Gucci pre-fall 2016
Fashion conglomerate Kering has renewed its partnership with HEC Paris School of Management for another five years, allowing the group to help shape and educate the luxury talent of tomorrow.
As part of its continued relationship with the business school, originally established in 2010, Kering will sponsor the “Luxury Certificate” program, which gives students an understanding of both the luxury industry and luxury management. In addition to sharing its knowledge with students, this collaboration enables Kering to spot potential future hires while they are still at the start of their careers.
Training for tomorrow
For HEC Paris, this gives insider insight into an industry that is currently undergoing changes.
“I am pleased to celebrate the renewal of our partnership with HEC Paris, and to pursue our collaboration in order to train future leaders of the luxury industry,” François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, said in a brand statement. “As an alumnus, I am especially proud to rekindle the ties which united Kering with HEC Paris.”
The Luxury Certificate will consist of classes led by HEC Paris professors, lectures by industry experts, seminars conducted by Kering managers and a field trips to the group’s stores. Students will also partake in an activity where they will be tasked with building their own luxury company.
A team project will ask students to respond to a prompt from Kering. The completed projects will be presented and judged by the co-directors of the certificate program and Kering representatives.
Balenciaga spring/summer 2015 campaign
Forty students representing 14 different nationalities are participating in the Luxury Certificate program this year. The coursework will run from April through June.
“I am delighted to renew our partnership with Kering," said Peter Todd, dean of HEC Paris. "HEC Paris shares strong values: audacity and entrepreneurship with Kering and François-Henri Pinault, an active supporter of our school.
"In this Chair, 20 experts from Kering will share their insights with students and over 30 collaborators from Kering will contribute to this project," he said. "It is remarkable that a company such as Kering invests so much in the construction of a Chair.”
Kering has other educational partnerships, as the group feels called to support and develop young talent.
Last year, the conglomerate hosted the fourth annual “Empowering Imagination” fashion design competition with Parsons School of Design.
With Style.com and Saks Fifth Avenue, the Bachelors of Fine Arts fashion students at the school competed to be selected to travel to the Kering Materials Innovation Lab and be featured on Style.com and in the windows of Saks. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity offered a space for young talent to be recognized and for these companies to stay in-tuned with up-and-coming individuals in the fashion world (see story).