Richemont to select Polimoda students for internships, work experience

Swiss luxury goods group Richemont has announced it will team with Italian fashion school Polimoda for a luxury-specific vocational program.

Beginning in April 2018, Polimoda’s campus in Florence will offer a new master’s degree in luxury business management with Richemont acting as a work-study partner for select students. Luxury-backed educational ventures have increased in recent years as qualified talent has become harder for brands to source.

A luxury education
Polimoda’s luxury business management course will tackle the fundamental aspects and determining factors facing luxury brands today. The objective of the program is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to work at a luxury brand.

The luxury business management program will be divided into seven modules: brand, craftsmanship, design, quality, prestige, uniqueness and price. Enrolled students will also attend conferences led by field experts and go on related trips.

Vocational programs are popular in all luxury sectors. Image credit: Chloé

At the end of the program, Richemont will select the top Polimoda students for either an internship or work experience at one of its brands. Students may be placed at Richemont’s Cartier, Chloé, Panerai or Montblanc, for example.

“To operate in a dynamic environment such as the world of fashion, and especially in the luxury sector, a good theoretical preparation is no longer sufficient,” said Danilo Venturi, director of Polimoda, in a statement.

“It is essential the direct experience of the sector, its codes and its dynamics, and the application of the teachings to real case studies,” he said. “This is why our courses are based on the direct transmission of knowledge, involving professionals in industry and partners among the main market players, of whom Richemont is a shining example.

“Students have the opportunity to learn directly from the best.”

Polimoda also has an educational partnership with LVMH to ensure that the skills of leather goods artisans are passed down to younger generations.

In July, LVMH’s Institut des Métiers d’Excellence (IME) expanded from France into Italy, selecting Polimoda as a partner for training leather goods artisans (see story).