LVMH Associate Professorship in Fashion and Luxury Management
Chair Holder Emanuela Prandelli
Associate Professor in the Department of Management and Technology, Professor of Fashion and Luxury Management and Academic Director of the CEMS-MIM Master. At SDA Bocconi she is Program Director of the Master in Fashion, Experience & Design Management (MAFED). She focuses on digital strategy, open innovation, customer engagement in marketing and new product development, omnichannel customer relationship management, with a specific focus on fashion and luxury.
Joint Purpose
LVMH is a world leader in luxury products, with a unique portfolio of 75 prestigious maisons. Its brand development strategy and the expansion of its international retail network are the crucial factors of its success. Patronage and philanthropic donation are a cornerstone of LVMH's strategy and development and the Group therefore carries out a number of initiatives through its commitment to environmental protection and is also involved in culture and heritage, humanitarian action and education. In addition to these activities, the Group also stands for human development, supporting youth and talents through educational projects and career opportunities programs. The LVMH and Bocconi partnership started in 2008 in the recruiting field, then expanded in 2010 with its first experiential learning with the SDA Bocconi Full-Time MBA Program. Then, in 2016, it developed into the most prestigious link between a partner and our University with the establishment of the 5-year LVMH Associate Professorship in Fashion and Luxury Management. It is held by Emanuela Prandelli, a distinguished Professor widely recognized in the fields of Fashion & Luxury Management, Digital Strategy and Social Media Marketing, Open and User Innovation. The Professorship, renewed in 2020 for other 6 years, aims to identify new Fashion and Luxury trends with particular focus on the role of Innovation and Digitalization; support young talent; enrich students' knowledge with personal and professional viewpoints engaging a community of LVMH Managers and Bocconi Alumni; and generate new ideas to address shared challenges.
Core Activities
Research
The Professorship is an exclusive opportunity to identify new trends and best practices in the fashion and luxury industry. This is a leading research area at Bocconi, where we have built a long tradition both in the study and mapping of the most successful emerging business models in the sector, and in the analysis of the unique consumption processes in fashion and luxury. Professor Prandelli's research has focused on various different topics. One of the areas on which she has channeled her research is that of organizational processes of digital transformation, with a specific focus on emerging business models, the phenomena of the sharing economy and crowsourcing, customer funnel optimization, enhanced market analytics and behavioral segmentation, customer engagement and collaborative innovation, omnichannel commerce, social media marketing and customer relationship management. Research on the impact of artificial intelligence on product development in fashion is also relevant, with the aim of exploiting cognitive technology to foster collaboration, contamination and sharing of creative information in the development process of fashion design. At the same time, Professor Prandelli has continued to work on ongoing research projects related to digital strategy, innovation and customer engagement, with a specific focus on fashion and the luxury business.
Students
Since 2016, INSIDE LVMH DAY has been a cornerstone of the Group’s presence on campus, an opportunity to share skills, inspire students and generate new ideas. During the annual conference, keynote speakers share their vision of the future of the fashion industry. A recruiting or networking event is also organized to give students the opportunity to meet the different maisons in person and a challenge is launched during which students have to tackle a specific topic.
Moreover, throughout the year, in collaboration with LVMH headquarters, Professor Prandelli coordinates a wide range of initiatives that give Bocconi students at all degree levels (from Bachelor of Science and MSc to post-experience Masters such as MAFED and MBA) the opportunity to interact and learn directly from the maisons and LVMH professionals (guest speakers, challenges, field projects, company visits and study tours).
A close collaboration with the Master in Fashion, Design, And Experience (MAFED) has led to the creation of a Mentoring program where each student in the class has the privilege of having a manager of an LVMH Maison as a mentor, receiving targeted advice in order to develop their career path.
Dissemination
The Professorship's activities have been enriched over the years by the dissemination of Professor Prandelli's research results, thanks to her participation in seminars and conferences organized by the most prestigious academic and institutional entities.