NEW YORK, April 19, 2005 – The Luxury Education Foundation brought together the presidents of some of the world’s leading luxury goods companies with students from Columbia Business School and Parsons School of Design for the culmination of a semester-long course on the “Design and Marketing of Luxury Goods.”. Students presented new marketing and product design concepts developed for participating luxury goods companies, including Bernardaud, Chanel, Christian Dior, Graff, Lalique, Hermès and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Barbara Cirkva, Executive Vice President of Fashion at Chanel and Chair of the Luxury Education Foundation welcomed the evening’s guests on behalf of the Foundation, “The Foundation is honored to sponsor this interdisciplinary program that involves the nation’s two leading schools in Design and Business. The Foundation is committed to this program as it presents a rare opportunity for the companies to share with these talented students the unique sensibilities of the luxury industry.”

Vice Dean of Columbia Business School Safwan Masri who has been involved with the “Design and Marketing” course since the program’s inception commented on the significance of interacting with luxury goods senior executives, “Columbia Business School has continued to support and expand this program as we fully realize the exceptional value that the exchange with senior management of these firms represents to these students.”

“The Luxury Education Foundation program demonstrates Parsons’ commitment to providing its students with the opportunity to develop solutions to real-world business challenges,” said Parsons Dean Paul Goldberger. “The interaction between design and business students and the close collaboration with senior executives at luxury goods companies is unparalleled.”

The evening’s moderator Professor Ketty Maisonrouge highlighted the importance of the interdisciplinary educational program, “This course provides a real life experience accelerated to fit the constraints of the academic semester while the companies share their insight and perspective in the development of a luxury brand. It challenges students to realize the importance of collaboration in the successful creation of new concepts.” Ms. Maisonrouge is also President of the Luxury Education Foundation and an active Board member.

Taught jointly by professors from Columbia and Parsons, the program requires teams of Columbia MBA students and Parsons undergraduate students in product design, communication design, and interior design to develop solutions to marketing and design briefs submitted by top executives from each of the participating companies. When asked to develop a hair accessories line, the Bernardaud project team created the “Bernardaud Girl Storybook” as the firm seeks to appeal to a younger clientele. The Chanel team presented a new line of body skincare products, “Camélia,” which finds its innovative marketing roots in Mademoiselle Chanel’s favorite flower. As Dior celebrates the 10th anniversary of the “Lady Dior” handbag, students developed a “Luck Be a Lady” campaign which focuses on Dior’s flagship boutiques in New York and Las Vegas.

The internationally renowned jeweler Graff ventures into a different realm with the Graff team’s exclusive line of contemporary and luxury furniture. The Hermès team answered the challenge of matching the exceptional quality of the company’s products with unparalleled service that exceeds clients’ expectations, while remaining consistent with the Hermès vision of excellence. The young and sentient will flock to Lalique as the Lalique project team transformed a classic piece of Lalique jewelry into the “must have” cell phone and iPod charm, and the classic Art Deco “Mossi” vase is shrunk into a new hip line of shot glasses. The Saks Fifth Avenue team presented “Fifth on Fifth” which gives Saks a fresh look as they attract New York’s young fashion conscious with a viral marketing strategy.

The “Design and Marketing of Luxury Goods” course will be taught again in the fall 2005 semester with additional case studies presented by Baccarat, Christofle, Louis Vuitton and the Monaco Government Tourism Office.

Columbia Business School
Widely admired for its global and cutting-edge curriculum, Columbia Business School is one of the leading business schools in the world. In addition to its renowned MBA program, Columbia Business School offers the prestigious Executive MBA (EMBA) and non-degree Executive Education programs. The School’s faculty is comprised of internationally respected professors and includes Joseph Stiglitz, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2001 and was the chair for President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1995 to 1997.

Parsons Schools of Design
Located in the heart of New York City, Parsons School of Design, a division of New School University, is one of the largest degree-granting colleges of art and design in the nation, with more than 3,000 students in degreed programs, and 2,500 non-degree students from all 50 states and approximately 60 countries.

The Luxury Education Foundation
The Luxury Education Foundation, launched on December 30, 2004, is a tax-exempt not-for-profit organization focusing its efforts on sponsoring educational programs. The Foundation is the proud sponsor of the “Design and Marketing of Luxury Goods” course which brings two of the country’s leading schools, Columbia Business School and Parsons School of Design together.

For further information, please contact the Luxury Education Foundation at 212-734-4594 .