AI generation: Silicon Valley spirit comes to Istituto Marangoni Paris
In Paris, the fashion school Istituto Marangoni is launching a new programme aimed at transforming its students into the pioneering fashion entrepreneurs of tomorrow. To establish this intensive programme, the institution announced a partnership on September 17 with Plug and Play, an innovation platform based in Silicon Valley focused on artificial intelligence.
Running from August to September 2026 at the school's Paris campus and at Station F, the intensive programme equipped participants with the “tools needed to turn an idea into a business in 12 weeks,” as stated in the press release.
Transforming bold ideas into concrete businesses
The programme is structured around four fundamental workshops: identifying a real market opportunity; validating the business idea; building the company with the help of artificial intelligence; and presenting the project to investors. Various professionals were brought in to teach, including Flore Lestrade, CEO of Veeton. Veeton is a French start-up specialising in generative artificial intelligence, which has produced visuals of clothing worn by babies created by artificial intelligence for the brand Monoprix.
Students learn to identify gaps in the fashion, retail and technology sectors. They then design a minimum viable product before developing the technical side. Artificial intelligence is used to develop the brand file, business model and go-to-market strategy. The process concludes with a final presentation to a panel of experts.
“At Istituto Marangoni Paris, our mission is to nurture creative talent and help transform it into tangible opportunities,” explained Valérie Berdah-Levy, director of operations for France and the UK at Istituto Marangoni, in a statement. “In collaboration with Plug and Play, we are empowering the next generation of innovators in the fashion, luxury and beauty sectors to turn bold ideas into concrete businesses and help shape the future of the creative world.”
For Thomas Bigagli, a partner at Plug and Play, “the founders who will define the creative and consumer industries over the next decade are currently sitting in classrooms”. He added that this programme is just the first chapter in a longer-term collaboration.
The collaboration between the two entities will continue during the Beauty Lab event, scheduled for November 4, 2026, at Istituto Marangoni Paris.