NPCs in WoW - Designers and Department stores


This post is part of my Celebrities and Personalities as NPCs in WoW series. 

Hidden amongst those NPCs are a lot of brand names and store references, if you just know where to look.  Here are some of the ones I found on my travels through the World of Warcraft.

Harold Winston in Dalaran is a nod to Harry Winston, the famous American jeweller who donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institute.  He died in 1978 but his name lives on in the jewellery brand catering to the rich and famous.
Just next to Harold is Tiffany Cartier, whose name is a combination of the two famous jewellery brands - Tiffany & Co, the American jewellery and silverware corporation (founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany) and Cartier, the French luxury jeweller watchmaker.


Around the corner in Dalaran at the tailoring trainer is Dominique Stefano is a little more obscure, but a clever name nonetheless.  Named for Dominico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the designers for the Italian luxury industry fashion house Dolce and Gabbana.
Charles Worth in the same store as Dominique Stefano, is named for Charles Frederick Worth, the 19th century English fashion designer who was widely considered the father of haute couture, and he is credited as the first designer to put labels onto the clothing he manufactured.

Alexandra McQueen is a nod to Alexander McQueen, the British designer label, founded by Lee Alexander McQueen, who died in 2010.   Sarah Burton is the new creative director and she created the wedding dress for Princess Katherine when she married Prince William.  Unfortunately this NPC is no longer in game.


Rueben Lauren, another Dalaran NPC, is probably a reference to Ralph Lauren the American fashion designer.  Check out that jacket!  I want that jacket in game for my bank toon.

Karandonna in the same store as Rueben, and is named after the American fashion designer, Donna Karan of Donna Karan New York and DKNY labels.

The Smokywood Pastures goblins who appear around Azeroth around Winter Veil are all named after department stores and brand names.  Ayelena pointed out to me the Ironforge ones, and I had already realised the names of the Orgrimmar ones so I took pictures of them, but I didn't realise that all the other vendors in the other major cities also were named after stores and brands!  Oh well, I'll get pictures of them next Winter Veil.

Penney Copperpinch is named for the department store chain JCPenny.

Kaymard Copperpinch is named after K-mart, the chain of discount department stores.

Macey Jinglepocket is named after Macy's, a mid-high range American department store.

Wulmort Jinglepocket, is named after Walmart, the multinational American retailer association.

Targot Jinglepocket is named after Target, a large discount department store chain.

Kosco Copperpinch is named for Costco, the huge warehouse club chain selling things at discount for bulk buying.

Gapp Jinglepocket is named for Gap, the American clothing and accessories retailer.

Mirvyna Jinglepocket is a reference to Mervyn's, a middle scale department store in California. 

Dillord Copperpinch is named for Dillard's, a department store chain in the US.

Here are the rest of the Jinglepockets and Copperpinches are listed here by city.  It seems like Copperpinches are horde related and Jinglepockets are alliance related.

The Exodar: Bessbi Jinglepocket is named after Best Buy, an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics.  Wolgren Jinglepocket is named after Walgreens, large drugstore chain in the US.

Stormwind: Khole Jinglepocket is named after Kohls an American department store.  I thought it was actually named after Coles the Australian grocery chain at first.  Guchie Jinglepocket is named after Gucci, the Italian leather and fashion goods label.

Silvermoon City: Hotoppik Copperpinch is named after Hot Topic, an American retail chain specialising in pop culture and music.  Morshelz Copperpinch is named after Marshalls, an American clothing department store.

Shattrath City: Eebee Jinglepocket is supposedly named after EB games, the computer and video games retail chain.  I thought it was actually named after Ebay.  Olnayvi Copperpinch is named after Old Navy, an American clothing brand (owned by Gap)

Undercity: Jaycrew Copperpinch is named for J.Crew the clothing brand.  Nardstrum Copperpinch is named for Nordstrom the department store chain.

Thunder Bluff: Seersa Copperpinch is named after Sears, an American chain of department stores which merged with KMart.  Whulwert Copperpinch is named after Woolworths the discount retail chain in the US.  The Australian company Woolworths is actually named after the original F W Woolworth Co, but has no historical links to the original American brand.


That's all I can find at the moment!  Don't forget to check out some of the other posts in this series:



Comments

  1. OMG I WANT THAT JACKET TOO!

    Love all the name references to real life things =D

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  2. Thanks, that was driving me crazy, I couldn't figure out who Mirvyna Jinglepocket or Dillord Copperpinch were representing. I only know east coast store chains.

    That is the best jacket ever!

    TotA

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  3. Oh Navi....awesome. I wish there was my favorite store, Target....although I do love Costco. I promise I don't buy gallons of mayonnaise as one might think all Yanks do.

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  4. @Faithy - if anyone finds that jacket in game I want one.
    @Ancient - maybe I should write TotA instead. I'll do that next time. I don't know half these chains since they're all American, but I know some.
    @Matty - I don't blame you for missing Target - these goblins are kinda small, and easy to miss :P And I thought Yanks all bought gallons of tobasco sauce.

    ReplyDelete

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