AZ ACADEMY | WELCOME DAY

We are thrilled to announce the start of the Executive Programme at AZ Academy!

This marks the beginning of an exciting journey, and we couldn’t be more proud of the talented individuals who will be part of this transformative experience. The programme represents a unique opportunity to foster creativity, collaboration, and innovation within the fashion and design industries.

A heartfelt thank you to the esteemed jury who joined us on the very first day. Your presence added immense value, setting the tone for the programme and inspiring all of us with your insights and expertise. It was a privilege to have such distinguished professionals guide us in launching this endeavour.

We would also like to extend our deepest gratitude to all the amazing professionals—our “amigos”—who have supported us every step of the way: Barbara Franchin, president and artistic director of Fondazione ITS International Talent Support; Beppe Angiolini, owner of luxury multibrand boutique Sugar and honorary president of Camera Buyer Italia; Burak Cakmak, CEO of the Fashion Commission at the Ministry of Culture, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Isabel Marant, founder of Isabel Marant; Lupo Lanzara, chairman of Accademia Costume & Moda; Lutz Huelle, artistic director, design consultant; Magalie Guerin, deputy director of Villa Noailles; Marco Panzeri, CEO of fashion manufacturing group CIEFFE; Mauro Grimaldi, strategic adviser to Philippe Fortunato; Nicolas Bos, chief executive officer, Richemont; Olya Kuryshchuk, founder and editor-in-chief of 1 Granary; Pascale Mussard, president of Villa Noailles; Patrick Van Ommeslaeghe, art director, designer, and consultant; Sara Sozzani Maino, creative director of Fondazione Sozzani; Serge Carreira, director of emerging brands initiative at the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode; Sergio Tamborini, president of Italian textile association Sistema Moda Italia; Tuomas Laitinen, programme director of MFA Fashion Design and The Arts at Parsons Paris and creative director of BFA Fashion Design at The New School in the U.S; Philippe Fortunato, Chief Executive Officer, Fashion and Accessories Maisons, Richemont.

Your dedication and valuable contributions have been instrumental in launching this new adventure and in selecting the outstanding participants for this year’s cohort. Your expertise and passion have already inspired all of us and will undoubtedly continue to do so throughout the programme.

Finally, a big good luck to all the students embarking on this exciting journey: Spanish menswear designer Brais Albor Rodriguez; London-based Clementine Baldo; German designer Merle Breuker; British sustainable fashion designer Rose Brown; Filipino designer Sandra Jao; Lei Jiang, Milan-based designer Eduardo Juarez Camacho; Seoul-based Yeaji Lee; Chinese fashion designer and ceramist Liwen Liang; Manon Marcelot, a French designer; Milan-based shoe and accessories designer Adria Mirabelli; Rome-born Caterina Moro; Mexican, but Paris-based designer Ricardo Sanher; Andrey Savin; Slovakian designer Viktoria Skrek; Milan-based designer Yulia Voytenko; Helsinki-based jewelry designer Ildar Wafin; Taiwan-native Wei-Sheng Wang; and Indonesian designer Theo Weiren. We can’t wait to see you grow, learn, and achieve remarkable things together. Here’s to a successful and inspiring experience for everyone!