Leyla Neri

Head of Master of Arts in Fashion Design

Dr. Leyla Neri is a fashion designer and anthropologist. Her research work focuses on fashion design as a driving force for cultural and social change. She holds a PhD in anthropology, an MFA and a BFA in fashion design, and was initially trained in architecture. She started her career at Gucci and worked as a fashion designer in Italy before specializing in design education. Prior to joining Institut Français de la Mode as Head of the Master of Arts in Fashion Design, she served as program director at Parsons Paris, the European branch of Parsons School of Design NYC, where she repositioned the fashion design and strategic design programs, and created the Master in Fashion Design and the Arts. Before the Parsons experience, she taught in various international art schools and universities, and was the founding Director of the Master in Luxury Management at the Geneva School of Business Administration. She was previously Head of Product Design Department and Director of Fashion Design at HEAD, the Geneva School of Art and Design, in Switzerland