MILAN — Condé Nast is stepping up for Italy’s young creative talents.
The American publishing company has teamed up with five Italian universities to award merit-based scholarships to five students in fashion, art, film and journalism. Condé Nast magazine editors in chief Anna Wintour, Graydon Carter, David Remnick, Jim Nelson and Stefano Tonchi will select the winners.
“We have long admired the world-famous Italian designers, photographers, writers and artists for their talent and creative ingenuity,” said Condé Nast chief executive officer Charles H. Townsend. “Their influence on our company and culture has been beyond measure. It’s now our turn to give back and encourage a generation of young artists who will create the fashion powerhouses, cinematic treasures and unforgettable stories of tomorrow.”
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For the 2013 academic season, Condé Nast will offer the Vogue Women’s Fashion scholarship for a three-year undergraduate course at Milan’s Istituto Europeo di Design; the GQ Men’s Fashion scholarship for a two-year master course at the IUAV in Venice; the Vanity Fair Film scholarship for a three-year undergraduate program at the Scuola di Cinema Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, and the W Art scholarship for a two-year master course at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan. The New Yorker scholarship will allow an aspiring journalist to attend a two-year masters program at the Istituto per la Formazione al Giornalismo at the University of Urbino.
“When I first met Gianni Versace a few decades ago, I met a man who was just as passionate about art, opera, food and furniture design as he was fashion,” said Wintour, Condé Nast artistic director and Vogue editor in chief. “Every single Italian designer I have come to know since then has been exactly the same. Italy tends to know all about the best things in life for the simple reason it makes most of them, and this initiative is a wonderful reminder that it will continue to do so for many years to come.”
“For generations, Italy’s journalists and editors have worked to champion truth, to the betterment of the country and the world,” said Remnick, editor in chief of The New Yorker. “It’s never been more important to foster the curiosity, drive and passion of the next generation of writers.”
Italian fashion designers including Miuccia Prada welcomed the initiative.
“Italy’s rich cultural and artistic heritage has always generated outstanding creative results,” Prada said. “Masterly craftsmanship, passed on from generation to generation, has given rise to well-trained artisans and skilled workers who contributed to secure the country’s worldwide reputation and preeminence in the fields of fashion and design. Condé Nast has long been a supporter of Italian business, commerce and the arts. This is a very important time to enhance collaborations to encourage the talent and creativity that will shape tomorrow’s leaders and pioneers.”
Condé Nast is the parent company of WWD.