NEW SUSTAINABLE FASHION

Course Description
The course “New Sustainable Fashion” aims at sharing with the participants the most updated information and interesting examples on innovative business models in fashion & luxury. The course focuses on the driver of sustainability for the creation of shared value. Creating shared value in fashion means being able to answer the needs of many stakeholders: the environment, society, institutions, art, culture, territory and the consumers. A responsible fashion company has already started the long and complex journey of integrating ethics and aesthetics into the value chain, in constant balance with all the stakeholders.
Here are some of the keywords that will lead the way in fashion responsible innovation and that will be explored during the lectures, class discussions and company visits: circular economy, recycling, upcycling, prosumer-creation, open-source, crowdfunding, wearable-technologies, online-offline integration, transmedia-storytelling, B-corporations and open-innovation among others.

Educational goals
The short course “New Sustainable Fashion”, supported by Vogue Talents, aims at sharing with the participants the most updated information and interesting examples on innovative business models in fashion & luxury.
The short course “New Sustainable Fashion” also aims at:
-    Preparing the participants to deal with the complexity of responsibility in the fashion industry;
-    Providing concrete tools to learn how and where to select innovative fibers in fashion, how to build an ingredient branding strategy in sustainability how to create and apply some good responsibility guidelines, how to structure a good sustainability report, how to structure a good business plan in sustainable fashion;
-    Sharing inspiring business practices in both mass market, premium and luxury segment, for the different business models.

Why to take this course
The course is well suited for graduate and graduating students, young managers, professionals and young entrepreneurs that are willing to deal with the challenges of responsibility in the fashion industry. More specifically the course is built around the professional figures of junior brand managers, product managers, retail managers, PR & communication managers that aim at understanding the potential of sustainability, future CSR managers and young entrepreneurs that wish to launch an entrepreneurial initiative with sustainability in its DNA.
 

Teaching model
The teaching model is composed as follows:
- In classroom lectures
- Case studies
- Company visits
- Project works
- Sessions of Career orientation and/or reviews on business ideas

Traditional in classroom lectures are alternated with case discussions, meetings with managers and other representatives of the business community, company visits, in class activities and project works.
Career orientation will be provided to the students that aim at working in the industry; feedbacks to the business ideas will be shared with participants that are willing to become entrepreneurs.

At the end of the course a MFI certificate is delivered to each student.

Courses
Brand management & Fashion sustainability
The “brand management & fashion sustainability” module will provide the tools to manage a brand in fashion. It will include a key-note speech by the Environment/Social Initiatives Manager of Patagonia Europe. This first module has the aim of sharing with the participants an inspiring business practice. Also the role of a CSR manager will be discussed and analyzed.
Then the course contents will start with several lectures aimed at providing the tools needed to manage responsibility in fashion & luxury. The brief for a group assignment will be shared with the participants.

Fashion innovation
The “fashion innovation” module will focus on how materials, products, supply chains  & retail can be innovated through sustainability, focusing on: how and where to select innovative fibers, how to build an ingredient branding strategy, managing transparency and traceability in the supply chain, how to fight counterfeiting on a strategic and legal point of view, how to apply the sustainability principles to the retail space.

Transmedia storytelling
The “transmedia storytelling” module aims at discussing some best practices of transmedia storytelling in sustainable fashion & luxury. The module will focus on: communicating transparency along the value chain, communicating the sustainable ingredients, building a successful transmedia storytelling strategy.

Fashion future
The “fashion future” module will provide tools and food for thoughts on the following topics: design thinking approach for sustainable fashion & luxury, wearable technologies for sustainable fashion & luxury, the principles of circular economy for apparel, crowdfunding for sustainable fashion & luxury, launching and developing a start-up in sustainable fashion & luxury.

Tutorships and empowerment
Several individual and group meetings will be carried out to revise the course assignments and/or the business plans of the entrepreneurs that attend the course. Crafting new business models in fashion & luxury will be the main topic of discussion: practical tools for entrepreneurs will be shared.

Company visits
The company visits are a relevant part of the course contents and they provide the practical perspective needed when talking about sustainability.
Are Provided, among the others, the following company visits:
-    Candiani Denim, fabric manufacturer (http://www.candianidenim.it)
-    Eurojersey, fabric manufacturer (http://www.sensitivefabrics.it/en/)
-    Cittadellarte (http://www.cittadellarte.it) & Biella industrial district, among the most relevant industrial districts present in Italy. Some leading luxury companies will open the doors to the participants of the “New Sustainable Fashion” course and will be discussing about the new challenges in sustainability also during a round table at Cittadellarte. Cittadellarte is a new form of artistic and cultural institution that places art in direct interaction with the various sectors of society to inspire and produce responsible transformation through ideas and creative projects. Cittadellarte Fashion B.E.S.T., born in 2009, is an operative workshop dedicated to the development of sustainability in the textile industry, and gathers in a platform dozens of companies producing eco-sustainable fabrics, yarns and fashion accessories.

Patagonia networking events and Vogue Talents
The participants will have the chance to attend a Patagonia Networking event in the Milanese flagship store in Corso Garibaldi.
All the participants will also participate to the Vogue Talents event “Who is on Next 2020” during the Milano Fashion Week in September 2020.

Selection process
The selection process will be based on the evaluation of the CV and the application form.
The selection process takes place throughout the opening period of the inscriptions, in 4 separate sessions of selection.
 
Application
To apply for admission, the candidate must:
1. Fill the online application form, available here
2. Attach the CV in European format in the online application form, available here
After receiving the documents, Milano Fashion Institute will inform the applicant on the selection final result (admission or non admission).

Admission Requirements
In order to apply for the admission to the course, the candidate must be currently enrolled at a Bachelor of Art/Science course or have a degree equal to or higher than a Bachelor.
Young entrepreneurs, recent graduates with three-year degree o specialist degree, and graduates from design schools and faculties, business and economics, marketing and communication,  engineering,  architecture, languages, law, humanities.

Financial commitment
The participants are required to have a significant commitment both personally and financially.
The total cost amounts to € 2.600, payable as follows:
1st installment > 1.300 € on the acceptance of the application;
2nd installment > 1.300 € by 22 July 2020;
Costs include a part of the study material and the use of facilities of the Institute.
Financial aid are provided for Masters students Milano Fashion Institute and Alumni Milano Fashion Institute. For information: info@milanofashioninstitute.it

Withdrawal
1. The first installment is non-refundable. The participant is allowed to withdraw, up to the eighth calendar day preceding the starting date of the course, by submitting a letter (priority mail service) to the registered address of the Milano Fashion Institute, anticipated in any case, by fax and / or e-mail; if so, the participant may request the return of fees paid, except for the first installment.

2. If the member, with methods described in the previous article, demonstrated an intention not to participate at a later date, that does not give notice and is not present in class, he/she will not be entitled to any refund and must pay the full fee bearing in mind that he/she could within a (calendar) year from the starting date of the Course, attend the next edition of the Course (if applicable) or another MFI Course, upon payment of price adjustment.