Faculty Spotlight: Fashion Designer John Bartlett Joins as New Director of Fashion for Parsons Executive Education
In the early-to-mid nineties, having already graduated from Harvard University and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and launched his own collection, John Bartlett was busy taking continuing ed courses at The New School. He would take assemblage and other fashion construction and technique courses in order to maintain and develop skills necessary for his business.
“There’s just this great sense of history behind The New School. To be able to work with an organization founded on new thought and social equity and diversity, equity and inclusion, belonging, all of these things to me makes it a very exciting place to work,” explains Bartlett.
The prolific fashion designer will lead fashion programs for CPE’s executive education division, including curriculum development, industry outreach, partnerships, and learning for Parsons Executive Education and the joint Luxury Management and Design Management Innovation program/ESSEC Business School, EMiLUX.
“We will partner with a brand or company or retailer and create a very specific program to elevate their team’s understanding in whatever areas they feel they want to do a deeper dive,” says Bartlett. “I’m going to be meeting with these partners to ascertain their priorities, what they are looking to enhance within their corporations, and where the opportunities lie.”
In EMiLUX, a cohort of executives and entrepreneurs sign on for a 12-month deep-dive into the luxury management world. Part of the program is online – with participants working together to create entrepreneurial business plans and projects. Alongside the online portion, participants of EMiLUX meet for seven in-person residencies across global hubs like Paris, Dubai, Shanghai, and New York.
A new cohort will begin in October in Paris – with plans to travel from Paris to New York in December followed by Dubai, Shanghai, Geneva, and Italy.
“It’s a sort of VIP, very specialized, customized experience bringing together industry professionals and thought leaders so they can immerse themselves in the world of luxury,” explains Bartlett. “What I like about it is that ESSEC is bringing this very traditional European and Parisian business school approach and then Parsons is bringing the design aesthetic from a fashion angle,” says Bartlett.
Bartlett, a natural communicator, is looking forward to meeting with students – ranging from undergraduate to their fourth or fifth iteration of their careers – to not only help them but to intuit how to finesse the curriculum so it’s really up-to-date and fully reflective of the needs of the industry.