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AZ Factory<\/strong> will be transformed into a program of scholarships and support for young talent<\/strong>, dubbed \u201cAZ Academy: Business For Designers<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The inclusive, accessible fashion brand<\/strong>, founded in 2019 by Alber Elbaz<\/strong> within the Swiss Richemont group<\/strong>, had already undergone its first transformation. The Israeli designer had passed away from Covid in April 2021<\/strong>, having presented only the first opus<\/strong> of his new label three months earlier during Paris Haute Couture Week.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Richemont then decided to call on creative talents to embody the brand each season<\/strong>. From April 2022, South African Thebe Magugu<\/strong>, French tandem Ester Manas<\/strong>, German Lutz Huelle<\/strong>, British Lucinda Chamber<\/strong> and Molly Molloy<\/strong>, and Finnish Jenny Hyt\u00f6nen<\/strong> successively delivered their personal vision of AZ Factory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The idea was not entirely new. Long before Richemont, back in 2018, down jacket brand Moncler<\/strong> had launched its Moncler Genius<\/strong> program, proposing to reinvent its famous down jackets in capsules, to artists from fashion (Rick Owens, <\/strong>Valentino artistic director Pierpaolo Piccioli<\/strong>, New York-based Englishman Karl Templer, <\/strong>Irish designer Simone Rocha…<\/strong>) or other horizons such as music (Alicia Keys Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z…<\/strong>). Jean-Paul Gaultier<\/strong> has more or less taken up the idea, entrusting his ready-to-wear collections to guest designers (Ottolinger, Palomo Spain, Shayne Oliver…)<\/strong> since 2021.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n But while the formula of collaborations<\/strong> seems to work well for established brands such as Moncler or Gaultier, it’s not certain that it has enabled a House still in its infancy<\/strong> to really take off….<\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ Academy: Business For Designers<\/strong>, AZ Factory’s new avatar, retains two initial ideas: to target emerging and established designers<\/strong>, and to pursue AZ Factory’s DNA of \u2018smart fashion that cares<\/strong>\u2019. But the business is no longer commercial.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ Academy: Business For Designers, which will draw on the Richemont Group’s Creative Academy<\/strong> and a partnership with Italy’s Accademia Costume & Moda<\/strong> in Milan, will take the form of a one-year program<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The aim is to enhance the skills of designers with \u201ca unique program designed\u201d to \u201cequip them with the skills and knowledge they need to turn their creative ideas<\/strong> into successful, investor-friendly businesses<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is aimed in particular at \u201cemerging creative talents and new designers<\/strong>, who aspire to launch their own brands after graduating from international fashion schools\u201d. But in addition to the latter, \u201cprofessional designers already in the industry<\/strong> who are at a turning point in their careers<\/strong>\u201d can also try their luck, since May, to enter the AZ Academy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In September, their applications will be sorted by a jury of fashion professionals<\/strong>, who will select a dozen<\/strong> or so based on the creativity and durability of their dossier. The \u201cwinners\u201d will then receive a scholarship and will travel to Milan in early 2025<\/strong> to benefit from the new Academy’s program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They will follow this full-time program, structured around various themes (marketing, merchandising, developing an offer, production, sales, logistics, legal and administrative aspects)<\/strong>, to help them build or consolidate their House.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to general training, participants will be helped to define a personal mentoring plan<\/strong>. At the end of the program, they will have ten or so meetings with tutors<\/strong>, who will help them draw up their final project. This will be presented to an internal Richemont jury in December.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For the Swiss group, this new initiative is part of its drive to open up to tomorrow’s talent<\/strong>, a goal also pursued by other major luxury players with their own schools or partnerships with existing structures.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to its Creative Academy<\/strong>, founded in Milan in 2003, which prepares students for a Master’s degree in Design and Applied Arts, Richemont has also created the Retail Academy<\/strong>, available in Shanghai since 2011<\/strong>, Hong Kong SAR<\/strong> (China) in 2019 and New York<\/strong> in 2020.<\/p>\nCollaborations<\/h2>\n
One-year program<\/h2>\n
Mentoring<\/h2>\n
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