International mentors lead IED Firenze new master courses on fashion creative and strategic professions

IED Firenze, which offers a wide variety of courses in fashion, art, design and communication, has launched four new fashion master's courses in addition to the existing Fashion Business Master's programme, covering creative direction, trend forecasting, brand management, and merchandising and buying.

To find out more about the master courses and studying at IED Firenze, Fashion United spoke to Andrea Nardi, the fashion dept coordinator at IED Firenze.

Can you share an overview of the courses on offer at IED Firenze?

IED Firenze offers undergraduate, postgraduate and lifelong learning courses, ranging from interior design to fashion product design, including marketing, communication, art, graphics and curating, which demonstrate the links between the city and the district in all sectors, as well as the international markets and their needs.

IED Firenze plays an active and proactive role in the training field by imparting a design mindset capable of merging ancient and contemporary knowledge to enhance the abilities of the next generation.

IED Firenze has announced a new fashion master's programme - can you give an overview of the new courses?

To design the new master courses, we analysed the market needs and consulted with companies that lead the fashion industry. Through this new Master course offer, IED Firenze will be able to provide additional answers to market questions, as well as experiment and develop innovative figures. This is an innovative and unique programme that will assist students in becoming future professionals of high standards.

1. Creativity:

The Master in Creative Direction for Fashion and its approach to fashion is part of a broader creative spectrum, including art, music, and film. It links three fundamental themes, design, communication, and the concept of the label to shape the contemporary figure of the Creative Director.

2. Product and selection:

Is a journey through the processes that bring together raw materials, operations and production, selection and buying steps, aesthetics and communication for the creation of attractive and effective products through the strategies discussed in the Master of Fashion Merchandising and Buying.

3. Brand:

With the innovative and professionalising Master's programme in Fashion Brand Management, students will acquire analytical tools to better understand what fashion brands are. As a result, they will be capable of creating a strong brand identity and making it attractive to society and to customers.

4. Trends:

from the convergence of products to the affirmation of positive values such as sustainability and inclusion that are driving innovation in today's society, the Master of Fashion Trend Forecasting programme provides students with the analytical tools to understand what is a trend in fashion. These analytical tools are applied to fashion brands and products to make them relevant and profitable by utilising both visual and verbal innovative approaches.

What can students expect from the new fashion master courses at IED Firenze?

The Master courses offered by IED Firenze will enable students to receive answers and solutions to market problems, not just definitions and analyses. By the end of the course, each student will have a firm understanding of what fashion "tomorrow" is rather than what it is today, or what it was in the past. A wide range of market figures is addressed, such as design, communication, economics to humanistic and artistic faculties, for those who intend to deepen their studies with a vertical approach upon graduation.

It is aimed at those wishing to expand their knowledge in other areas while addressing the fashion industry concretely, as well as those seeking to become professionals so that certain strategies and tools acquired during the course can be applied.

It is natural when discussing fashion and Florence, to begin with, the excellence of the territory; we must discuss the Tuscan district and its many international realities, many of which collaborate with IED Firenze. Also, it is important to note that the concept of brand was born in Florence. Historically, Florence is synonymous with fashion and many of the most recognisable fashion brands were born here including Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Emilio Pucci.

An open-air museum of art and fashion, Florence becomes more than a place where you can live, it becomes a city to live in.

What's the duration and price of the master's courses?

The course consists of nine months of intensive study and practice, from teachers and external professionals, as well as companies that will collaborate with the class. The completion of professional projects is designed to prepare students for the challenges of tomorrow.

The price of each Master course is 24,000 euros. Despite the importance of the contents and activities of the programmes and the quality of the various teaching teams composed of important fashion industry experts, we did not want to raise the price too much, considering the current global economic situation.

The new fashion masters have five international mentors - can you share who they are and which courses they will be assisting students on?

IED Firenze Fashion Master mentors are the perfect representatives of what will be addressed in the programmes and will assist the coordinators and professors of the various courses with interventions during the year and review of the materials produced.

For Fashion Business the mentor is Margherita Maccapani Missoni, creative director and entrepreneur, who represents a horizontal and integrated approach to the business and fashion industry, as well as a vision for the future and, therefore, a change in the fashion industry.

Creative Direction for Fashion will be Danielle Kwateng, Executive Editor at Teen Vogue, representing the perfect conduit between creativity, communication, and the market. As the perfect storyteller of what brands today need, she speaks to the new generation of consumers.

Fashion Trend Forecasting will be assisted by Elizabeth Bowring, Head of Catwalks at WGSN, who will guide the class through her artistic and analytical vision as she seeks to connect past, present and future, as well as culture, history and fashion trends.

The Fashion Merchandising and Buying mentor will be Andrea Selvi, International Business Development and Buying Manager at YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP. Through his testimonies and participation as a teacher, he will offer the class an accurate and always updated cross-section of the merchandising and buying areas and of the international market.

Fashion Brand Management will be Theo Grassl, member of the executive board of the Fashion Council Germany. He will assist the class in understanding how today's fashion brands embody personality, creativity, design, and craftsmanship.

How would you describe IED's student community and Florence location?

IED is a multicultural community with over 10,000 students from over 100 countries each year. Students play an integral part of an international reality with a profoundly Italian cultural matrix, very aware of market dynamics, new technologies, ethics, and sustainability, a creative hub that focuses on design as a universal language, as well as fashion and visual arts.

In addition to its unique characteristics, the presence of its international production district, its history and culture and its link to art and fashion, IED Firenze represents not only an international brand with strong appeal but also a perfect meeting point between tradition and innovation, between the past, present, and future.