IED and Special Projects: a closer look

A fundamental part of a school like IED’s DNA is the connection with the economic and productive environment. Companies have always been fellow travelers of IED in the journey toward innovation, through the development of Thesis Projects, tailor-Made Education, Talent Acquisition and probably the most exiting ones: Special Projects. 

Special Projects are partnerships between the school and a company aimed at exploring the development of products or services in an alternative way. For students who take part in them, they are extra-curricular training opportunities and they often translate into products released to the market with their own name (and revenues) on them. It is also a great networking and exchange experience since the teams working on the company’s brief are always guided by senior Alumni with a particular professional expertise in the relevant business sector.

2023 was exceptionally fruitful with special projects. Here’a selection of the most successful:

IED Firenze and Ginori 1735 – Breaking the Mould

During Pitti Immagine Uomo 2024, Ginori’s boutique has hosted four powerful and surprising settings designed by Interior Design students on the topic of being unique and original: like Generation Z and the new challenges this generation is launching to the future of education and society. The peak of this reflection has been a special dinner between six distinguished figures from the creative industry within the intimate ambiance of Ginori’s boutique. Click here to see the guests and settings.

Tutor Alumnae: Le Wang and Anabella Salazar Medina

IED Roma and Amazon 

Fashion Design students from IED Roma have developed a capsule collection designed to represent the life story of 25 Amazon workers in Italy. The Amazon employees will walk the catwalk with the garments, produced by the Tuscan company Dalle Piane Cashmere, on February 10 in Florence. 

Tutor Alumnus: Italo Marseglia, Fashion Designer and Mentor

IED Milano and Huawei – Art in Your Pocket 

A selected group of Undergraduate and Master students worked together to the development of a large collection of new smartwatch interfaces and related downloadable visual themes for Huawei. Watch the full collection.

Tutor: Benedetta Spreafico, Creative and Art Director