Mercibeaucoup which should actually be two words, merci beaucoup, is French for 'Thank you very much', but also the name of a Japanese retail fashion label which seems to have quite a fanbase in Hong Kong because of its ridiculous priced 'adult-baby' clothing. I imagine that when a French person views this store name, they see it as 'Thankyouverymuch'; aside from being shocked by the appalling grammar, they'd likely be insulted that this brand, of what basically amounts to clown clothing, should associate itself with French culture, which traditionally has been at the forefront of fashion history.If we're to learn anything from all the mistakes made in fashion during the 80's, it should be that if it looks like a lemon, then it probably is a lemon. A decade later, people were burning those embarrassing photographs of themselves in fluorescent leg-warmers and mile-wide shoulder-pads; ten years from now, entire Facebook photo albums will mysteriously disappear. Well, some people never learn, and they continue to thankyouverymuch to those who will gladly accept cash or credit card for those overpriced lemons.
Though, I'm willing to admit that I could be wrong, and vomit patterned dropped-crotch clown pants might be the pivotal ground-breaking turning point in fashion history. Nevermind Alexander McQueen, we're talking Eri Utsugi, the founder and lead designer of Mercibeaucoup, who uses inspiration from anime and manga for her designs. Now I confess that I'm not a big fan of the anime genre of comics, of which, nowadays, primarily attracts teenagers and asian business men, who have a mental age of fourteen, with rainbow coloured renderings of pre-pubescent doe-eyed superheroines with big boobs and men that look like women. While Alexander McQueen was influenced by world culture and historical fashions, Eri Utsugi studied Japanese comic-books (and possibly some Hentai during her spare time).
It would be unfair to compare Alexander McQueen to Eri Utsugi, because undoubtedly Eri Utsugi is a genius ahead of her time, and with a concept to rival Einstein's Theory of Relativity in complexity. The concept found on the Mercibeaucoup website, reads thus:
Brand Concept
purely, happliy, beautifully. mercibeaucoup,
neat and proper, but with some fun.
do have something to say, but never with airs put on.
mercibeaucoup,
in the name, we show our dedication
never to forget, but everyday cherish,
the precious feeling of appreciation and thank
BAAAAM! Take that McQueen!
