Milano Fashion&Jewels
22-25 February 2025
fieramilano, Rho
For almost 25 years the Harim Euromediterranean Academy has been involved in advanced training in the fields of Fashion, Design, Jewellery, Photography, Communication and Marketing. An Academy that looks to the future by combining tradition and innovation, management and manual skills, enhancing talent and offering students a wide and fruitful range of professions.
We talked about this with Valentina Fallico, Head of External Relations and PR, and Edmondo Fanciullo, Director of the Jewellery Department.
“Valentina told us about a comprehensive approach to the world of design and creativity, that has its greatest strength in the extensive calendar of courses provided, dedicated to students who graduated from high school. Alongside these, we offer master's degrees aimed at training the managers of the future, people who have skills in the field of innovation, communication and, above all, are in tune with the demands of the professional world.”
However, there are many other activities and programs organized by Harim. "Our pride and joy is MADEINMEDI, the fashion and design week for the Mediterranean, which was born thanks to our geographical position and is now a reference point in the sector for the whole basin. It's a week (in this particular 2021 it will start on September 11, but then will return to its traditional period in June) in which we will be involved in many areas and activities: from photo shoots to talks with the presence of important exponents of fashion and jewellery, in synergy with Italian and foreign companies.
The final event of MADEINMEDI is the end-of-year fashion show,featuring the young students of the last year of Fashion Design, who get the chance to present their first collections. It is an important showcase because, in addition to being followed by all the national and international trade press, it becomes a reference point for companies looking for emerging talent. “This is how we create the right conditions to have, on the one hand, interesting opportunities to gain visibility for the students, and on the other, new stimuli and opportunities for the companies.”
Alongside the students, the creations of established Italian and international designers will be also presented on the catwalk, thus completing the offer of the event.
Among the various other collaborations, one of the most significant - continues Valentina - is that with the company YKK - a Japanese giant and one of the world's leading producers of fastening accessories - which every year commissions our third year students with a specific collection presented through the creation of a fashion film and a photo shoot, activities that are very creative and educational for the students.
Another important project is Fashion Graduate Italia, which is the result of Harim's partnership with Piattaforma Sistema Formativo Moda, that brings together all the best fashion institutes and schools in Italy, organizing the above-mentioned event which takes place annually in October in Milan. The aim is to bring on the catwalk the collections of students attending their fourth year of the Fashion Design course, offering them a truly unique opportunity for visibility.
In addition, we carry out many other projects with various companies in order to organize placement activities, collaborations and synergies so as to always keep pace with the real business needs of the market. Our mission is precisely to enhance and support the potential and skills of young talents, in relation to our geographical basin, making the most out of our craft traditions with the aim of proposing them with a modern interpretation, through innovation and experimentation. “
Returning, however, to more specific educational activities, we also met with Edmondo Fanciullo, Director of the Jewellery Department, who confirmed how young people and their ideas really represent our future. And he told us about it with an enthusiasm that leaves no doubt.
“Our task is to help and support the growth of young people as they approach a discipline that is so "precious", not only because we are talking about jewellery, but because this is about future and innovation. In fact, an important part of our role as teachers is to encourage their creativity, which is an invaluable resource. And with our experience and passion we try to empathize with them in order to nurture their potential as much as possible.
“Among the most important aspects, confirms Edmondo, there’s research, which means experimenting with new lines and new shapes, but also finding and using different, innovative and alternative materials. Because also the reuse, the recycling of natural elements, can make the difference.
Two key words are emerging and they are increasingly interconnected: Research and Sustainability.
“The first one is a very important value, it’s challenging, it costs time, effort and money and sometimes it also implies risks, but it is always necessary to find new solutions. The second is sustainability, attention to the planet, a responsibility we cannot shirk and that must always be taught and cultivated. To engage in revisiting, reinventing and making beautiful once again something that would have been lost or disposed of is a great challenge that should not be left out. And I am very pleased, in my experience, to find that there’s a lot of attention to these issues among young people”. But that’s not all. There’s also a lot of desire to innovate and a lot of creativity.
For example, we recently took part in a contest organised by the Favini paper mill, aimed at all the academies in Italy, in order to promote one of their new types of paper. One of our young students, who then went on to win the competition, created a ring that appeared static, but then revealed its dynamism by opening like a fan and showing off all the characteristics and peculiarities of the various types of paper in question. The genius of this project, of combining paper with jewellery - of associating the strength of metal with the ephemeral aspect of paper, and thus uniting these two elements that are so far apart - really amazed us and underlined what I was saying before about the potential of young students.”
Finally, I would like to add that this is not exclusively an academic experience, since the percentages of our students who have established themselves in positions of responsibility in the professional world are extremely high. ”
HARIM offers its students many and varied opportunities, including a showcase at international trade fairs such as HOMI Fashion& Jewels in Milan, a city that has confirmed itself as the capital of fashion and design.
FOR ALL INFO: https://www.harim.it/