Fashioning Spaces a Collaborative Project with Saci & Ferragamo

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FASHIONING SPACES A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT WITH SACI & FERRAGAMO

FLORENCE, ITALY

saci-florence.edu MISSION

saci’s mission is to provide undergraduate and graduate students with a challenging, life-

enhancing experience in the center of florence in traditional and contemporary studio arts,

design, conservation, and art history. students directly access centuries of italian culture

through a wide range of courses of academic excellence. saci engages in leading areas of

research and exploration, interacts with the community through artistic and social

programs, and prepares students to excel in their future careers as artists and designers.

Quality, contemporary elegance and innovation are the hallmarks of each Salvatore Ferragamo product and, together with a tradition of fine craftsmanship, create the value and authenticity for which the brand is universally recognized.

bel ow: a disp l ay at t he f er r ag a mo mu seum in f l or en ce, i ta ly, f or t he “1927 t he r e t ur n t o i ta ly ” e x hibi t ion. INTRODUCTION that will serve as a catalyst for designing Phase III: Pop-Up Installation the final installation for Ferragamo. SACI Design and Prototype Fashioning Spaces is an interdisciplinary faculty will provide students with the The deliverable outcome of this course will program developed through a collaboration analytical tools to observe, evaluate and be a physical and/or virtual mock-up of a with SACI and the Ferragamo Foundation record the content and context of the Pop-Up Installation. Its location will be and Museum in Florence, Italy. exhibition for the Case Study. determined by the student.

Students enrolling in SACI’s Fashion In conjunction with the observations from Models and simulations to develop, test Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design, and the exhibition, students will learn about and complete the prototypical designs will Museology courses have the opportunity to Ferragamo as a design giant in the fashion be made using physical models, drawings participate in this program, which will take industry, studying the innovative DNA of its and digital multimedia. place at SACI with Ferragamo providing founder, Salvatore Ferragamo and how his guidance and acting as a client. genius influenced the entire fashion and retail world. The course outcome is defined as a “Pop-Up” Throughout its history, Ferragamo has since it would be a temporary installation been known for innovative designs and Phase II: Identify, Extract, Translate and would operate for only a short period use of materials. Students will have Building on the foundation of knowledge of time. It will therefore be spontaneous the unique opportunity to learn directly derived from the exhibition, and the and adaptable, and designed so it can be from Ferragamo’s operation. Fashioning research about Ferragamo compiled replicated, small enough in scale so it can Spaces will bring together theoretical and through the Case Study, students will now be easily assembled and dismantled. It may practical approaches. Students will apply develop methods to identify, extract, and be designed using multiple platforms and research, design and entrepreneurial translate key fashion design concepts and materials. Innovative technology solutions thinking to convert their ideas from concept themes that can be applied to their final will be deployed to display, project and to action. The program will begin with Pop-Up Installation. These concepts will be animate the Ferragamo products and academic research, theory and history, developed with the goal of leveraging the artifacts. The installation may be staged followed by supervised practical hands-on Ferragamo brand in its main flagship stores for performances designed to enhance the studios and workshops. Fashion Design, around the world. customer experience. Interior Design, Graphic Design, and Museology students will collaborate on a During this phase, students will interrogate Particular attention will be given to the prototypical Pop-Up Installation that will the mission, messaging and communication selection and placement of Ferragamo be hypothetically designed for Ferragamo’s of the Ferragamo brand through the lens of products that will be merchandized within flagship store. the exhibition. Combined disciplines within this installation. the studio will identify and share what they consider to be the unique features that CURRICULUM Holistic design principles will be used to demonstrate how Ferragamo is different integrate design concepts, tested through from other fashion brands. Phase I: Research and Analysis of a lens of feasibility of implementation, Exhibition Design Salvatore Ferragamo was influenced by the applicability, context, and financial The program will begin with the formal main artists of his epoch, and he, in turn, feasibility, as well as the value proposition opening of a seminal Ferragamo exhibition is still an influential artist today. Some of and relevance to the Ferragamo brand. in Florence celebrating Salvatore the questions we will consider during this The studio will encourage innovation and Ferragaomo’s return to Italy 90 years ago. period include: entrepreneurial thinking in conjunction with This exhibition will be themed around “1927 creative design and artistic skills. The Return to Italy” and will remain open • What will fashion retailing of the to the public in the Ferragamo Museum for future look like and how will this affect Principles of Design Thinking will be one year. Ferragamo? optimized across disciplines so that students will have the opportunity to learn The Director of the Ferragamo Museum and • Is storefront retail the most effective collaboratively how to problem solve, and Foundation, Dr. Stefania Ricci, and her team means to display and sell fashion to create and innovate with their Pop-Up of Ferragamo designers, historians and products and merchandise? Installation as though they are professional archivists, together with SACI faculty, will designers in a commercial environment. introduce the students to the overarching • How can the customer experience be This practical experience - testing ideas in strategy and implementation of the heightened? a real-world scenario - will provide unique exhibition. • How are fashion and retail changing conditions for learning and developing The information and knowledge gleaned with new technologies (new materials, applicable creative design skills. from the museum exhibition will be customization, wearables)? collated and documented in the form • What are the challenges for Ferragamo’s SACI and participating students will work of a Case Study that will become the tradition of craftsmanship with the with Ferragamo to document the ideas reference material for the next phases of advent of cheap and rapid reproduction of and products generated from the studio this collaborative project. The Case Study high fashion on a massive global scale? collaborations. A Design Blog tracking will have a Design underpinning, collated progress of studio work will be created. The by students in all the disciplines involved • How does Ferragamo maintain its core course will culminate in an exhibition in the in this collaboration. This will provide brand while still keeping up and adapting SACI Gallery featuring the design solutions a foundation of knowledge and criteria to new trends? created by the students. DELIVERABLES • Demonstrate understanding of different APPLICATION PROCESS curatorial ideas, practices and actors in Students in the program will be expected to fashion. Completed applications should be received complete the following: no later than June 15 for the Fall term. • Showcase competence in interpreting Applications received after June 15 will and using curatorial tools and → A documented case study on the be considered only if space is available. techniques. curatorial practices/fashioning spaces Applicants should complete and submit the with focus on the Ferragamo exhibition • Demonstrate competence in producing online application form through the SACI in Florence (Phase I). original designs from research and web site, including a $70 non-refundable → A design narrative toolkit from the concept development to prototyping and processing fee. For further information, Ferragamo exhibition in Florence that executing a product through appropriate contact SACI’s New York Admissions Office transforms into a physical and/or virtual 2D to 3D processes. at [email protected]. mock-up of a Pop-Up Installation for the Ferragamo retail stores (Phase II & III). • Demonstrate a competent visual → An exhibition to display the design narrative through research, critical solutions created by the students, which thinking, developed concepts and will be exhibited in the SACI Gallery aesthetic choices. along with a magazine and blog (Phase III). • Demonstrate understanding of fashion history and actively engage in historical and contextual research. LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the successful completion of this course, FACULTY students will be able to: Fashioning Spaces Instructors: • Demonstrate understanding of the creative process, through the methods Daniele Bedini of research, analysis and problem Interior Design (Pop-up Retail) solving towards generating design development relevant to the project Jessica Hayoz brief. Fashion Design (Trend Forecasting, Visual Merchandising and Retail Design, • Evidence the ability to be professionally The Ferragamo Story) engaged with external partners, and Fashioning Spaces Guest Lecturers: demonstrate a critical awareness of the parameters of the management of those Maria Antonia Rinaldi relationships. Museology (Museum Design, Curation of 1920’s Art, Past and Present) • Evidence the ability to identify problems and to apply concepts, principles Camilla Torna and techniques in order to generate Graphic Design (Museum Experience, solutions. Visual Design and Branding)

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