This week at The New School, titans of luxury gathered to celebrate 10 years of “The Luxury Education Foundation,” a not-for-profit organization that focuses on educational programs in luxury for business and the creative fields. Along with Columbia Business School and Parsons School of Design, the fund aims to provide scholarships, roundtables and mentorships to college graduate and undergraduate students who are passionate about the world of luxury.
Henri Barguirdjian, the CEO and President of Graff USA and Thomas Serrano the president of Havas Luxe opened the presentation at the Tisman Auditorium. Ketty Pucci-Sisti Maisonrouge, is the President of the The Luxury Education Foundation otherwise called, LEF. She stated that the foundation was sparked by an increased interest in professions in the luxury arena.
A short film was shown followed by a discussion and Q&A with former students which was moderated by the Divisional President of Chanel fashion, Brabara Cirkva. Also sitting in on the panel was the LEF treasurer and the President and CEO of Hermes’ North America, Robert Chavez.
A giant in Italian cashmere, Fabio Leoncini, the COO of Luxury Goods at Loro Piana, spoke eloquently stating, “Luxury is something that can be cherished for many years and even passed down through the generations.”
After the panel discussion guests retired to the second floor for coctail reception and viewing of student projects. To underscore the importance of the foundation, one of the most successful projects was from a team in 2006, who took a fresh approach to Hermes’ iconic enamel bracelet. They appropriated the motif from a Hermes tea-cup and put it on the bracelet. It’s become a best seller for the brand.
Other projects included an all-in-one travel game-set done for, Loro Piana, and from the British stroller brand, Maclaren, a team designed a golden buggy for Kate Middleton’s newest baby.
Participating brands who are a part of the foundations efforts include a grand list big players in the luxury field , including: Dior, Cartier, Cadillac, Lalique, Louis Vuitton, Louis Xlll, Salvatore Ferragamo, The St Regis New York, Tiffany and Co. Van Cleef & Arpels and Stuart Weitzman. If you’d like to see some of the projects this week which they deemed “Artisans Week,” you can visit the below shops.
Ferragamo Flagship: 663 Fifth Ave NYC from 3/24 to 3/29 10am to 7pm (Sunday 12pm to 6pm)
Graff: 710 Madison Avenue from 3/26 form 10am to 6pm
Lalique: 609 Madison Avenue, 3/24 to 3/27 from 4pm to 6pm
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