Istituto Marangoni, the leading Italian fashion, art and design school, has announced their expansion into the Americas with the opening of their first school in the United States in Miami Design District. The campus will be their the 10th worldwide since Istituto Marangoni was founded in 1935 in Milan. Since then the school has more than 80 years of history and success in training the top professionals of Fashion and Design. The institution consistently plays a key role in shaping global fashion trends and holds the merit of creating some of the biggest names in the industry, including Domenico Dolce, Franco Moschino, Alessandro Sartori (Zegna Group Creative Director), Paula Cademartori, Julie de Libran (Artistic Director of Sonia Rykiel), Rocco Iannone (Creative Director of Pal Zileri), Maurizio Pecoraro brand owner and Istituto Marangoni’s International Fashion Chair), amongst others. Istituto Marangoni currently educates 4,000 students per year from 107 countries at its schools, located in Milano (the School of Fashion and the School of Design), Firenze (School of Fashion & Art), Paris, London, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Mumbai and Miami., the international capitals of fashion, design and luxury. The prestigious school will now deliver the brand’s proven and unparalleled education model to top students throughout the US and Latin America through their Miami Design District location. 

“Bringing Istituto Marangoni to the Americas satisfies a long-term vision to support and develop youth interested in fashion and design from all over the word,” said Roberto Riccio, Group Managing Director of Istituto Marangoni. “We are thrilled by the opportunity to give emerging talent in the Americas a platform to hone their skills and realize their true potential in the industry.” 

The school, which offers Associates, BA and Masters Programs, will be anchored by values that were ‘Made in Italy’ but will also blend with the city’s unique cultural elements, such as the local emphasis on sustainability and innovation. This includes integrating forward-thinking and sustainable practices into the course programming and looking at Miami’s commitment to resilience to shape the overall DNA of the campus. Istituto Marangoni will also uphold the brand’s own international imprint of ‘Italianness,’ which seeks to contextualize theoretical teachings in a way that promotes creative platforms and potential opportunities for students and alumni. The concept will be brand new for the US and will reinvent the fashion industry of Miami. Hakan Baykam, president of the new School, has identified the unique opportunity in Miami to pioneer a new fashion hub.

“We were looking to create a new global fashion destination and selected Miami for its existing international allure and for its need for a firmly established fashion school. The city’s rapid growth in the design and art categories coupled with its accessibility to Latin America made it the perfect choice for us,” said Baykam. “Miami already has the groundwork for success, and we feel that a brand of Istituto Marangoni’s caliber will take the city to the next level. This new campus is just the first step to developing a fashion hub that will be taken seriously around the world.”