FLORENCE — LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is strengthening its vocational training model as its Institut des Métiers d’Excellence has signed three partnerships in Italy.
The announcement was made at Palazzo Pucci, which houses IME’s Italian headquarters, during a ceremony that celebrated last year’s graduates and marked the official beginning of IME’s second academic year in Italy.
The three partnerships will focus on training future talents in artisanal and retail skills. A program teaching technical expertise in assembling women’s footwear has been introduced with the Politecnico Calzaturiero in Capriccio di Vigonza, near Padua. The course includes 500 hours of theoretical and laboratory classes and 400 hours of internship in a LVMH company, including Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Rossimoda.
Retail-wise, a “Master in Luxury, Customer Adviser” has been added to the offer, beginning in the 2018-19 academic year. Entirely in English, the 1,500-hour course has been developed by Venice’s Università Ca’ Foscari and its Challenge School division.
Both courses will be funded by Italy’s Veneto region, while the Emilia-Romagna region will fund a third, soon-to-be-launched program training men’s shoe artisans and developed by the Berluti Académie du Savoir-faire in Ferrara.
Each apprenticeship alternates between theoretical education at the schools and practical training at the LVMH

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A NEW SIZE: Redefining the age-old “one size fits all” notion, a collection of adjustable dresses, tops and trench coats designed by Ester Manas will be sold at Galeries Lafayette this spring.
“It’s a collection that draws on the idea that all women must be dressed,” explained Manas, winner of the department store’s prize at the International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères, France, this year. Pointing to a sweatshirt with a bright red elastic belt, the designer explained that the collection, called “Fashion for All,” is meant to span a range from European size 34 to size 50, thanks to the help of belts, straps and snaps.

A look by Ester Manas, who will create a capsule for Galeries Lafayette. 
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD

“We liked this open vision of fashion,” noted Alix Morabito, fashion director of Galeries Lafayette. The department store was interested in pursuing something “playful and very free” for the season, which worked well with Manas’ approach, she added.
The two showed how a gathered shirt sleeve on a cotton dress could be extended to cover part of the arm; the print was stripes of text: “xs, s, m, l, xl, uni.”
Manas also conveyed a body-positive message.
“People can buy the same item…there

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