The ESSEC EMiLUX — A true international experience

From the curriculum and residencies throughout the course to the faculty and students, the ESSEC Business School’s Executive Master in Luxury Management and Design Innovation (EMiLUX) program has global thinking at its core.

To guide us through the program, we’ll hear from two noted alumni of this international cohort. Anne Charlotte Gabai is Armenian and Alsatian on her mother’s side, and Turkish and Belgian on her father’s side. Tiffany Yo was born in Singapore, raised in Brunei, and educated in Canada, where she currently works.

It’s not simply traveling to different countries that brings an advantage to the course, as Anne Charlotte explains: “We met so many people leaders from the industry experts that were talking to us and giving us their insights. We got to meet many people with different backgrounds, educational experience, and age. We had to work together, and it was really enriching because they could bring value to the table.” (01:14) 

In this way, EMiLUX compresses international interactions that would normally take an entire career to gain into just 12 months.

What is the Executive Master in Luxury Management and Design Innovation?

In creating EMiLUX, ESSEC trains future leaders who want to specialize in the luxury industry. EMiLUX is aimed at career changers, like Anne Charlotte, as well as those from the luxury industry who want to go to the next level, like Tiffany. 

“When I was in marketing and corporate branding, I realized that I don’t have a clear view of what really happens on the floor at the sales level, and that’s when I decided to pivot into retail,” Tiffany says. “A few years later I opened up Nordstrom in Vancouver, and then I had the privilege to join Tiffany & Co. in Canada.” (00:43) 

Through a 12-month executive program, students gain deep knowledge of the luxury sector, cutting-edge entrepreneurial skills, and an international network of driven professionals from the luxury and fashion industry. The course is split into seven modules in six countries important to the luxury industry:

  • Foundations of Luxury — France
  • Fashion Creation, Design and Systems Innovation — USA
  • Global Strategy and Go-To Market — UAE
  • Luxury and Fashion in the Digital Era — Japan
  • The Wholesale Model — Switzerland and France
  • Made in Italy: Managing the Value Chain — Italy
  • Customer Experience and the New Frontiers in Luxury and Fashion — USA

An experiential learning environment

EMiLUX is a program where students learn the intricacies of how the luxury industry works, and its unique challenges.

ESSEC then enhances the theoretical side with the Entrepreneurial Project that Tiffany found lots of value in: “Not only are we taught the concepts through business and strategies in terms of management, but we also launch our own EP, which is an entrepreneurial project where we apply the concepts that we learn.” (02:10) 

Students can collaborate with luxury design houses, and explore new avenues, all under the guidance of their mentor. It is through this experiential learning environment that candidates gain the skills of modern luxury industry managers.

How EMiLUX graduates face the future

The Executive Master in Luxury and Design Innovation attracts applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and gives them the tools and experience to divert their career path toward the luxury industry. Most graduates go on to take executive roles in the sector, and offer a fresh alternative to the status quo. 

This blend of diverse profiles in the classroom is a valuable add-on to what one learns in the curriculum. By absorbing and learning from the perspectives of classmates, one gains a holistic understanding of how different cultures in this industry work, while improving one’s networking skills.

And those networks become even more important after graduation. The ESSEC Business School alumni network covers the globe and offers coaching, mentoring, workshops, and career advice, as well as events. Similarly, the ESSEC Luxury Club connects those in the luxury sector who want to learn from each other, collaborate, or just mingle at networking cocktails and open evenings.

To conclude, Tiffany points to the less tangible advantages of EMiLUX as her main takeaway. She says the program empowered the class, “because not only do they share their insights with us, but they also give us the permission to go out there and to seek out new frontiers. To take what we learn but don’t just stop there, but to innovate everything that we’ve learned in class, at the workshops, and be a better version of ourselves as we go out into the luxury world.” (02:25)

For a better understanding of ESSEC Business School and its programs, check out the MASTERGRADSCHOOLS ESSEC profile.