IFM and Kering launch the "IFM - Kering Sustainability Chair"

On November 14, the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) inaugurated a new Chair aimed at creating a high-level research and teaching centre in the fashion sector by integrating all aspects of sustainable development and CSR.

The "IFM - Kering Sustainability Chair", was inaugurated in the presence of François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, and Xavier Romatet, IFM's Chief Executive Officer. Under the direction of Andrée-Anne Lemieux, PhD in industrial engineering and professor in charge of all initiatives related to sustainable development within the IFM.

This Chair will focus upon scientific research on a wide range of topics related to sustainable development, from traceability to measurement and eco-responsible business models. While aspects of the ecology of creation will also be studied in order to identify ways in which creative teams can develop an ecological culture and propose new sustainable creative offers with high attractiveness while developing tools for measuring, appropriating environmental and social issues.

Dedicated to a future of responsible fashion

"The IFM - Kering Sustainability Chair is an integral part of the IFM's strategy by enabling students to acquire a 360° understanding of sustainable development issues so that they can participate as future professionals in the transformation of the sector," said Xavier Romatet.

Thus, the Chair's research work will include supervising doctoral students on university theses, contributing to scientific publications and participating in conferences related to the Chair's program and issues.

Training modules dedicated to responsible fashion (ready-to-wear, shoes, leather goods, accessories and jewellery) will be developed for training courses ranging from CAP to Bac+5 in creation, management and know-how as well as for continuing training for companies. An active pedagogy will make it possible to approach sustainable development through the environmental, social and societal aspects relating to economic models, supply processes, innovations, materials, manufacturing processes, consumers, etc.

"Research and education play a fundamental role in changing the practices and models of the fashion sector. At Kering, these are key elements of our sustainable development strategy because we believe that it is our duty, as a luxury group, to address the generations that will make the fashion of tomorrow. I am pleased that Kering is partnering with the IFM to create a Chair dedicated to sustainable development and I am convinced that the resulting research will have a concrete application to help transform our sector," commented Marie-Claire Daveu, Director of Sustainable Development and International Institutional Relations at Kering.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited FR. The text has been translated for an international audience.

Photo: credited to Jean-Luc Perréard