What's in a Brand Name?

Prada, Marni, Dior, Chanel—the names roll off your tongue. It seems that a successful fashion brand requires a name that's rhythmically quick and easily remembered. However, a slew of young up-market labels have arrived with nearly unpronounceable names that challenge branding conventions yet still aim to become fashion bywords.

Derercuny, an Italian label led by designer Mina Lee, is part of Cheil Industries, the textile division of electronics giant Samsung; small wonder that its name conjures up a hi-tech gadget rather than the intricate detailing it's known for. Mina Lee, who came up with the name Derercuny, says, "I don't believe it [the name] will impact it negatively at all. If anything I think it will make people who are unfamiliar with our label a little curious."

6267, another unexpected brand name, gives off a cold, clinical air that contrasts sharply with the label's critically acclaimed, old-world craftsmanship. The name of Afghan-British designer Osman Yousefzada, meanwhile, sounds a bit like that of a far-flung, exotic hotel, which doesn't quite suit his punchy colorful shift dresses.

Some Italian names are seemingly readymade for luxury brands—Versace, Gucci, Armani—but not so for emerging Milanese designer Francisco Scognamiglio. The moniker may sound like the imagined name of a dashing boyfriend, but those g's would leave you too tongue-tied to properly introduce him.

Part of London Fashion Week's New Generation, an initiative that supports up-and-coming labels, Meadham Kirchhoff is a talented womenswear label by Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff, but their conjoined name sounds more like a law firm than a label. Another New Generation participant is 25-year-old Krystof Strozyna, whose skillful, voluminous renderings of stiff fabrics remind us of Nicolas Ghesquière—his name, however, sounds like it belongs to a Siberian supermodel.

But could designers' verbally cumbersome names really affect their path towards brand stardom? Most brand strategists agree that the best measure of success is when a brand name, technically a noun, can function smoothly as an adjective: e.g., "Prada bag," "Gucci shirt." It's a little more awkward to say "Demeulemeester bag" or "Chalayan shirt," but it's beginning to work. When a brand name, however strange, can break this grammatical rule and easily transform into a descriptive, you know it's hot.

—Robert Cordero