MILAN — Fashion and design school Istituto Marangoni is expanding its scope in beauty with a strategic partnership with L’Oréal Italia and celebrity hairstylist Rossano Ferretti.

Following the introduction of courses in cosmetics and fragrances in 2023, the school added new classes aimed at educating and training in the professional channel to support the increasing demand for skilled figures, especially in the hair and makeup categories.

“Italy plays a key role in the development of talents for the beauty industry,” said L’Oréal Italia’s president and chief executive officer Ninell Sobiecka on Monday, when the initiative was unveiled in the frescoed halls of the school’s Palazzo Turati campus here.

“This is the country of beauty, in terms of its artistic and cultural heritage but also from the design and fashion viewpoints.

“There’s a demand in the market,” continued Sobiecka. “We have issues in finding almost half of the collaborators and employees in the hair salons… We’re here to fill the gap and foster profiles that not only have technical skills but also creative and social ones, an entrepreneurial spirit and are equipped to work with new technologies.”

Istituto Marangoni’s managing director Stefania Valenti drew parallels with the fashion syllabus and how it has shifted from teaching strictly technical skills to training talents with 360-degree approach. “The fashion designer is an art director now: he has important tailoring skills, but has to be able to develop the image, create a language and a full-fledged brand, too. We want to do the same with the hair designer. [Hair styling] is an art and language: we start from the technical skills but then we scale up,” said Valenti.

Marco Vasario, general director of the professional division of L’Oréal Italia, underscored the urgency of upgrading the skills in salons, specifically. He addressed different factors, including digital advancements, as well as “a high demand for extra-customization.”

“Two women out of three are willing to pay more for a customized service, and we see that also in the products they choose and the skinification of hair care. There’s a big opportunity within this sector for premium hair care and holistic treatments,” Vasario said, noting the syllabus has been designed to enable hair stylists to fulfill this. “Our goal is to elevate the role of hair stylist, also to attract new talents.” 

Ferretti, who has long primped the hair of high-profile clients including Keira Knightley and Dakota Johnson, and helms his eponymous hair care brand and Hairspa locations around the world, will act as ambassador of the project.

“Those who want to work in this industry and at my level today have no school to get prepped. Today we’re here to offer that school… To reignite that dream of doing this job, which is beautiful and can position one both financially and socially, both locally and globally. I’m the prime example of that,” said Ferretti.

Istituto Marangoni’s desire to further push into the beauty category was supported by data shared by Boston Consulting Group, which forecast the global beauty market will grow steadily at 6 percent CAGR through 2028, in addition to highlighting its increasing attractiveness among consumers, who are shifting from soft luxury to beauty in their shopping preferences.

Available only at the Milan campus for the moment, the core offering of the new educational project will be a three-year undergraduate program starting in October and mixing creative, technical and managerial skills. The first year will focus on teaching beauty fundamentals, while starting from the second year students will be able to customize their journey choosing between hair design, makeup art and brand management classes. 

There are also short courses targeting young talents approaching the sector for the first time, as well as intensive programs aimed at professionals.

All students will be granted access to facilities and workshops staged at the L’Oréal Italia Academy and, as part of the partnership with the company’s professional division, will get directly in contact with the firm’s network and its salons.