Baron Osuna from Louis Vuitton visits Pforzheim: During his first visit to the School of Design in 2023, he was given an insight into the workshops. (Photo: Petra Jaschke)

Louis Vuitton is launching its exclusive Graduates Initiative, a program to promote young European designers, for the second time. The School of Design has once again been selected as the only German partner institution. At the kick-off event with project manager Baron Osuna from Louis Vuitton in Paris, students from numerous disciplines came together to gain an insight into the brand and the competition. The funding program offers them the opportunity to showcase their talent on an international stage by designing a bag. The winners can look forward to a job at one of the world's most renowned luxury group.

24 design schools from all over Europe were selected for the Louis Vuitton Accessories Design Graduates Initiative. In Pforzheim, the luxury brand was particularly impressed by the interdisciplinary approach. Baron Osuna explains: “The strength of Pforzheim University lies in the collaboration between its various design departments. The Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs such as Fashion, Accessory Design, Creative Direction, Design and Future Making and Transportation Design intertwine in a special way here. Creative thinking and teamwork are deeply rooted in Pforzheim's DNA – and it is precisely these qualities that we expect from the winners.”

At the hybrid kick-off for the competition, Baron Osuna emphasized that Louis Vuitton not only wants to appeal to fashion, product and accessory designers, but that a variety of talents from all areas of design are welcome. “Before Marc Jacobs was appointed creative director in 1997, the studio was made up of industrial and product designers. Today, the designers for leather goods and accessories come from fashion, design and art schools. Diversity is key,” explains Osuna.

To support the interdisciplinary concept, the faculty has appointed Jannis Breuninger and Dagmar Korintenberg to the team. Both are part of the BMBF-funded program for the qualification of professorial staff and have extensive experience in interdisciplinary collaboration. They supervise the competition as contact persons for the students and support the project together with Professor Thomas Gerlach, who heads the funding program at the university.

Now the students are in demand: from November 22, 2024 to February 2, 2025, participants can apply and submit their designs. The finalists, for whom the dream of a job at Louis Vuitton continues, will be announced at the end of March.

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Photo: Hybrid kick-off for the competition © Petra Jaschke