NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Earth Day 2017, YOOX and The New School’s Parsons School of Design announce their partnership, which will focus on YOOXYGEN, YOOX’s socially and environmentally responsible destination, to promote sustainable fashion practices through education and collaborations.
By collaborating with a leading educational institution that shares similar values, the partnership with Parsons signals YOOX’s growing commitment to encourage responsible choices in fashion and will allow YOOX to strengthen and develop the YOOXYGEN area - which debuted online on Earth Day in 2009. The partnership also establishes the YOOXYGEN Award, to be presented to a graduating BFA Fashion Design student of Parsons School of Design during its 69th Annual Benefit on May 22, 2017. The award will consist of a six-month internship at the YOOX Headquarters in Milan, beginning in July 2017, and the creation of a sustainable Spring/Summer womenswear collection under the graduate’s signature. The collection will be promoted and exclusively available on YOOX in January 2018.
“In 2009, when YOOXYGEN debuted online, we were amongst the first to acknowledge the importance of responsible choices in fashion,” affirms Federico Marchetti, Founder of YOOX and CEO of YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP. “Today, we take a step further: our partnership with Parsons combines our commitment towards education and our desire to encourage sustainable fashion choices. We are convinced that the next generations of talents will drive a more sustainable fashion agenda and we feel it is our responsibility to empower them.”
Parsons BFA Fashion Design students are encouraged to consider fashion design as a vehicle to address urgent and current societal problems, which include climate change and sustainability. The partnership with YOOX will be an important first step for the winning student in expanding the efforts of the fashion community to engage with sustainable design, creating meaningful change. An additional six-month internship will be awarded to a second student at YOOX’s offices in New York beginning in September 2017.
"We are excited to collaborate with YOOX on this important partnership for our students,” said Burak Cakmak, Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design. “Sustainability education is vital for our students, and Parsons is committed to training designers who are prepared to address urgent issues in the fashion industry.”
Furthermore, Parsons and YOOX will jointly define a variety of self-guiding principles that will regulate sustainable matters as they apply to the fashion industry, including responsible consumption, fair production and trade, low-environmental impact, and the empowerment of local craftsmanship, among others. The principles created will be adopted by YOOXYGEN to determine the selection of brands available on the site, giving customers the opportunity to make a conscious choice while shopping on YOOX.
YOOX
YOOX, established in 2000, is the world’s leading online lifestyle store for fashion, design and art.
YOOX offers a never-ending selection of products, including: an edited range of hard-to-find clothing and accessories from the world’s most prestigious designers, exclusive capsule collections, eco-friendly fashion, a unique assortment of home design objects, original books and a curated selection of compelling and collectable artworks chosen by international curators and critics from the world’s leading international galleries and institutions. With an unparalleled collection of merchandise, a focus on quality control, and a strong customer focus in over 100 countries, YOOX offers an outstanding shopping experience.
Parsons School of Design
Parsons School of Design at The New School, founded in 1896, is one of the leading institutions for art and design education in the world. Based in New York but active around the world, the school offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the full spectrum of art and design disciplines, as well as online courses, degree and certificate programs. Critical thinking and collaboration are at the heart of a Parsons education. Parsons graduates are leaders in their respective fields, with a shared commitment to creatively and critically addressing the complexities of life in the 21st century.
