Originally from Tunisia, Max Azria moved to the United States to enter the fashion world. Moving to California, he created BCBG, an acronym for the French saying bon chic, bon genre, which in English means "good style, good class." BCBG was designed to bring European sophistication to American women. BCBG's trendy, chic, and unique styles and patterns was immediately popularized in California and throughout the West Coast, especially in Washington, Arizona and Nevada. After the company opened a flagship store in New York City, BCBG became internationally known in the fashion world.