Language

English

Start date

November 2024

Frequency

Full time

Fruition

On campus

Duration

9 Months

Course Coordination

Olimpia Nocentini

Combine creative vision with project management and business strategies to orchestrate the processes behind fashion products.

Develop an in-depth understanding of the fashion market, study consumer habits, and master the selection of fabrics, styles, and quantities to build a unique and effective product collections that reflect market trends and client needs.

Gain analytical tools commercial frameworks for understanding the deep essence of what a fashion product is. The Master in Fashion Merchandising and Buying covers the entire supply chain and manages each step of the process from the creation to the sales of a product line. 

The aim of this course is to provide students with the fundamental skills and knowledge necessary to guide and operate in real fashion processes in both local and international realities. In addition to lectures, case histories, and workshops, students will also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in prestigious company visits, coming into direct contact with a variety of professional figures from the local fashion scene.

Information to decide

Acquire competences that will allow you operate in and manage the various steps of the fashion supply chain while perfecting your creative dexterity for visual composition. 

The IED Master in Fashion Merchandising and Buying is founded on learning by doing and a project-oriented approach that balances theoretical study with practical applications, comprehensively covering fashion production processes and managerial practices, paying particular attention to sustainability and the circular economy. 

Students will participate in practical exercises that will simulate a real buying experience for a particular store, creating a brand forecasting report to plan the following season based on past and present information. Moreover, the class will prepare a visual merchandising strategy that emphasizes the importance of brand concept and perception through the use of images, mood boards, and other visual materials.

The course’s final project will see students produce a professional merchandising plan and buying strategy that includes both collection and purchase proposals that reflect the latest market trends, the client’s requirements, and fashion guide lines in regards to time, seasons, and production. 

Considering the wide range of cultural, industrial, and commercial aspects of merchandising and buying, this Master is open to all students interested in entering the world of fashion with a particular interest in quality products as a common denominator.

The course has been designed to prepare students for careers as Merchandising Managers and Fashion Buyers. The skills and competencies acquired in this program may also prove fundamental if students wish to consider job positions such as Product Managers.

The Fashion Merchandising and Buying Master's Course provides you with an understanding and know-how of such tools as operations and above all, categories - an area where merchandising and buying share a close connection. Through the analysis of business processes, you will gain an understanding of how fashion companies deliver and maximize their collections for retail and distribution at every stage of the job. In addition, you will always be supported by a faculty of professionals who are willing to share their experience and expertise.

Tuscany has perhaps the largest fashion cluster in the world, and studying here is not just about learning things but also experiencing them first-hand with full-immersion training. This experience will give you insight into how to best manage a fashion company's processes and operations.

Syllabus

With the skills acquired along the way of the Master Course in Fashion Merchandising and Buying, you will learn how to properly identify your target market and its patterns of behaviour.

This is a crucial step when it comes to defining your product or service in terms of distribution strategy, target markets, merchandising and communication strategies and activities.

The Subject you will be trained on are:

- Contemporary Fashion Culture

- Market and Consumer Psychology

- Product Management

- International Fashion Marketing

- Fashion Merchandising

- Fashion Buying

- Fashion Operations

- Case history

- Company visits

- Final Project

Faculty

Andrea Selvi

International Business Develop. & Buying Manager at YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP

Mentor

Olimpia Nocentini

Brand & Merchandising Consultant

Course Coordinator

Nicola Antonelli

CMO at LUISAVIAROMA.COM

Irene Chellini

Anthropologist

Samantha Caini

Freelance Senior Fashion Buyer & Merchandiser

Virginia Capozzi

Business Development, Strategy Manager

Marco Fabiano

Buying and Merchandising Director

Belèn Jimenez

Merchandising Coordinator

Alessandro Pierattini

Textile Designer

Valentina Quintarelli

Visual Merchandiser

What people say

“Buying and Merchandising is a balance of clever fashion sense and business expertise. Because of the new fashion rhythm is a key function for fashion brand and retailer since it requires a proactive professional, who is always up-to-date on the latest trends, to better understand what final consumers want to buy.”

Andrea Selvi

Fashion Merchandising and Buying Master Course Mentor

“Fashion Brands are the essence of personality, creativity, design and craftsmanship. Fashion Brand Management is how to turn that into reality.”

Theo Grassl

Fashion Brand Management Master Course Mentor

"Understanding the impact of trends and what is necessary for a business means comprehending the history, how they move through culture and how the memes play into dispersing trends over seemingly disconnected sectors is essential.”

Elizabeth Bowring

Fashion Trend Forecasting Master Course Mentor

“The most compelling fashion brands of today have found a way to balance innovative design and creativity with social consciousness. Consumers are no longer mesmerized by popularity or cache — they want to invest in clothing that speaks to their identity and tells a story. As a style editor and writer, I’m excited to share my perspective on fashion’s evolution through youth culture with IED’s master class.”

Danielle Kwateng

Creative Direction for Fashion Master Course Mentor

“We are living in a historical moment in which it is necessary to break the vicious cycles, rules and schemes that were created in another era and cannot be sustained today.”

Margherita Maccapani Missoni

Fashion Business Master Course Mentor

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