It doesn’t quite have the ring of The Antwerp Six.
But the latest evolution of Richemont’s AZ Academy initiative — A Bunch of Designers — is giving six emerging fashion talents a serious leg up as they move from their education phase to business realities.
All graduates of AZ Academy, a one-year postgraduate program that debuted last year as a tribute to the late Alber Elbaz, the six are receiving additional operational support, coaching and strategic guidance from the Swiss luxury group to produce commercial capsule collections for a one-month retail pop-up that will debut during Paris Fashion Week this fall.
“We felt like some projects were too good to be just left on their own, so we decided to go another step with them,” Philippe Fortunato, chief executive officer of Richemont’s fashion and accessories maisons, said in an exclusive interview. “We put them in contact with industrial partners, we financed their prototyping, product development and collection, and we will be helping them to sell their collections.”
In short, Richemont is accompanying the six in their last mile before launch — while stopping short of taking stakes in their fledgling businesses.
