“Are you f*****g kidding me? There’s a W in there?!”
Yes, Loewe is spelled with a w but pronounced with a v. Say it with me, lo-weh-vay. Not loew, loh-weh-wee, or loo.
A surprise for many, myself included, and even those who have walked the runway for the Spanish fashion house, pronouncing Loewe does not come easily—so much so that the brand has produced and put out several campaigns and videos in hopes to get people to finally say it right.
The brand’s latest attempt to set the record straight is a short film titled “Decades of Confusion.”
Directed by Ally Pankiw, written by Dan Levy, and with creative direction from Jonathan Anderson, the two-and-a-half-minute short stars Levy and “The White Lotus” star Aubrey Plaza in a spelling bee for the ages.
Set in 1971, 1986, 1995, and the present day, the film showcases how pronouncing Loewe has been a recurring problem throughout the decades. In fact, they could have titled it to “Centuries of Confusion” if they wanted to, given that the brand was founded in 1846 (they are after all LVMH’s oldest luxury fashion house).
The pair is also transformed into characters representing each decade through the help of several Loewe archive pieces, and wigs from award-winning hair stylist Michelle Ceglia.
In the film, Plaza is seemingly stumped as Levy, the contest judge, presents her with an unlikely word lo-weh-vay—which she continuously butchers to his dismay. Fed up with each mistaken pronunciation, Levy’s character spells it out as L-O-E-W-E, to which Plaza says, “Are you f*****g kidding me? There’s a W in there?!” Same.
On that note, other fashion houses such as Jacquemus and Givenchy, and brands like L’Occitane and Schwarzkopf might consider releasing their own pronunciation guides.
“Wigs, buzzers, iconic fashion, and wrong answers. Written by Dan Levy, our latest film stars Dan himself and Aubrey Plaza in a one-of-a-kind spelling bee.”
Watch the full film below:
