Amid the digital revolution reshaping the fashion industry today, educational institutions must keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies, especially as artificial intelligence and the metaverse emerge as critical elements in this field. In this exclusive interview with 3oud.com, Stefania, an expert in education and innovation at Istituto Marangoni, shares how the institute is redefining its curriculum to equip students for the challenges of the future. She also reveals the institute's strategies for integrating cutting-edge technology and digital skills into academic programs, as well as its efforts to empower regional and global talents to become visionary leaders in the ever-changing world of fashion.
How is Istituto Marangoni adapting its curriculum to prepare students for the rapidly changing landscape of AI and digital innovation?
we started immediately after COVID, in 2020, to rethink our syllabus and integrate digital skills into our courses.This was the first step. And to be very active on that, we invested a lot in our metaverse. So, we built a metaverse where students and teachers can try to replicate some of the practical action.
For example, how to create some collection in 3D, how to create a fashion shoot in the digital way, how to create an exhibition completely in a digital space. How to create a fashion show, in a digital space, the great result was in some way showcases when we opened, the school in Dubai because the first innovative format of the fashion show was a fial format.
we showcased a traditional catwalk where our student did the catwalk in the traditional way with the collection realized in the traditional way. But at the same time, we have the same collection worn by the avatar in our metaverse. So, people that attended can see the model with the real product and the same 3D product of collection in our metaverse. this was a great momentum because a group in the creative field, we really were the first to inject in our curses the theoretical digital skill. We deliver to our student some training on the metaverse to announce this digital skill in the day-by-day activity.
this was the first step we carried on, then we announced that we transformed in the metaverse, we built a school, the school number 12, that is exactly the school with the same specific curses for people that cannot attend physically from around the world. That’s completely running in our metaverse. And we have launched a foundation course. The foundation is the preparation course for the young generation students. the student who needs one year of preparation to join the bachelor with student from different countries around the world that study completely in our immersive school with teachers who are there with their avatar. They attend and listen to the lesson and have a practical laboratory completely in this immersive space. at the same time in the school, starting from last year, we defined our artificial intelligence manifesto that is published in our website, and we integrated mapping all the IT tools that we consider very interesting and useful to announce the different activity in our creative courses. And we create a charter with all the AI.
we redefine course by course and we integrated some hour where the teacher utilizes some AI software to announce the activity of the fashion design, in fashion communication, styling in interior design. In the vision design occurs also in the multimedia art. So, we have integrated this tool. And of course, we are going to be mapping are new artificial intelligence software. We analyze internally with the committee And also, we have put some rigid rules for our student to explain how they can utilize artificial intelligence tools during the lesson, during, the homework. And what should be not acceptable for us as university if they utilize this tool in the completely wrong way.
for example, if they want to do some thesis or some exam, they must declare if they have utilized some artificial intelligence tool, they must declare in which way they used them. But for sure not in the creation, in the part relating to the most personal. Direction is Okay. Just an executive tool.
we have created another laboratory that is already, it's a virtual showroom. let's assume that for example, you have a normal showroom, you cannot attend, but you can send alink to the buyer. The buyer then enters. They would have a model wearing your collection, you click on the collection, you get the price, the colors, then you can maybe purchase directly in this virtual showroom and send the order to the company. So, this of course, it's also not only incentivized opening the door to the new talent that maybe don't have the resources to open a showroom to represent them. It's a first stage.
And when the student graduates from the university, they will take their diploma. the master, they have not only the traditional skill that all maybe institution can provide right now, but here they obtain special skill that makes them the only ones that they know. And they have digital skill, very advances in order also to support the traditional brand or the new brand or the new startup to announce in, in the future model.
Of course, because what we pretend right now for the student of the free year of the fashion, the fashion designers, we, our student, when they are going to take the diploma, they master to realize two collection, the traditional one and the visual one. Yes. And all they must know how to do it. At the same time in the fashion communication and styling, they must create how to communicate a collection in the traditional, in the mercy way. And for the business student as well, they must do how to sell a to implement and to create a, a campaign maybe with the NFT in the future, do you know? Maybe normal because you can do the order and then you pay normally, or you can purchase directly. With theNFT, they, we have all the skill. This is our mission, and we are the only one today.
No, I, I try to, it is not easy, or you can enter in the metaverse and I think it's, it is very simple to see exactly how it works.
Visually you can see.
how do you see institute Manni playing a role in shaping the creative role, the creative leading roles in fashion in theMiddle East?
three years ago, we decided to open the school in Dubai, it wasn’t an easy project because no institution focus on creative field, no, in fashion design, in fashion, communication style. Maybe there were some courses in fashion business in the general, but we believe a lot in the fact that where we open an institution, we contributed a lot to create, nurture the native creation and really deliver a method to the talent in the region. So, in Dubai, we have a lot of students in the creative field that, that are going to learn this method. And also, we started with some professional courses for upscaling of the current talented decorative people that are based in Dubai.
I think thatDubai is hub for entire no GCC area. And after this project, we, we have been approached by the fashion commission of Saudi, and with them we built a plan to also to open there for the same reason, to try and support the fashion commission that has a clear mission. There is a sparkly community of brand. AndI believe that since we have, a lot of experience, we have a higher education partner, we can absolutely support the fashion commission to create a new system and bring out the creatives, the managerial skills for the student in Saudi, a new generation of talent and managing.
Success in fashion can be elusive and subjective. How does institute mar on measure the success of its graduate beyond job placement? So especially in interpret, interpret or a creative innovation.
the main goal for us, the main KPI to measure the success of our method is exactly the employability rate. we invest a lot in the organization, meaning that in each school we have a career division with a lot of people to create opportunity for our student, starting from the second year of the bachelor, they start to structure their CV in the right way. And of course, we have tools and activities to announce this placement, we achieve a 91% of employability of our student worldwide. these figures have been certified by dosa, which is an external field. Dosa made the survey among our student, after one year of the diploma degree, this is relating to the cluster of students, who made the bachelors and masters.
After one year,91% of students found a job. Among the 91% of the student, 32% are entrepreneurs.This is the second KPI that we measure. It is really unique because it is based on research. And the methods are not only for design, not only to create a collection, but to create a brand. the mindset we teach is very different. sometimes people ask me, which is the main different that you perceive between the method of Marni compared to the method of your competitor. And I always say our method is we deliver the outcome and the learning outcome to build a brand. the vision, the structure, the method, how to do it in the reality, according to the results, 32% is a huge result.
this is some thing in which we invested from 2020 after five years it will be something that is very interesting. Not only as a space, but the shuffle of our courses in order to inject every year the most important innovating learning outcome for our students.
do you have a mentorship program and you know, networking opportunities for the students as well?
Yes, absolutely. We have, a networking of alumni, we have 45,000 of alumni around the world, we also provide to our alumni a lot of services, special courses for training. sometimes we ask to our alumni to become a coach, a teacher, a mentor for our students. this community works very well. if we have student that want to understand more, we can offer the possibility to have a talk with some of our alumni maybe in the region to understand exactly what the experience was, which was the results that they absolutely perceive the value of marran goni since they, they studied with us.
Many fashion schools are integrating sustainability into their program, but how does institute Marni ensure that ethical responsibility becomes a second nature to its students rather than just a model in their studies?
Yeah, we injected of course the sustainable method as we did with the innovation in the most important core business. Bachelor and master. We have a specific master, one in London, in Milan and other. But for me, the real point of the sustainability is in novation. Why? I can deliver a concrete example. If you look up the entire process of the creation of the collection in fashion design, you have a phase that is the prototype phase that where the company, they, they utilize a lot of material as they have in the past, they can waste a lot of material maybe to try to define the right prototype. Now with our kind of software, there are software that we absolutely, teach to our student.
you can utilize this software, and you can do all the samples in the 3D. you can change the color, you can change the accessory. you cannot waste anymore. this is sustainable. you must define which are in the process the most impacted momentum and try to substitute thanks to technology, the innovation, the new generation of student in general, the younger generation are very sustainable in their mindset. you don't need to teach them through psychological level, what is important in this market, in my view, you must try to deliver the right tool. In order really enter a company and maybe introduce the process, something new, the capacity to utilize a new software, new tool in order not to waste so much. And that this is possible today with the digital learning, and with some processes Eliminating waste.
with AI driven design and digital fashion gaining momentum, does institute meran see a shift in how creativity is defined and how its institution preparing students to stay relevant? with the use of all the digital tools and ai, how do you ensure that the creativity, is it still there and the students remain creative?
Absolutely. We believe that the artificial intelligence tool are tools in order to offer the possibility to have a faster execution. ] the creation is not related to them a chine. the machine can maybe collect data, collect images, collect information. It's more of a tool to accelerate the research. But the creation is something relating to the human, The human feelings, the human thinking is not related to the machine, like is the vision for a collection. What should be very interesting is, and this is our exact strategy is to provide a map of artificial intelligence to explain how to utilize those tools and offer a new opportunity to the student to be faster in execution. in our vision, if they are faster in the execution, they can spend more time on the vision and strategy, this is our belief.
Based on your experience, what is the one piece of advice you would give to young creatives looking to establish themselves as future leaders in fashion?
What I would like to deliver is that to today, the market is going to change, but when the market is going to change, there are always a lot of opportunities. And I think that if there are going to consider the new generation of potential, customer, and they approach this new generation with new tools, I think there is an opportunity for them to create a different relationship with the customer base, the clients. I also think as we mentioned, the artificial intelligence, if they start maybe to approach with some courses and see the power of this tool, they can really maybe utilize it in a more efficient way, as I say, spend less time in the execution and dedicate more time on the vision, in the creation. I think there are a lot of opportunities if they are brave and curious. I'm sure that there are also new demand at this moment for new talent.
do you offer, in the region any short courses? acceptance rate and age group, do you tend to accept who can apply.
for sure. It depends on the school. Dubai has an interesting roster of courses that are short or professional and they are dedicating some ups killing or skilling in, in the different field. In also in the AI and in the new immersive, virtual ward I believe that there is a transformation in all fields, in fashion, indesign, the creative field the talent that are curious and they want to announce their skill. They have an opportunity.
We have also one course for one year that is exactly dedicating to people that want to change, or they want to acquire in one year. All the main important skills in fashion or in design, there is no admission request and this is a, real product, very useful to improve and obtain, it's very intense. Because there a lot of hours.
It's full immersion. we don't have problem with the different age because really it depends on the goal. If your goal is to enter in this field and acquire in the fast way, the most important learning outcome, the one year fit at this course,
I must add that of course Marni was not really focused on the professional field, but we started recently because I perceive that there is a demand. And I think it's very useful in this momentum because with the new transformation Absolutely people that are working in companies, they need this training. for a personal reason, for a company reason. it's not easy. but we did apply those tools, you can seethe powerful of this tool. You can try to take the best from this tool. It's incredible. we can see the results of some project that our students are used to do. In the reality with this ula, we can see that starting by the end of the first year of the Bachelor, they arrive to have a level that is very similar in the traditional method at what you achieve at the end of the Bachelor. There is an acceleration. That is incredible.
I believe that the, you know, the, we are in the new digital age, and I believe that even like the biggest designers and the biggest brands are always in need for AI and digitally skilled.
if you can utilize ai, you have an idea in mind and in with this tool, you can maybe utilize this software in creating images, a mood board In a different way. You have the possibility to realize and fix your idea. In multiple ways. No. And maybe you decide after your direction.
it's not only interesting, but also very important for, from now ahead, for the largest companies. I believe this profession, or this tool and skill is going to be in demand.
in my view, you must dominate the artificial internet. The real point is if you know how to utilize the, the ai, you are going to dominate. You can obtain incredible results. And I believe that there will be a separation in the market because people that are not so creative, they will be discovered immediately. Because you can see if something is similar, but people who are creative, they can stand out.
