Ella Counts has long held a passion for fashion, especially high-end luxury fashion, and nurtured a dream to work in luxury marketing. Yet at times she’s been frustrated by judgements that the industry is shallow or frivolous.
Counts’ experience this June attending the “Fashion and Luxury in Florence” program, coordinated and overseen by the University of Miami Office of Study Abroad, dispelled any doubts and reinforced her commitment to pursue a career in the multitrillion-dollar global fashion industry, a core driver of contemporary culture.
“Taking this class and seeing firsthand the importance and history behind luxury has pushed all those doubts and judgments of the fashion industry right out of my head,” said Counts, a rising junior pursuing a double major in marketing and analytics and a minor in international business.
“Everything we’ve learned—the sites we’ve visited, the experiences, and so many interactions—makes me even more appreciative of the program and to value this as a career,” Counts said. “I’m convinced more than ever that the point our professor, Trinidad Callava, has made over and over is true—that luxury is a necessity, not only in the business world, but also for the betterment of society.”
Counts formed part of a cohort of students, most of them undergraduates studying marketing at the Miami Herbert Business School, who participated in the faculty-led program in Florence for four weeks in June.
The study abroad experience was a first for James Gulli, a rising sophomore majoring in finance and pursuing minors in marketing and AI.
Gulli, a fragrance collector who has created his own scents by mixing colognes, was fascinated when the group visited Santa Maria Novella, the oldest perfume store in Florence—and the world.
“They have a professional ‘nose’ there, someone who can tell you exactly the scents and how to match them. They do workshops and classes so everyone got to create their own scent. They would help you pick out the bass, mid, and top notes, telling you exactly how many drops of the oils that you need,” Gulli recounted. “I’d never actually made a fragrance by myself, so it was so cool to craft my own.”
As part of their learning experience, the group visited designer factories that included Pucci, Ferragamo, Antinori, and Armani; high-end car manufacturers such as Ferrari and Pagani; Antico Setificio Fiorentino, a high-end silk factory; a tea grower in the Lake Maggiore region; the Polimoda fashion school; and other sites as part of their fieldwork assignments.
The program included day trips to areas such as Solomeo, a medieval hamlet that has been transformed into the company headquarters of Brunello Cucinelli, a designer whose cashmere empire has made him a billionaire. As part of his many renovations to the hamlet, Cucinelli restored the 14th-century castle and erected a “Tribute to Human Dignity” monument to express his belief in “human capitalism.”
Touring the Cucinelli factory, where custom-made men’s suits can take up to three months to complete, was a high point for Cienna Thomas, a rising sophomore studying marketing and business analytics who envisions a career in the luxury fashion industry.
“The factory was quite large, and I was surprised at how organized and clean and how many workers they had. We got to see so many people sewing and making clothes—craftmanship is one of the reasons I like fashion so much, and it was definitely cool to see behind the scenes,” Thomas said.
“Everything they do there is done by people. And they really take pride in shaping their workers—there was an area there that was basically a school, where they teach the techniques and craftsmanship to a mix of students, as many men as women,” added Thomas.
Aidan Royal, a rising senior majoring in finance, also enjoyed his first study abroad experience and most enjoyed visiting the Antico silk factory that demonstrated the entire process of making something out of silk.
“The factory has been around for over 100 years. We got to see how it starts with just a little thread and the machines, which they showed us how to use, go thread by thread to form patterns. It was really amazing,” Royal said.
Regina Benitez Lizarraga, a rising junior and marketing and management major, loved everything about the experience, yet her favorite was visiting the Armani Silos archive in Milan.
“I’ve always been interested in high fashion and love watching the shows, so this experience has been just perfect for me, learning about the brands I know,” Benitez Lizarraga said.
“Before I would see a bag and say, ‘How cute’ and then see the price and think, ‘Whoa, that’s expensive.’ But now I’m on the other side seeing all the work that’s been done to create this piece and see it as art—because it just takes so much time and effort to create,” she said.
Zharick Roca Soria, who graduated this spring with a major in marketing, took the Study Abroad program as a final directed individual study course, researching emerging artisanal brands in Florence. She’s preparing to enter a master’s program at the International University of Monaco in the luxury brand management track.
“Seeing these case studies come to life through the tours really has so enriched my experience,” Roca Soria said. “It was a good connection from theory to reality because whenever we’re feeling or experiencing something in person, we just absorb it a lot better than through passive learning.”
