THE POLIMODA PHILOSOPHY IN KEYWORDS
1. POLIMODA OPINION LEADER
Much more than a training center: a creative campus, the meeting place of “visionaries” and opinion leaders from the worlds of fashion, culture, and professional training, in which Polimoda is an authoritative, internationally-recognized voice. In 2015, Polimoda will be hosting the “IFFTI -International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes” conference, promoting a global network comprising the world’s most advanced centers for Fashion Design, Technology and Business training. Following in the footsteps of many Renaissance spirits, Florence and Polimoda are preparing for a new challenge, and for a Renai[chance].
2. A CENTER FOR ITALIAN EXCELLENCE
Polimoda International Institute of Fashion Design and Marketing is, so to speak, an institute with the gene for Italian excellence, as well as an international vocation. Polimoda is recognized around the globe for its high quality fashion and marketing teaching programs. Founded in 1986 as part of an initiative conceived and financed by the Cities of Florence and Prato and fashion-sector trade associations, Polimoda offers students impeccable professional training through highly-specialized working and research methodology.
3. PROFESSIONALS TAILORED TO INDUSTRY NEEDS
Networking and ongoing interaction with fashion companies are just some of the added values offered by Polimoda through its courses and masters programs, training professionals for today’s fashion system demands. Polimoda training nurtures managerial professionals such as Brand and Communication Managers and Buyers, as well as a professional team on the creative side of the business including Art/Creative Directors, Fashion Designers, Fashion Illustrators, Fashion Stylists, Footwear & Accessories Designers etc. Experts are also formed in the new web-based professions (Digital Strategy Planners, Web Content Curators, and Social Media Managers) as well as those who work closest to production (Product Development Managers, Patternmakers, Samplemakers).
4. LINDA LOPPA /DIRECTOR OF POLIMODA
Since January 2007, the Institute’s development program has been entrusted to Director Linda Loppa. Born and raised in Antwerp, to a family of Italian origin, Linda Loppa is a charismatic personality, internationally recognized on the fashion scene. Putting her extraordinary professional and creative background to good use, she re-launched the image of the Institute with a completely revamped training program: today, Polimoda is an international point of reference for the sector, thanks to its avant-garde teaching methods. Under Linda Loppa’s directorship, Polimoda has grown from a training center into a “state of mind,” a singular way of thinking about and building the world, stretching creative limits at every turn.
5. FERRUCCIO FERRAGAMO/PRESIDENT
Ferruccio Ferragamo, President of Polimoda since March 2006, is another key figure at Polimoda and a name that represents the best of fashion Made in Italy worldwide. An enlightened entrepreneur, Ferruccio Ferragamo has “always” been involved in management of Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.a., of which he is currently President. As President of Polimoda, he has consolidated the Institute and reinforced its standing as an authoritative member of the institutional community with international recognition.
7. POLIMODA.COM & POLIMODAMAG - THE VOICE OF POLIMODA
In 2010, the Institute launched POLIMODAMAG (www.polimodamag.com): a new way of discussing and exploring themes linked to fashion culture and the creative arts; Polimoda mag features articles by experts, don’t-miss events, interviews with sector personalities, students’ projects, collections, videos, and much more. Not just an information vector: a true platform for students who want to try their hands at writing and who are looking for inspiration and tips, and a forum for the opinions of teachers.
8. POLIMODATALENT
A creative laboratory and a scouting platform providing support for Polimoda graduates. A project that offers visibility for students and their work and a concrete backing for their careers by opening up and creating professional and business opportunities. Thanks to POLIMODATALENT, we have seen encouraging progress and witnessed true success stories, which reconfirm the value of the original teaching methods developed by Polimoda Director Linda Loppa and the Institute’s department heads. The first POLIMODATALENTs: Erik Bjerkesjo - Andreia Chaves - Gianluca Tamburini - Yojiro Kake
9. VILLA FAVARD - POLIMODA HEADQUARTERS
Villa Favard - built in 1875 for Fiorella Favard de L’Anglade and today the Polimoda quartier général - is once again the cultural salon and creative meeting-point its first owner envisioned. Designed by the architect Giuseppe Poggi, Villa Favard has now been returned to all its original splendor. The complex - overlooking the Arno River and the Bellosguardo hills - is the ideal venue for hosting Polimoda’s visionaries, managers, and creative talents, thanks to its historic prestige and its sheer beauty - as well as the intrinsic meaning that these spaces have for the City of Florence.
10. POLIMODA STUDY CENTER
The Polimoda library is a true historic archive, the documentation center holding the most significant international collection of sector books and magazines existing in Italy today. A priceless resource and a rich source of information for those who invent and study fashion. Twenty thousand volumes documenting the historic and stylistic evolution of clothing, with histories of costume and fashion an fashion design resources. The VOGUE ARCHIVE offers library users the opportunity to consult the complete digital collection comprising every single issue of Vogue America.
