Design and Business Students Develop Innovative Strategies for
Bulgari, Hermès, Haviland, Loro Piana and Maclaren


The Luxury Education Foundation Presents Interdisciplinary Collaboration with
Columbia Business School and Parsons The New School for Design

Haviland Product Concepts
New Product Concepts for Haviland

 

New York, NY (December 13, 2010)—The Luxury Education Foundation recently concluded its annual program, "The Design and Marketing of Luxury Goods." This interdisciplinary course developed by Columbia Business School and Parsons The New School for Design enables students to collaboratively develop concepts for some of the world’s leading companies. Co-taught by both schools, this year the course featured projects for Bulgari, Haviland, Hermès, Loro Piana, and Maclaren.

"Now in its 15th year, the Foundation developed this program to provide business and design students the rare opportunity to interact with top executives in the luxury goods industry and learn the various stages involved from conception to points of sale," said Barbara Cirvka, Chair of the Luxury Education Foundation and Division President for Fashion, Watches and Jewelry for Chanel, Inc.

The semester-long course functions as an incubator for new ideas for participating companies. This year's projects included formulating a marketing strategy for the launch of co-branded watches for Bulgari; exploring opportunities for Haviland china to expand into the hospitality industry; developing a new mobile phone and iPad application for Hermès; creating new luxury gift products for Loro Piana; and proposing a new second label for Maclaren. The participating companies are reviewing several of the projects for possible future development.

"The goal of this course is to teach students how design and marketing work together as integral part of the business process, and how communication and collaboration across disciplines play into the success of a company," said Amir Ziv, Vice Dean of Columbia Business School. "This is a terrific opportunity for our students to learn from real-world experience, and to gain insight into the design process from a leading design school."

Project teams bring together Columbia Business School students with Parsons design and management, communication design, fashion design, fashion marketing, interior design and product design students, who worked closely with executives from the participating companies to develop their strategies and concepts. The course is designed by Ketty Maisonrouge, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and President of the Luxury Education Foundation, and taught alongside Parsons professors Heico Wesselius and Andrew Robinson.

“From taking advantage of new technologies to exploring new markets, today's luxury good companies continue to put design and innovation at the center of their business," said Joel Towers, Dean of Parsons. “Our collaboration with LEF and Columbia builds upon Parsons’ long tradition of partnering in ways that provide valuable co-curricular opportunities for our students."

At the presentation, the Luxury Education Foundation announced the recipients of the 2010 LEF Scholarship: Jeffrey Parker and Martin Scheiler from Columbia Business School, and Lauren Burnet and Kathy Gyuhyeon Sow from Parsons The New School for Design. The LEF Scholarships program was established to provide annual scholarships to students at Columbia Business School and Parsons who exhibit an extraordinary level of leadership and innovation in their work, and whose accomplishments are a testament to their commitment and talent in their fields.

Burnet, Parker, Scheiler, and Sow received awards from Lalique, the official award purveyor of The Luxury Education Foundation Scholarship. This year, the recipients will receive Lalique’s annual gift paperweight. Fashioned using Lalique crystal, the paperweight features an etching of the Victoire car mascot, originally designed by Rene Lalique in 1928 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the November 11th 1918 armistice, re-released in 2010 as part of the Hommage a Rene Lalique collection.

Parsons The New School for Design
Named one of the top design schools for creative talent by BloombergBusinessWeek, Parsons The New School for Design is one of the most prestigious and comprehensive degree-granting colleges of art and design in the nation. Parsons BBA in Design and Management blends traditional business courses with those emphasizing the strategic importance of design thinking in product innovation, sustainable business models, and business creation. Parsons has a long history of engaging leading corporations to develop design solutions for real-world business challenges, including Samsung, Siemens, Daimler AG and Microsoft. For more information, visit www.parsons.newschool.edu.

Columbia Business School
Widely admired for its global and cutting-edge curriculum, Columbia Business School is one of the leading business schools in the world. In addition to its renowned MBA program, Columbia Business School offers the prestigious Executive MBA (EMBA) and non-degree Executive Education programs. The School’s faculty is comprised of internationally respected professors and includes Joseph Stiglitz, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2001 and was the chair for President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1995 to 1997. For more information, visit www.gsb.columbia.edu.

The Luxury Education Foundation
Established in December 2004, the Luxury Education Foundation is a public not-for-profit organization that focuses on educational programs for undergraduate and graduate students in Design and Business related to the creation and marketing of luxury goods. LEF programs provide students with various platforms to engage with senior executives in leading luxury firms to understand and appreciate the unique properties and fine craftsmanship as manifested in the industry. For more information, visit www.luxuryeducationfoundation.org.

 

 

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Media Contacts:

Deborah Kirschner
The New School
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Sona Rai
Columbia Business School
212-854-5955
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