saci-florence.edu

FASHIONINGSPACESA COLLABORATIVE PROJECT WITH SACI & FERRAGAMO

FLORENCE, ITALY

MISSIONsaci’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 communit y 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.

b e l o w: a d i s p l ay at t h e f e r r a g a m o m u s e u m i n f l o r e n c e , i ta ly, f o r t h e “1927 t h e r e t u r n t o i ta ly ” e x h i b i t i o n.

INTRODUCTION

Fashioning Spaces is an interdisciplinary program developed through a collaborationwith SACI and the Ferragamo Foundation and Museum in Florence, Italy.

Students enrolling in SACI’s Fashion Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design, and Museology courses have the opportunity to participate in this program, which will take place at SACI with Ferragamo providing guidance and acting as a client.

Throughout its history, Ferragamo has been known for innovative designs and use of materials. Students will have the unique opportunity to learn directly from Ferragamo’s operation. Fashioning Spaces will bring together theoretical and practical approaches. Students will apply research, design and entrepreneurial thinking to convert their ideas from concept to action. The program will begin with academic research, theory and history, followed by supervised practical hands-on studios and workshops. Fashion Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design, and Museology students will collaborate on a prototypical Pop-Up Installation that will be hypothetically designed for Ferragamo’s flagship store.

CURRICULUM

Phase I: Research and Analysis of Exhibition DesignThe program will begin with the formal opening of a seminal Ferragamo exhibition in Florence celebrating Salvatore Ferragaomo’s return to Italy 90 years ago. This exhibition will be themed around “1927 The Return to Italy” and will remain open to the public in the Ferragamo Museum for one year.

The Director of the Ferragamo Museum and Foundation, Dr. Stefania Ricci, and her team of Ferragamo designers, historians and archivists, together with SACI faculty, will introduce the students to the overarching strategy and implementation of the exhibition.

The information and knowledge gleaned from the museum exhibition will be collated and documented in the form of a Case Study that will become the reference material for the next phases of this collaborative project. The Case Study will have a Design underpinning, collated by students in all the disciplines involved in this collaboration. This will provide a foundation of knowledge and criteria

that will serve as a catalyst for designing the final installation for Ferragamo. SACI faculty will provide students with the analytical tools to observe, evaluate and record the content and context of the exhibition for the Case Study.

In conjunction with the observations from the exhibition, students will learn about Ferragamo as a design giant in the fashion industry, studying the innovative DNA of its founder, Salvatore Ferragamo and how his genius influenced the entire fashion and retail world. 

Phase II: Identify, Extract, TranslateBuilding on the foundation of knowledge derived from the exhibition, and the research about Ferragamo compiled through the Case Study, students will now develop methods to identify, extract, and translate key fashion design concepts and themes that can be applied to their final Pop-Up Installation. These concepts will be developed with the goal of leveraging the Ferragamo brand in its main flagship stores around the world.

During this phase, students will interrogate the mission, messaging and communication of the Ferragamo brand through the lens of the exhibition. Combined disciplines within the studio will identify and share what they consider to be the unique features that demonstrate how Ferragamo is different from other fashion brands. 

Salvatore Ferragamo was influenced by the main artists of his epoch, and he, in turn, is still an influential artist today. Some of the questions we will consider during this period include:

• What will fashion retailing of the future look like and how will this affect Ferragamo?

• Is storefront retail the most effective means to display and sell fashion products and merchandise?

• How can the customer experience be heightened?

• How are fashion and retail changing with new technologies (new materials, customization, wearables)?

• What are the challenges for Ferragamo’s tradition of craftsmanship with the advent of cheap and rapid reproduction of high fashion on a massive global scale?

• How does Ferragamo maintain its core brand while still keeping up and adapting to new trends?

Phase III: Pop-Up Installation Design and PrototypeThe deliverable outcome of this course will be a physical and/or virtual mock-up of a Pop-Up Installation. Its location will be determined by the student. 

Models and simulations to develop, test and complete the prototypical designs will be made using physical models, drawings and digital multimedia.

The course outcome is defined as a “Pop-Up” since it would be a temporary installation and would operate for only a short period of time. It will therefore be spontaneous and adaptable, and designed so it can be replicated, small enough in scale so it can be easily assembled and dismantled. It may be designed using multiple platforms and materials. Innovative technology solutions will be deployed to display, project and animate the Ferragamo products and artifacts. The installation may be staged for performances designed to enhance the customer experience.

Particular attention will be given to the selection and placement of Ferragamo products that will be merchandized within this installation.  

Holistic design principles will be used to integrate design concepts, tested through a lens of feasibility of implementation, applicability, context, and financial feasibility, as well as the value proposition and relevance to the Ferragamo brand. The studio will encourage innovation and entrepreneurial thinking in conjunction with creative design and artistic skills.

Principles of Design Thinking will be optimized across disciplines so that students will have the opportunity to learn collaboratively how to problem solve, and to create and innovate with their Pop-Up Installation as though they are professional designers in a commercial environment. This practical experience - testing ideas in a real-world scenario - will provide unique conditions for learning and developing applicable creative design skills.

SACI and participating students will work with Ferragamo to document the ideas and products generated from the studio collaborations. A Design Blog tracking progress of studio work will be created. The course will culminate in an exhibition in the SACI Gallery featuring the design solutions created by the students.

DELIVERABLES

Students in the program will be expected to complete the following:

→ A documented case study on the curatorial practices/fashioning spaces with focus on the Ferragamo exhibition in Florence (Phase I).

→ A design narrative toolkit from the Ferragamo exhibition in Florence that transforms into a physical and/or virtual mock-up of a Pop-Up Installation for the Ferragamo retail stores (Phase II & III).

→ An exhibition to display the design solutions created by the students, which will be exhibited in the SACI Gallery along with a magazine and blog (Phase III).

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of the creative process, through the methods of research, analysis and problem solving towards generating design development relevant to the project brief.

• Evidence the ability to be professionally engaged with external partners, and demonstrate a critical awareness of the parameters of the management of those relationships.

• Evidence the ability to identify problems and to apply concepts, principles and techniques in order to generate solutions.

• Demonstrate understanding of different curatorial ideas, practices and actors in fashion.

• Showcase competence in interpreting and using curatorial tools and techniques.

• Demonstrate competence in producing original designs from research and concept development to prototyping and executing a product through appropriate 2D to 3D processes.

• Demonstrate a competent visual narrative through research, critical thinking, developed concepts and aesthetic choices.

• Demonstrate understanding of fashion history and actively engage in historical and contextual research.

FACULT Y

Fashioning Spaces Instructors:

Daniele Bedini Interior Design (Pop-up Retail)

Jessica Hayoz Fashion Design (Trend Forecasting, Visual Merchandising and Retail Design, The Ferragamo Story)

Fashioning Spaces Guest Lecturers:

Maria Antonia Rinaldi Museology (Museum Design, Curation of 1920’s Art, Past and Present)

Camilla Torna Graphic Design (Museum Experience, Visual Design and Branding)

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SACI ISA United States non-profit 501(c)(3) educational entity incorporated in 1976

A directly accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)

Affiliated with Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio, which is accredited by NASAD and by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools

Recognized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Ministry of Universities as a foreign non-profit university-level program

Students who would like to receive a copy of SACI’s accreditation, licensure, and/or approval should send a signed request for such material to SACI’s Dean.

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICYIt is the policy of Studio Arts College International (SACI) and Bowling Green State University (BGSU) that no person shall be subject to discrimination in whatever relationship with SACI or BGSU because of disability, age, race, religion, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, or national origin.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACTStudio Arts College International (New York)454 W 19th StNew York, NY 10011USAT: (212) 248-7225F: (212) 248-7222E: admissions@saci-florence.edu

Studio Arts College International (Florence)Palazzo dei CartelloniVia Sant’Antonino 1150123 Florence, ItalyT: (39) 055-289948F: (39) 055-2776408E: info@saci-florence.edu

APPLICATION PROCESS

Completed applications should be received no later than June 15 for the Fall term. Applications received after June 15 will be considered only if space is available. Applicants should complete and submit the online application form through the SACI web site, including a $70 non-refundable processing fee. For further information, contact SACI’s New York Admissions Office at admissions@saci-florence.edu.