NEW YORK, January 28, 2009 — Although jobs for fashion designers are expected to grow more slowly than the average for all careers through 2016—according to government data—opportunities in the business still exist due to public demand for fresh new fashions. But, given the current economic turmoil, there will be a premium on industry professionals with broader knowledge of business practices such as retailing, price points, communications, franchising, marketing, and legal issues.
To answer the business needs of this sector and to give professionals in the fashion industry a competitive edge in the current job market, the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies is offering a new course, Fashion Business Management, which will run in spring 2009.
Offered through the Division of Programs in Business, the course provides a careful overview of the rules and practices of the fashion industry critical to managing the promotion and distribution of a collection. The course will feature guest lectures by some of the world’s leading fashion business executives and designers. Topics include communications through traditional media and the Internet; advertising and celebrity endorsements; financial aspects of sales; pricing for retail and wholesale distribution; selling to department stores and e-commerce; import-export and tax issues; business and legal arrangements for distributorship, agency, licensing, franchising, shop-in-shop, and shopping centers; and rules affecting sales of goods, return policies, warranties, general business liabilities, and the protection of brands and original ideas.
“Many low- to mid-level professionals within the fashion industry find themselves having several years of work experience without having any genuine knowledge of how the business of fashion really works,” says fashion industry attorney and transactional law expert, Giacomo Corrado, who will teach the course this spring. “With the right training, recent graduates, new hires, and existing employees can gain the theoretical and practical knowledge they need to start or continue running a successful brand within the world of fashion.”
NYU- SCPS has long been involved in providing business development and management courses for those within the creative fields. Professionals with areas of expertise in art, design, entertainment, and now fashion can take courses and certificate programs that offer them a chance to learn the business skills necessary to succeed in the competitive landscape of their respective industries.
Giacomo Corrado, who developed the new course, joined NYU-SCPS in spring 2009 as an adjunct instructor. Corrado’s background as a negotiator and business lawyer has taken him from acting as U.S. legal counsel to the Government of Italy in New York to representing the most prestigious brands in fashion and serving on their corporate boards. Currently, he serves as general legal counsel for the U.S. and international operations of a variety of fashion companies, including Tod’s USA Group.
Corrado holds law degrees from the University of Bologna, Italy, School of Law (1986) and Fordham University, School of Law, New York (1990). After nearly ten years at a prominent U.S. firm, Corrado established his private practice, Corrado Montgomery, which is devoted to assisting mainly European fashion brands enter and negotiate the U.S. market, principally from a legal perspective, but most recently also in an increasingly more commercial and executive capacity.
NYU Launches New Course in Fashion Business Management in Spring 2009
Course Geared Towards Training Experienced Professionals the Business of Fashion
About the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Established in 1934, NYU-SCPS (scps.nyu.edu) is one of NYU’s several degree-granting schools and colleges, each with a unique academic profile. The reputation of NYU-SCPS arises from its place as the NYU home for study and applied research related to key knowledge-based industries where the New York region leads globally. This is manifest in the School’s diverse graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education programs in fields such as Real Estate and Construction Management; Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management; Global Affairs; Philanthropy and Fundraising; Graphic Communications Media, Publishing, and Digital Arts; Human Capital Management, Marketing, and Public Relations; with complementary strengths in the Liberal and Allied Arts; Translation and Interpreting; Management and Information Technology; and Finance and Taxation. More than 100 distinguished full-time faculty members collaborate with an exceptional cadre of practitioner/adjunct faculty and lecturers to create vibrant professional and academic networks that attract nearly 5,000 degree-seeking students from around the globe. In addition, the School fulfills the recurrent continuing higher education needs of local and professional communities, as evidenced by 55,000 annual enrollments in individual courses, specialized certificate programs, conferences, workshops, seminars, and public events. The School’s community is enriched by more than 25,000 degree-holding alumni worldwide, many of whom serve as mentors, guest speakers, and advisory board members.