Istituto Marangoni Miami announces scholarship with Vogue Mexico and Latin America

Last week, Istituto Marangoni Miami announced a unique scholarship opportunity in collaboration with Vogue Mexico and Latin America at an exclusive event held during Espacio Vogue Miami, a four day pop-up celebrating the best of Latin American talent. The Vogue Mexico & Latin America X Istituto Marangoni Miami Scholarship launch began with a talk between Conde Nast’s Karla Martinez de Salas and IMM’s Dean of Fashion Keanan Duffty to a gathering of Miami socialites, influencers and academics.

Speaking to FashionUnited afterwards Duffty, who took up his position in January after having founded the Master’s program in Fashion Management at Parsons School of Design in 2019, expressed his admiration for the opportunity IMM founder and president, Hakan Baykam, identified in choosing the Miami location and for what Baykan has established in just 5 years.

“We have more of a making sensibility than many schools, and that’s going to grow as the school grows,” said Duffty. “That speaks to the entrepreneurship culture in Miami. There’s a massive boom going on, a vibe that something’s really happening in the city."

The original Istituto Marangoni, founded in Milan in 1935 by tailor Giulio Marangoni, counts as alumni Franco Moschino; Alessandra Facchinetti of Gucci, Valentino and Tod’s; and Rodolfo Paglialunga who was Miuccia Prada's fashion assistant for 13 years before taking the reins at Jil Sander, among others. London and Paris branches were opened in the 2000s followed by the Miami outpost in 2018. With 300 students currently enrolled, IMM is located on the edge of Miami's Design District surrounded by major luxury stores, with Mood fabrics just a couple of blocks away. “The school looks like a luxury brand as well,” said Duffty of the 21,900 square-foot building’s eye-catching architecture.

The Scholarship program is run through The Miami Fashion Foundation and the 10 winners will be offered a 50 percent scholarship and a place on in the school’s 1-year course for fall semester 2023. Winners must be able to prove funds for the remaining balance of their education and cost of living in Miami for the 1-year program, an immigration stipulation required to maintain the M Visa provided to students studying this course.

Istituto Marangoni Miami explores its Conde Nast connection through student scholarship

IMM’s Executive Vice President Eva Hughes, who was the founder of Vogue Mexico and Latin Americas, and CEO at Conde Nast for many years, together with the school's Director of Communications and PR, Brenda Diaz de la Vega, former Editor in Chief of Harpers Bazaar Mexico and Latin America as well as L’Officiel Mexico, were the lynchpins for the collaboration. Karla Martinez de Salas, Head of Editorial Content at Vogue Mexico & Latin America was already a regular visitor to IMM, critiquing student work, offering professional feedback.

“This kind of relationship is brilliant and makes sense. It’s very logical,” said Duffty. “It broadens our reach obviously from an international perspective with the strength of the Conde Nast name, but throughout Latin America Istituto Marangoni is very well-known already, with a lot of visibility, because our students go on to present in Guatemala Fashion Week, Panama Fashion Week, Venezuela and so on.”

The scholarship aims to encourage Latin American design and entrepreneurship. “75 percent of our students are from Latin America with much of the balance being students from other Spanish speaking areas, Mexico, Puerto Rico, as well as kids from Southern Florida whose primary language is Spanish,” said Duffty. “That’s what’s really unique about Istituto Marangoni Miami. It’s a gateway for young talent to have an American education while maintaining some familiarity with their home country.”

The scholarship is open to Fashion Business, Fashion Design and Interior Design students and each submission must meet specific written and visual criteria pertinent to their discipline. The deadline for applications and submissions is August 18th, 2023 and winners will be selected by a jury composed of leadership from IMM and Vogue Mexico and Latin America. The announcement of scholarship recipients will take place on August 28th.

Students in each of the three categories are encouraged to prioritize originality in their submissions with the brief stating that the jury is looking for “the voice of a new generation to create fresh new global perspectives."