Miami as the center of the fashion industry in the US and a fashion bridge with Latin America. That’s the vision of Hakan Baykam, President and CEO of the Milan headquartered Istituto Marangoni Miami, which dates from 1935, and is the newest of fashion schools in Miami. Four years in the making in Miami, from its close to 24,000 square foot base in the Miami Design District, it is already making things happen not only with several hundred students and mentorship of Latin American design weeks, but also, with events, a fashion show, and a cool shop to open to the public.
Impressive is the fact that Miami is their fifth university and only one in the US, joining the cities of Florence, Milan, Paris and London, alongside training centers in Shenzen and Shanghai. Some of the schools also offer course work in the arts and general design.
The dean of fashion in Miami is an ex Versace designer, joined by other Italian and American instructors whose fashion pedigree includes big names ranging from Fendi to Gianfranco Ferre. Textiles and other materials are sourced from Italy. There are also talks, open to the public, by visiting fashion leaders.
The Miami campus of Istituto Marangoni is different in that the first two years are a general curriculum which enables a U.S. university degree. Another difference is that there’s a large segment of instruction devoted to the resort wear area. Students here come from across the US, mainly from New York and Los Angeles, and from Latin America.
Besides a fashion degree, students find courses in social media, e commerce, branding and merchandising. There’s undergraduate, post graduate, continuing education and youth programs. In the category of interesting tidbits of information, 90% of all students in all of their outposts are women!
When we went, we saw wonderful exhibits of students’ work including upcycled fashion – old clothes (including men’s ties) that are repurposed and made into new garments, and paper dresses. Two floors are devoted to contemporary art works by Italian artists.
The students are also gaining exposure to cutting-edge technology through a partnership with Zepeto – a virtual world used by many fashion brands to promote their new collections. Want to see the creations of this up and coming talent? Check their website for the graduation fashion show this spring. Another exciting development to check for is the opening of their bookstore and café on the top floor with a balcony and view of the Design District. The store will sell fashion magazines and coffee table books from all over the world. Expect the opening in March.
Istituto Marangoni, 3704 N.E. 2nd Avenue, Miami.
Interested in fashion? Also check out my post on the Parodi Costume Collection, a world-class fashion museum in Miami.
2 Responses
You continue to amaze with finds that no one could imagine would exist in the Magic City!
Splendid reportage dear Karen!
You did such a great job!.. and these people really deserve all the attention!! Bravo!!