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The syllabus of style: how Duolingo and Megan O'Cain are decoding luxury at New York Fashion Week. In a move that blends the pedagogical rigor of language acquisition with the high-octane aesthetic of the runway, Duolingo, the world's most downloaded education app, has unveiled an unconventional collaboration for New York Fashion Week (NYFW). Partnering with designer Megan O'Cain - a standout talent from the second season of Next in Fashion - the brand has introduced a capsule collection titled "Phonetic Fashion." The seven-piece collection serves as a wearable masterclass in linguistics, transforming the often-intimidating nomenclature of luxury fashion houses into accessible phonetic guides. By merging classic silhouettes with playful, education-focused typography, the collaboration seeks to demystify the elite world of high fashion, proving that learning can be as stylish as it is informative. The core concept: decoding the runway. The "Phonetic Fashion" collection is more than just a marketing stunt; it is a conceptual project designed to address a common cultural insecurity: the fear of mispronouncing the names of iconic design houses. From Loewe to Comme des Garçons, the names of luxury brands often serve as gatekeepers, creating an air of exclusivity that can feel alienating to the uninitiated. Duolingo's approach was to turn these "hard-to-pronounce" names into the primary design element of the garments. Utilizing embroidery, puff paint, 3D printing, and distressing, O'Cain has emblazoned the phonetic spellings of these labels across tailored sportswear and accessories. The result is a collection that feels simultaneously high-fashion and irreverent - a signature balance for the Duolingo brand, which is known for its meme-centric social media presence and "unhinged" corporate persona. Chronology of a collaboration. The genesis of this partnership began with a desire to bridge the gap between classroom-style learning and the global cultural phenomenon of Fashion Week. * Phase 1: Research and Insight: Duolingo commissioned a study via YouGov, surveying 2,600 American adults to gauge their confidence - and accuracy - regarding the pronunciation of luxury brands. The results were telling: while 62% of respondents claimed confidence in pronouncing "Hermès," only 15% were actually correct. Similar gaps were found for names like Jacquemus, Issey Miyake, and Givenchy. * Phase 2: Creative Ideation: Recognizing that the fashion industry was already a hotbed for linguistic debate, Duolingo reached out to Megan O'Cain. The designer, known for her vibrant, quirky, and highly detailed work on Next in Fashion, was tasked with bridging the gap between her aesthetic and Duolingo's mission. * Phase 3: Design Development: O'Cain and the Duolingo creative team worked in a feedback loop, selecting pieces that felt like quintessential fashion staples - trench coats, structured tops, and accessories - and subjecting them to the "phonetic" treatment. * Phase 4: The NYFW Activation: The project culminates this week at the Null Object pop-up space at 146 E. Broadway in Manhattan. Open to the public, the space serves as an interactive hub where visitors can view the collection, engage with the phonetic puzzles, and participate in a silent auction for the pieces. Supporting data: The "pronunciation gap" The impetus for this collection is rooted in real-world data. The Duolingo/YouGov survey highlights a psychological barrier that exists in the luxury retail space. When consumers feel they cannot correctly pronounce a brand's name, they are less likely to discuss the brand in social settings or feel "at home" in a luxury boutique. The list of "hard-to-pronounce" brands targeted by the collection includes: * Hermès (Air-mez) * Jacquemus (Zhack-moose) * Issey Miyake (Ee-say Mee-yah-keh) * Givenchy (Zhee-vahn-shee) * Comme des Garçons (Kohm-deh-gar-sohn) * Loewe (Lo-eh-veh) This data is supported by recent trends in pop culture. In 2024, Loewe gained significant viral traction when a promotional video featuring Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy focused entirely on the correct pronunciation of the brand, signaling that the industry is finally ready to poke fun at its own pretension. Official responses: bridging two worlds. The Duolingo perspective. Manu Orssaud, Chief Marketing Officer at Duolingo, emphasizes that the brand's strategy is rooted in "cultural relevance." "The best Duolingo marketing is entertaining but still has a real connection to learning - fashion gave us both," Orssaud stated in an interview with WWD. "We wanted to help people learn a few pronunciations while making fashion feel a little less intimidating. People may love a designer's work but still hesitate before saying the name out loud. That gave us a credible way to join the fashion conversation while doing something that is unmistakably Duolingo." The designer's vision. For Megan O'Cain, the project was an exercise in semiotics. "It made me look at things I had seen a million times in a completely new way," she explained. "I wanted the pieces to draw you in first and then make you look a little closer, recognize the references, decode the spellings, and engage with familiar fashion in a new way. As I was designing, the process felt very similar to learning a new language: taking something that may seem familiar and suddenly seeing, hearing, or understanding it differently." Implications: the democratization of luxury. The "Phonetic Fashion" collection arrives at a pivotal moment for New York Fashion Week. In recent years, the event has shifted from a closed-door industry trade show to a global, digital-first spectacle. The inclusion of an education brand like Duolingo into this ecosystem signals a broader trend: the democratization of luxury. 1. Breaking down barriers. By turning pronunciation into a fashion statement, the collaboration actively lowers the "entry fee" for participating in luxury culture. It signals that high fashion does not have to be a closed circle of elites, but rather a language that can be learned and shared. 2. The gamification of culture. Duolingo has mastered the art of "gamifying" the mundane act of learning a language. By applying this logic to fashion, they have created a new category of "edutainment." This shift suggests that future brand collaborations may focus less on pure aesthetics and more on utility - providing the consumer with a tangible "skill" or insight. 3. Fashion as a community space. Orssaud noted that fashion is no longer just about the clothes on the runway; it is about the debates, the social media discourse, and the communities formed around specific designers. By entering this space during NYFW, Duolingo is positioning itself as a participant in these global conversations, moving the brand beyond the confines of the mobile application and into the physical world of cultural consumption. Conclusion. The "Phonetic Fashion" pop-up at Null Object serves as a microcosm of where marketing and culture are heading in the mid-2020s. By acknowledging the insecurities of its audience and meeting them with humor, design, and a touch of pedagogy, Duolingo has managed to turn a simple language lesson into one of the most talked-about activations of the season. Whether one is a fashion devotee or a casual language learner, the collection invites a closer look at the world around Fashionshots. It serves as a reminder that every label, every word, and every silhouette has a story - and a pronunciation - waiting to be decoded. As the fashion world continues to evolve, collaborations like this demonstrate that the most stylish thing one can do is remain curious. The collection will be on display at 146 E. Broadway, Manhattan, through Thursday, offering a unique opportunity for fashion enthusiasts to bid on these "literary" garments and perhaps, in the process, learn something new. Subscriber

EXCLUSIVE: Duolingo creates capsule collection and hosts pop-up during NYFW. The language and educational app has teamed up with designer Megan O'Cain on a phoenic capsule collection. September 8, 2026, 8:00am Education and language app Duolingo has teamed with designer Megan O'Cain, from "Next in Fashion" season 2, for a capsule collection, "Phoenic Fashion," and a pop-up for New York Fashion Week. Duolingo said the collection was created to offer wearers and users a way to decode its references and learn languages. It turned recognizable silhouettes such as classic tailoring, sportswear and accessories and design houses by featuring the phonetic typography of the designers' names on the looks. The seven-piece collection merged the designer's own work with the company's "humor and playfulness," which contrasts with signatures from notable fashion houses. A Duolingo pop-up in Manhattan at Null Object, 146 E. Broadway, will showcase looks from the collection available for viewing alongside interactive experiences and a chance to bid on pieces. "The best Duolingo marketing is entertaining but still has a real connection to learning - fashion gave us both," Manu Orssaud, chief marketing officer at Duolingo, told WWD. "People can recognize a Loewe bag immediately, but many still aren't sure how to say Loewe out loud. And even when people feel confident, pronunciation can be tricky. Rather than create another pronunciation guide, we turned the lesson into a collection people could wear." A recent study commissioned by Duolingo/YouGov surveyed more than 2,600 people - 62 percent of American adults said they were confident that they could pronounce Hermès, but only 15 percent could pronounce it properly. Other major hard-to-pronounce names include Jacquemus, Issey Miyake, Givenchy, Comme des Garçons and Loewe - which all lent themselves to the final looks. In 2024, Loewe released a comedy video starring Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy with the actors spelling and saying the name. "We take learning seriously without always taking ourselves too seriously," said Orssaud. "Megan brings a similar sense of play to fashion. She understood how to take the pronunciation idea and turn it into something that could stand on its own creatively." Working collaboratively with Duolingo, O'Cain said they worked backward to figure out which designs fit both her brand and Duolingo's. Although Duolingo gave O'Cain the brief and she worked closely with the company's in-house creative team, the company also gave her the freedom to make the collection her own. "The theme of 'Phonetic Fashion' really led me through the entire design and construction process," said O'Cain. "It made me look at things I had seen a million times in a completely new way and think about how I could create something that was clearly inspired by a classic, while simultaneously breaking the signifiers of the luxury brands." She also experimented with various ways of adding the spellings alongside embroidery, distressing, 3D printing, puff paint and more to the collection's pieces. O'Cain noted that exploring the phonetic brand spellings was a notable part of how the designs were shaped. "We realized that the best way to lead people through the phonetic spelling and get them ready for fashion week was to create something that still felt new and exciting," explained O'Cain. "I wanted the pieces to draw you in first and then make you look a little closer, recognize the references, decode the spellings and engage with familiar fashion in a new way. I really wanted it to be fun, experiential and interactive. As I was designing, the process felt very similar to learning a new language: taking something that may seem familiar and suddenly seeing, hearing or understanding it differently." As for why fashion week was of notable interest to Duolingo? Orssaud pointed out that fashion week is not just watched anymore - debates, sharing of favorites and building communities around designers have become the norm. "We wanted to help people learn a few pronunciations while making fashion feel a little less intimidating. Duolingo has grown in part by making learning part of culture, not something confined to a classroom. Fashion has a passionate global audience and NYFW is one of the biggest moments for that community. What made it especially interesting was the genuine connection to language. People may love a designer's work but still hesitate before saying the name out loud. That gave us a credible way to join the fashion conversation while doing something that is unmistakably Duolingo," concluded Orssaud. The Duolingo pop-up featuring the Phoenic Fashion collection by Megan O'Cain is at Null Object, 146 E. Broadway, on Wednesday and Thursday from 1 to 8 p.m. Newsletters

Duolingo to bring 12 months of Super subscription to 376 million Airtel customers. Duolingo, the world's leading mobile learning platform, has partnered with Bharti Airtel, one of India's largest telecommunication service providers, to offer 12 months of Super Duolingo at no additional cost to Airtel's 376 million subscribers. Duolingo is the world's most popular language learning platform with a mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. Its language learning app offers courses across more than 40 languages, combining bite-sized lessons, gamification, personalised learning and AI-powered features to make language learning engaging, accessible and effective. Users can also learn Chess, Math and Music on Duolingo. The partnership will give Airtel subscribers access to Duolingo's premium ad-free learning experience, including unlimited energy, AI-powered real-time speaking practice, personalised exercises and mistakes review. Language skills are increasingly becoming a gateway to education, careers and global opportunities. Through this partnership, Airtel is extending its focus on differentiated customer experiences by bringing a quality digital learning platform to millions of customers. The offering gives customers an easy and engaging way to build language skills and develop consistent learning habits. The Super Duolingo subscription will be available to Airtel customers across mobile, Wi-Fi and DTH, who can access the offer through the Airtel App, with no credit card required. Commenting on the partnership, Rashi Dhanani, Head of Business Development, India, said, "India is one of our most important markets, and we see a growing appetite for language learning driven by the needs of students, professionals and an increasingly global workforce. Learning a language should be accessible, engaging and easy to build into everyday life. Our partnership with Airtel brings Super Duolingo to a wider audience, giving learners across India access to an enhanced learning experience and more ways to stay motivated and make consistent progress." Super Duolingo builds on the core Duolingo experience by giving learners more flexibility to practise, review and build confidence, including through AI-powered conversations for real-time speaking practice. With features designed around regular practice and real-world use, learners can go beyond simply completing lessons and spend more time actively using the language. Duolingo is also continuing to expand its offering for Indian learners, recently launching Learn English from Punjabi, adding to its growing portfolio of courses for Indian language speakers, including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil and Urdu. The expansion reflects Duolingo's focus on building language learning experiences that cater to the diversity of learners across India and make it easier for more people to learn in a language they are comfortable with.