Every now and then, a fashion house/label will alter its name in an attempt to propel the company’s success. Some changes are done to clear up confusion, like when Ralph Lauren discarded “Polo” at the beginning of its name; while others simply use the modification as a way to mark a new era, similar to when Yves Saint Laurent got rid of the “Yves,” or when Maison Martin Margiela dropped “Maison."
Whatever the reason, these alterations are bound to occur. But how common are name changes really? Perhaps some of our favorite design houses and labels had completely different titles when they were initiated.
Well, thanks to i-D magazine we now have some insight. The publication recently did some digging to find out the origins of our favorite brand names and how they evolved over time. Some of the findings are a bit surprising, while others will finally answer some questions.
Acne Studios
In 1996, a group of Stockholm artists developed a creative collective called “Ambition to Create Novel Expressions.” Though the group initially focused on film, production, advertising, and graphic design, it eventually separated into standalone companies that used the acronym of the collective’s title. You had Acne Film, Acne Advertising, and the most popular entity, Acne Studios.
Burberry
Founded by Thomas Burberry in 1856, the British luxury label was originally known as, well, “Burberry.” However, many patrons kept referring to the store as “Burberrys of London,” which persuaded the fashion house’s owners to switch the name to “Burberrys.” After the Knight Logo was implemented in 1901, the label added the Latin word “Prorsum” (meaning "forward") to its name. Over a century later, Burberry Prorsum is now known as the company’s high-fashion label helmed by Christopher Bailey.
Yohji Yamamoto
At the beginning of his career, Yohji Yamamoto didn’t use his name for a label. In fact, it wasn’t until his 1981 Paris debut that the Japanese designer revealed his collection under his name. Before then, he was creating collections under the label “Y’s.”
Balenciaga
Throughout its 100-year history, Balenciaga has never abandoned the name of its founder, Cristobal Balenciaga. However, when Nicolas Ghesquière took over as the house’s creative director, he insisted on adding his name to the French fashion house, thus becoming “Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière.”
Balenciaga went back to its original name after Ghesquière was replaced by Alexander Wang in 2012,
Ralph Lauren
Since its inception in 1967, Ralph Lauren has become one of the most recognizable and celebrated labels in fashion. But where did the titled “Ralph Lauren” come from? Isn’t it the name of the company’s founder/designer? Well, yes and no. When Ralph was just 16-years-old, he decided to change his name from something much less embarrassing: Lifshitz.
Do we really need to explain his reasoning?
Saint Laurent
This is probably one of the most controversial name modifications in fashion history.
When Hedi Slimane took over as creative director in 2012, one of his first decisions was to drop “Yves” from “Yves Saint Laurent.” Needless to say, people were pissed. Paris boutique Colette even released a parody graphic tee that read “Ain't Laurent Without Yves.” But despite the backlash, Slimane insisted the change was inspired by Yves himself, who launched a 1966 ready-to-wear line called "Saint Laurent Rive Gauche.”
To read the full list of brand name origins, head over to i-D magazine’s website.
[via i-D]
