ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIP WITH IMD BUSINESS SCHOOL, LAUSANNE

Lausanne IMD Business School and ECAL have signed a partnership agreement and are currently working together on a series of joint initiatives. The two leading academic institutions based in the Canton of Vaud recently jointly delivered a three-day program on Foundations of Business at IMD for students undertaking ECAL’s MAS in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship. The program focused on the major facets of branding and the creation of products and companies.

Partnership (2018)

Several other joint initiatives with IMD and ECAL are planned for the current and upcoming semesters. The current line-up of joint programs includes:

Foundations of Business

This three-day program is led by IMD Professors and is destined for students in ECAL’s MAS in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship. Through practical exercises it focuses on familiarizing students with the creation of products and companies as well as the many facets of branding.

Coaching

IMD Professors provide personalized coaching advising ECAL students on business projects the students undertake as part of their diploma and with a view to kick-start their careers.

Etudiants du MAS in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship à l'IMD, Lausanne

Etudiants du MAS in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship à l'IMD, Lausanne. Photo: ECAL/Calypso Mahieu

Foundation of Business Photo: ECAL/Calypso Mahieu

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Etudiants du MAS in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship à l'IMD, Lausanne

Etudiants du MAS in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship à l'IMD, Lausanne

Etudiants du MAS in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship à l'IMD, Lausanne

Etudiants du MAS in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship à l'IMD, Lausanne

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Aina Wang – Once Gold

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Aina Wang – Once Gold

by Aina Wang

In the 19th century, Prussian citizens gave up their gold to support the war, receiving cast-iron jewellery engraved ‘Gold gab ich für Eisen’ - ‘I gave gold for iron’. Berlin iron, an alloy of iron and carbon, covered in a layer of patinated black lacquer, was born of a moment when personal sacrifice became collective identity. This project revives that gesture by concealing the gold at the heart of the iron, like a buried memory. Inspired by military insignia and Gothic geometry, the piece evokes reverence and loss. Designed for movement, it transforms into ten forms, from brooch to pendant to belt, linking the ritual of the past with the wear and tear of the present.

Arnaud Tantet – : To a Glacier

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Arnaud Tantet – : To a Glacier

by Arnaud Tantet

Global warming is transforming the landscapes around us. The melting of the ice is intensifying, affecting the thousand-year-old glaciers of Europe. The aim of this project, : To a Glacier, is to use design to bear witness to the Mont Blanc glacier. This work is based around holistic field research, in the form of objects, photos, brochures and sounds directly inspired by these disappearing giants. Developed in collaboration with glass artisans at the CIAV (Centre International d'Art Verrier, in Meisenthal), the results of this project have included a number of experiments in glass, using moulds made from different materials.

Bom Noh – Plastic Love

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Bom Noh – Plastic Love

by Bom Noh

Plastic Love reinterprets the sculptural gestures of the Murano chandelier—a historical icon of luxury—to question how we define craftsmanship and value in contemporary context. Combining digital tools with the trace of the hand, the work emphasises the irregularities and physical presence that resist automation. Plastic, long associated with mass production and ecological harm, is reframed not as a cheap substitute but as a site of embodied labour and material critique. Through repetition, imperfection, and time, it gains a new kind of beauty. By deliberately choosing a material often dismissed, the project unsettles inherited hierarchies and challenges our assumptions about refinement—demonstrating how design can function not as a solution, but as a question.

Coline Schenck – Les formes de l’inconscient

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Coline Schenck – Les formes de l’inconscient

by Coline Schenck

Glazed earthenware pieces, intended for tableware and daily use, are developed through a process combining mental well-being and sensory design. Studies in neuroscience and neuroaesthetics are analyzed to identify shapes, colors, and textures that promote calm. This data is first translated visually into pastel compositions, then transformed into volumes adapted to the function of each object. The graphic composition seeks to visually stimulate while minimizing cognitive load, while the volume invites attentive tactile exploration. In a daily environment marked by sensory overload, these objects aim to reintroduce calm by turning the ordinary into a soothing refuge.

Emilie Heger – Typology of the Cut

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Emilie Heger – Typology of the Cut

by Emilie Heger

The aim of this research project is to bring together the earliest tools from the Palaeolithic era with contemporary gemstone cutting. While flint tools were essential to the survival of early humans, the techniques and gestures involved in stone-cutting have evolved into a particularly refined art, a symbol of wealth and power. Today, the only purpose of working precious stones, perfected by modern tools and technologies, is to maginify the reflection of light in order to produce aesthetic artefacts that are freed from their function. Typology of the Cut is a curatorial project that explores the duality between function and expression in relation to stone-cutting.

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MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP