, like the Japanese sock company Rototo or the American ready-to-wear label Troglodyte Homunculus. “For a brand name to be effective, it must be easily remembered, but there is no miracle recipe… If we smile when we hear the word, we generally remember it,” advances the onomaturge, who recently gave the name Perpète to a brand of sustainable children’s clothing.
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