Sergio Nava, Director of Education of Istituto Marangoni Milano Design, reflects on design schools today and talks about two projects with which the historic academy sets out to respond to the needs of design education and the Covid19 emergency

Founded in Milan in 1935 by Giulio Marangoni, the “Istituto Artistico dell’Abbigliamento Marangoni” began as a school to train highly specialized professionals and technicians for the world of fashion. Today, Istituto Marangoni is a school of fashion, design and art. In recent years it has opened branches in London (2003), Paris (2006), Shanghai (2013), Florence (September 2016), Shenzhen (2016), Mumbai (2017) and Miami (2018), the international capitals of fashion, design and luxury.

Sergio Nava, with a degree in Architecture from the Milan Polytechnic, is an architect and a designer. Previously Program Leader of the department of Visual Design of Istituto Marangoni Milano Design, he is now the school’s Director of Education. He has worked in the field of design and communication for over 20 years. In 2007 he founded the design brand Kreaton, with which he has won various international prizes, including the Red Dot Design Award 2010. He has been the founder and consultant of various innovative start-ups such as NTT Design, Restopolis (now TheFork at TripAdvisor) and Kleemotion.

We asked Nava what it means to be the director of education of a design school, and particularly of an institute like this one, the responsibilities of the position, and the present and future of design schools. We also discussed the theme of the Covid19 emergency, starting with the premise that crises bring progress. We asked him if the new scenarios shaped by the pandemic can be utilized for innovation and for solutions to adapt to the new everyday world, food for thought for Italian creativity. Nava outlined his viewpoint and told us about two projects inside the institute that set out to reply to these questions: the Scuola Fluida and Rebooting Design.

Watch the video of the interview: