Chairman Sidney Toledano and dean Xavier Romatet sat down with WWD to elaborate on the school's “deep integration into the fashion industry.”

If there’s a golden ratio for success in the fashion business, its illustration might resemble a tetrahedron.

During an interview, Sidney Toledano, chairman of the Institut Français de la Mode or IFM, sketched one on a piece of paper, with the words “creativity,” “craftsmanship” and “management” written in each of the three corners, and the word “brand” at the top of the pyramid — the center of gravity and guiding light.

The veteran luxury executive was discussing the IFM’s 40th anniversary, and argued that its teaching across business, design and artisanal know-how makes the Paris fashion school unique — and uniquely powerful.

“There is a process, and I think at IFM we can prepare very well people to speak the same language,” Toledano said, recalling his early days as chief executive officer at Christian Dior, when John Galliano was heating up the French house with his madcap creativity.

At the time, Toledano created a product committee, which was new to everyone “and I used to say to the management, the marketing, the production people: ‘Listen to the vision first … You always need a leader for the creativity.’”

Xavier Romatet, dean of the IFM since 2019, echoed Toledano’s conviction in the same interview, arguing that having all three disciplines under one roof facilitates dialogue and understanding that is crucial.

“We give the opportunity for the designers to understand the codes and the language of craft, for the craftspeople to understand the codes and language of the designers, and for the managers to see what is the process and to work together,” he explained.

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