Luxury Design and Management: Parsons Paris—Polimoda

Luxury Design and Management is a specialized summer course on the essence, the heritage, and the organization of high-end industries. Through a combination of lectures, interactions with industry professionals, atelier visits, experiential workshops, and teamwork, students learn about the French and Italian leading luxury sectors while receiving an interdisciplinary introduction to their processes and characteristics at the crossroads of design innovation, business, and culture.

The course is run by resident professors, guest lecturers, and practitioners from the industry in Paris and Florence, two of the main historic capitals of luxury. During the Parsons Paris portion of the program, special focus is placed on haute couture and the relationship between French fashion heritage, local crafts, creativity, marketing, and strategic management; on what makes the luxury sector so unique and coveted; on how it builds memorable moments and bridges between the past and the future, between heritage and innovation. These topics are examined more closely in the Italian part of the program through the exploration of the strong tradition of Florentine craftsmanship, the production of high-end leather accessories, and the Made in Italy brand.