The Council of Fashion Designers of America and fashion institute Polimoda announce new collaboration CFDA Director of Education + Professional Development Sara Kozlowski to

enter Polimoda’s international mentoring program

Florence, November 16th, 2017 – The Council of Fashion Designers of America and the leading Italian fashion institute

Polimoda announce an upcoming collaboration as Director of Education and Professional Development Sara Kozlowski

has been appointed to mentor the final-year students of the undergraduate course in Fashion Design. Founded in 1962,

the CFDA’s membership consists of more than 500 of America’s foremost womenswear, menswear, jewelry and

accessory designers. Based in the Renaissance city of Florence, since 1986 Polimoda has been educating professionals

for the fashion and luxury market. The high quality of its Master's and Undergraduate programs have earned the institute

a spot among Business of Fashion’s Global Fashion School Rankings’ prestigious top ten for two years in a row.

Relying on the skills of high profile professionals has become one of Polimoda’s strong suits. Over the past year, other

international lead players from the industry have been recruited as mentors to help students understand and navigate the

ever-changing world of fashion, including award-winning CFDA member Keanan Duffty.

“Polimoda was founded 30 years ago by FIT and Emilio Pucci,” says Polimoda Director Danilo Venturi. “Our president is

Ferruccio Ferragamo, son of Salvatore, the shoemaker to the stars of Hollywood. Our headquarters are beside the

American consulate, and there is a certain legacy that links the school to the USA. Now, the agreement with CFDA and

this incoming group of great teachers provides a new basis to rekindle our friendship”.

Polimoda Director Danilo Venturi invited Sara Kozlowski to mentor following her participation in the institute’s Rendez-

Vous series of Guest Lectures, where she discussed fashion’s new paradigm of sustainability, and analyzed open-ended

questions before a room of students and staff. Kozlowski was previously featured alongside other international fashion

figures in the first edition of Polimoda’s Fashion Displacement panel discussion, held in New York City in November 2016.

Kozlowski’s 25 year career in fashion began as a designer for Anna Sui, followed by the establishment of her own

collection. With more than a decade of experience as an educator, prior to the CFDA, Kozlowski held academic

leadership roles at Parsons School of Design and Academy of Art University. She has contributed to the CFDA’s

groundbreaking talent-scouting platforms such as the Elaine Gold Launch Pad (in partnership with the Accessories

Council), Fashion Future Graduate Showcase (in partnership with the NYCEDC) and CFDA+, established in 2013 for the

purpose of spotlighting gifted graduates from design schools all over the globe.

“The CFDA has a longstanding commitment to supporting fashion education through its Educational Initiatives

established in 1996.” says Sara Kozlowski. “Today, we share a common vision with Polimoda in shaping the next

generation of design by empowering creativity, and encouraging new codes of thought- within a global, social context.

The heritage of Italy’s craftsmanship combined with Polimoda’s avant approach to luxury – provide a unique environment

for students to embrace fashion legacy while blueprinting its future authentically.”

Over the course of the next year, she will make six trips to Polimoda, to mentor final year collections and lecture on

crucial subjects such as Shaping the Future, Design Thinking and Strategy Design. Senior Fashion Design students will

benefit from her attentive supervision from project to runway, helping them catapult their ideas into viable futures.

Through this collaboration, Polimoda wishes to further strengthen its long-standing relationship with the United States and

is set on encouraging an ongoing exchange where Italian heritage and American know-how shape global-minded

students. This mentorship program will culminate in Polimoda’s signature end-of-year Fashion Show.

Undergraduate Course in Fashion Design

Marc Karimzadeh, Director of Editorial and Communications Council of Fashion Designers of America 65 Bleecker Street, New York NY 10012 11th floor M.Karimzadeh@cfda.com 212-768-5708