IED Barcelona celebrates its 20th anniversary

Last week, Spanish fashion and design school IED Barcelona celebrated its 20th anniversary as per a news article on the IED website.

On September 19, IED Barcelona celebrated not just the opening of the new academic year in Spain but also 20 years since its establishment in September 2002.

A number of significant IED academic figures were present for the celebrations, including IED Barcelona director Andrea Marchesi, the academic director of the IED Group.

IED Spain’s general director, Agustí Valls i Prats, also attended, as well as Riccardo Balbo, academic director of the IED Group and also president of the private non-profit organisation Francesco Morelli foundation named after the founder of the Istituto Europeo di Design.

Andrea Marchesi welcomed the new students for the academic year 2022-2023, remarking that during their coming years at the centre they will not receive a "classical education", but that they will "experience a process of transformation and discovery".

According to the release on the school website, Marchesi said students should strive to face the process with a critical spirit, an open mind and curiosity.

Riccardo Balbo told the students that "designers move in uncertainty, so they must be very careful, but very brave at the same time".

He emphasised a sense of responsibility, but without forgetting that "design is also fun", Mr. Balbo said.

20 years of IED Barcelona

After the welcome speeches, IED Barcelona projected a video in which it revisited the past 20 years since the founding of its educational centre in the Catalonian city.

Italian private design school group Istituto Europeo di Design started looking towards Spain in the 1990’s.

The IED Madrid campuses were the first to be built in 1994. Eight years later, in 2002, the buildings in the capital of Spain were followed by the Barcelona campuses.