Istituto Marangoni opens first US school

Italian-based fashion, art and design school Istituto Marangoni has opened its first school in the US in Miami’s design district, marking the institution’s 10th location in the world.

Located in the heart of Miami’s design district, which is home to more than 130 art galleries, showrooms, creative and architectural industries, luxury fashion stores, antique dealers, restaurants and cafés, the 21,900 square foot school aims to merge “Italian expertise with American style and creativity,” said Istituto Marangoni.

“Bringing Istituto Marangoni to the Americas satisfies a long-term vision to support and develop youth interested in fashion and design from all over the word,” said Roberto Riccio, chief executive of Istituto Marangoni Group. “We are thrilled by the opportunity to give emerging talent in the Americas a platform to hone their skills and realise their true potential in the industry.”

The school will offer students from the US and Latin America various fashion courses including a two year Associate of Arts in Fashion Studies, four year Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design, Fashion Styling, Fashion Business, a Master’s in Fashion and Luxury Brand Management, and a number of shorter courses and continuing education workshops and seminars throughout the academic year, which will all be taught by European tutors and “prominent local professionals”, anchored by values that are 'Made in Italy’, explains Istituto Marangoni.

Italian design school Istituto Marangoni opens in Miami

Headed up by Hakan Baykam, who is the president of the new school, the US location will also be served by an Istituto Marangoni Advisory Board that consists of names including Silvia Tcherassi, Wen Zhou, Esteban Cortazar, Craig Robins, Carlo D’Amario, Oscar Feldenkreis, Karla Martinez, Milan Vukmirovic and Paula Cademartori.

In addition, there is also a number of high-profile names on the teaching staff, including former Versace designer Massimo Casagrande, a graduate from Istituto Marangoni and founder of his own menswear label as director of education and Pablo Arbelaez as school director.

Miami was chosen as the first US location due to the city’s “rapid growth” in the design and art categories, said the educational group, as well as its accessibility to Latin America. Istituto Marangoni stated that the city’s Latin roots “made it the perfect choice to develop a fashion and design hub that will soon be valued around the world”.

Founded in Milan in 1935, Istituto Marangoni has added schools in Paris, London, Firenze, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, as well as Miami. The school has launched a number of high profile fashion careers including Domenico Dolce, Franco Moschino, Alessandro Sartori and Julie de Libran of Sonia Rykiel.

Image: courtesy of Istituto Marangoni