Andy South, who made the final three on Project Runway in season 8 is now a woman. On his Facebook page, Andy has changed his sex from a man to a woman and she is now known as Nong Ariyaphon Southipong. So, Nong South? I think that would work better for fashion. She can have a big NS logo. I wonder though if she should stay with the name Andy. There are other Andy's who are female although maybe not spelled the same. Andy became for face his fashion. People know that name so to change genders is great, but maybe not changing the name. It is kind of like Prince had to still tell everyone that symbol used to be Prince because if you saw the symbol with no explanation, would you buy it? No, because you didn't know that symbol used to be Prince. Same with Andy. You might buy something from Andy South but are you going to buy something from a woman who has a different name that you have never heard of without the explanation that it is Andy? Probably not.
That's great and all, but I just can't with that name. Is that Tagalog for "Pretentious Self-absorbed Ahhhh-tiste"?
ReplyDeleteHe's Laotian, and Nong Ariyaphon Southiphong resembles most Lao names. Thai & Lao have very long names, while Khmer & Vietnamese, like Chinese, are much shorter.
DeleteInternet sources from around the time he was on ProjRun say his actual name is Andrew Southiphong. It's possible that, like many Asian immigrants, he had been using a Westernized given name, maybe since childhood, and that he shortened his last name to South as a branding thing. It's also possible that his birth name was Nong Ariyaphon Southiphong.
Trademarks.justia.com says that his registered trademark for his Honolulu-based brand is Andy South. The logo, which is "Andy South" in all caps, is registered as of this past week.
Sounds more like Thai, actually.
ReplyDeleteI think in thai it means that this name will forever be copied and pasted.
ReplyDeleteBottom of the barrel, Enty?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking Thai, but Tagalog is more fun to type. :)
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who had trouble reading this paragraph? It looks like Enty accidentally the entire alphabet and puked it onto the screen.
ReplyDelete"Andy became for face his fashion."
ReplyDeleteWhat?
If the clothes are cute and in my price range, I don't care which name is on it. Except Tommy Hilfiger. I stand strong on my Tommy Hilfiger boycott.
ReplyDelete@FSP, think you nailed it.
ReplyDelete@Vicki: The word is pronounced "Tah-GAH-Loh," but somehow I always confused it with the Girl Scout cookies and pronounced it "Tag-a-log" until a Filipino friend corrected me.
ReplyDeleteShe looks like a prettier Kim Kardashian & @Cara I was lost halfway through also.
ReplyDeleteWhy the Tommy Hilfiger boycott @discoflux?
ReplyDeleteI hope she's a guest judge on season 10!!
ReplyDeletekatsm0711 - Because his clothes are excruciatingly tacky.
ReplyDeleteRobert, I was pronouncing it like the cookies, until I saw an episode of NCIS a long time ago and Ducky pronounced it correctly.
ReplyDeleteOK I'm going to fess up - I had no idea that "Tagalog" was pronounced "Ta-GAH-loh". I always assumed they were two separate things. The more you knoooow!
ReplyDeleteHe looks like Julie Chen.
ReplyDeleteShe's Laotian, not Filipino.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but she is one ugly chick! There are make over computer programs to see what you'll look like with a new nose.
ReplyDeleteI think Nong phon pong is catchier
I didn't know how to pronouce it correctly either. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteI've always pronounced it like the cookie. And I probably still will, because I will forget how to properly pronounce it within the next three minutes.
ReplyDeleteI don't wear clothes by designers who use fur. Other than that, I don't care who makes a product. If I like it and can afford it, I buy it.
Oh, I loved her stuff on PR. And I can still see Andy in there too. I remember when Tim did her home visit; he was unimpressed with the, shall we say, rustic ways her people kept (if I remember correctly, they're fish farmers). I don't think Tim had ever waded through grass that high before. =D
ReplyDeleteI hope this works out for her; Andy is one of my all-time favorite contestants and I hope now that she is at peace with herself she can really be successful.
I remember when she was on PR, she was from Hawaii, if I remember correctly. Very talented and was one of the runner ups. She should have just changed her name to Andi with an "i".
ReplyDeleteSeason 8. That was the season that my darling Mondo lost to Wretchen.
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ReplyDeleteThat may have been the worst season of PR ever. Everyone Mean Grrrled on Michael Costello, Mondo lost, Gretchen won. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteshe is laotian and those names are quite common there.
ReplyDeleteI imagine this was more about the whole process of evolving from male to female than what the best name would be for fashion.
I never watched PR again after that season. Mondo should have won, but I would have been perfectly okay with Andy or Michael C. winning. Wretchen? I never forgave the judges!
ReplyDeleteKamil and Mango, thanks! I was drawing a blank on which contestant he was until your descriptions.
ReplyDeleteIf this makes him/her happy....good.
That name isn't very catchy but maybe it holds some meaning or is something from the family?
"I remember when Tim did her home visit; he was unimpressed with the, shall we say, rustic ways her people kept"
ReplyDeleteWow, I remember it the exact opposite - I thought Tim seemed really interested in their lives, and impressed with what they did.