Overview
Immerse yourself in the dynamic intersection of beauty, fragrance, and fashion with this intensive 4-week course designed for the next generation of industry leaders. This program offers a comprehensive exploration of how contemporary beauty brands operate in today’s sustainability-focused, inclusive, and tech-driven landscape.
Through a powerful blend of cultural theory and hands-on practice, students gain essential knowledge in brand management, product development, marketing, communication, and consumer insights. The course uniquely combines fashion, beauty, and fragrance in a fast-paced, integrated format that prioritizes the values shaping the industry’s future: sustainability, inclusivity, and digital innovation.
Taught by industry professionals and academic faculty from the beauty, fragrance, fashion, luxury, and lifestyle sectors, this program delivers direct exposure to real-world expertise through guest lectures, interactive workshops, and field trips to historic fragrance and skincare locations throughout Florence. Students will develop practical skills to conceptualize product ideas and craft compelling branding and marketing strategies, all while building a professional portfolio ready for career advancement.
Highlights
This course is ideal for individuals aspiring to enter the beauty, fragrance, fashion, or luxury fields who want to understand how next-generation beauty brands operate, including innovation, sustainability, storytelling, and consumer experience.
Perfect for:
- Students interested in exploring career opportunities in the beauty or fragrance industry
- Junior professionals seeking to specialize or upskill in beauty business, branding, product conceptualization, or consumer trends
- Aspiring entrepreneurs planning to launch a beauty or fragrance brand
- Creative professionals interested in the intersection of fashion, beauty, and luxury lifestyle
- Anyone seeking practical, industry-oriented skills in a condensed, immersive timeframe
Who it's for
This course is suitable for individuals with a strong aesthetic sensibility, passion for fashion culture, and interest in understanding how fashion events bring brands to life.
Perfect for:
- Aspiring fashion event managers and runway producers seeking specialized industry skills
- Emerging fashion communication or marketing professionals wanting to understand the event side of fashion
- Stylists or creative individuals looking to expand their expertise into fashion event production
- Fashion lovers eager to enter the world of fashion experiences and live brand storytelling
- Anyone seeking a collaborative, creatively stimulating environment that mirrors real-world fashion event production
Skills
- Creative thinking through concept development and branding activities
- Analytical thinking via trend forecasting and consumer research
- Systems thinking to understand connections between beauty, fashion, branding, and consumer behavior
- Problem-solving during product ideation and strategy development
- Basic financial reasoning through budgeting and ROI exercises
- Communication and storytelling via campaign mini-projects and presentations
- Teamwork through workshop exercises
- Professional awareness and adaptability through immersion in real industry examples
- Cultural awareness and understanding of global beauty markets
- Brand management principles for beauty and fragrance
- Product development strategies for makeup, skincare, fragrances, and haircare
- Marketing and communication tactics for contemporary beauty brands
- Consumer insights and behavior analysis
- Visual design fundamentals through graphic design practice
Skills are acquired through lectures, workshops, group projects, and constructive peer feedback, supported by field trips and guest speaker sessions that provide real-world context and industry insights.
Course Structure
The program includes the following courses:
Cultural and visual insights into the concept of contemporary aesthetics
Contemporary overview of the beauty & fragrances industry
Overgrowing the traditional beauty market by developing strategies to conceptualize and deliver products and services to consumers
Marketing, retail, communication
Fieldtrip and/or guest lecture
A fieldtrip or guest lecture provides hands-on, real-world learning through direct experience or expert insights
Insights into graphic design and visual practice
Learning Approach
This intensive 4-week program employs multiple methodologies woven throughout the course:
- Project-Based Learning: Students work on a condensed final project that synthesizes all course learnings
- Design Thinking: Applied to product ideation and consumer-centered solution development
- Systems Thinking: Understanding the interconnected ecosystem of beauty, fashion, branding, and consumer behavior
- Experiential Learning: Through field visits to Florence’s historic fragrance and skincare locations and interactive workshops
- Data-Driven Reasoning: Using basic analytics and trend research to inform strategic decisions
Teaching methodologies include short lectures with brand case studies, faculty and guest lectures with industry professionals, practical workshops, mini group and individual projects, independent study supported by Polimoda’s extensive library and research resources, and personal portfolio development in preparation for employability and career progression.
Outcomes
By the end of the 4 weeks, students will have created:
- A Beauty or Fragrance Concept Proposal: A comprehensive visual and written presentation showcasing original product ideation
- A Final Presentation Deck: A professional-grade deck simulating the production of a new beauty or fragrance concept, ready for use in a personal or professional portfolio
These deliverables demonstrate students’ ability to integrate strategic thinking, creative vision, and industry knowledge into cohesive brand concepts that reflect contemporary market demands
Career opportunities
Students who complete this course can pursue a wide range of careers within makeup, skincare, haircare, fragrance, fashion, luxury, and lifestyle sectors in roles such as:
- Marketing Manager
- Communications Manager
- Product Manager
- Consultant or Project Manager
- Entrepreneur
Certificates
Students will receive Polimoda’s Official Certificate of Attendance, validating their completion of the short course and demonstrating their specialized knowledge in next-generation beauty and fragrance management.
Requirements
Application requirements are:
- English language proficiency
This course description and indication of fieldtrips is representative but not exhaustive of the full program. Course content can be updated throughout the program to maintain a future-oriented perspective, ensuring all courses taught are current and applicable to the evolving fashion landscape.
