
The IPOL Conference 2022, Crafting Luxury, will be available to attend virtually next month. Early-bird online tickets are available until the 3rd May. We are delighted to announce our first events to take place on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th May 2022. The first of our announcements focuses on our collaboration with Politecnico di Milano and Fashion in Process.
We’re thrilled to announce that Eugenia Paulicelli will be joining us as a keynote speaker on 27th May. Paulicelli is Professor of Italian, Comparative Literature and Women’s Studies at Queens College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

As always we will present a series of presentations, round table discussions and collaborations at the IPOL Conference. You can see the full conference programme below — also expect more speakers to be announced imminently! Be sure to secure your ticket to attend the conference online via the ‘book now’ button.
IPOL Conference 2022 Programme
May 26th
IPOL Conference 2022 – Day 1
In Collaboration with Politecnico di Milano.
13:00 – 13:30 Welcome and Introduction
13:30 – 14:15
Roundtable – Fashion in Process: Industry 4.0
4.0 ARTISANSHIP
Focusing on the impact of Industry 4.0, such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced manufacturing (AM) and digital fabrication (DF), and collaborative robotics (CR) on the design and manufacturing processes of high-end fashion and luxury craftsmanship. The discussion will highlight opportunities in creativity, quality, products’ uniqueness, and sustainability, along with limitations and barriers to successful uptake.
14:15 – 15:05 – Paper session 1
Nigel Lezama – Canadian Critical Luxury Studies. Decentring Luxury
Sofia Papakonstantinou – The eternal return of the ancient Greek dress in contemporary luxury fashion
15:05 – 15:20 – Break
15:20 – 16:00 – Crafting Luxury – Mark Bloomfield + Shaun Borstrock + Silvio Carta + Veronica Malow – Chaired by James Campbell
Crafting Luxury considers work within the field of luxury and luxury brands, encompassing established companies with a long heritage: from conglomerates and small independents to ‘new’ luxury and emerging models with innovative practices. It examines the industry structures with respect to production, as well as the hierarchies that exist, and the impact these have on both internal and external perceptions of luxury, from the makers to the sellers and consumers alike. Attention is also given to the working structures of the ateliers, production facilities, origin of materials, manufacture and the impact of technology on consumption, the retail environment and sales, all providing a true insider’s view of this complex world.
16:00 – 17:55 – Paper Session 02
Ivan Coste-Maniere – From “organic luxury” to “synthetic lab grown” retail
Fabio Duma – Artisan Influencers & the Role of Craftsmanship in the Future of Luxury – The Case of Young Bespoke Tailors in Italy
Chara Itoka – When Craftsmanship is Synonymous with Luxury: African Fashion Brands Building the Creative Sector at the Intersection of Artisanry & Luxury
Mark Joseph O’Connell – Arc’teryx & the Luxury of Disruption: Sustainable Drivers of a Fashionable Brand
Federica Vacca – (Arche)typical Sardinia. Exploring a new craft design paradigm.
17:55 – Conclusion
May 27th
IPOL Conference 2022 – Day 2
In Collaboration with Politecnico di Milano.
13:00 – 14:00 Welcome and Luxury Studies: In Pursuit of Luxury Journal 1.1
We are delighted to present the contributors to the inaugural issue of Luxury Studies: The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal to our community. In Pursuit of Luxury’s (IPOL) goal is focused on creating opportunities for dialogue between practitioners and academics whose areas of practice and research encompass the very broad area of luxury. Our approach is to encourage debate from all sectors of the luxury and luxury brands market including but not limited to fashion, travel, product design, architecture, technology, labour practices, the environment, blockchain, sustainability, circular economy, craftsmanship, automotive, horology and aeronautical. Furthermore, we are driven by cross disciplinary collaboration, something that we believe adds value to the luxury proposition. We believe that the IPOL journal will advance the field of luxury studies through the inclusion of voices from practitioners and experts. Divergent industries and academic thought collide to generate meaningful, and powerful debate around pertinent topics related to luxury studies.
14:00 – 15:00 Keynote – Eugenia Paulicelli – Looking Back, Looking Forward: the Rhythms of Fashion
15:00 – 15:15 – Break
15:15 – 17:15 – Paper session 3
Federica Carlotto – Circular Fashion Consumption: evolving and contrasting temporal features
Erminia D’Itria – Mitigating Climate Change: Implications and Strategies of Fashion Luxury Industry Climate Commitments.
Houssam Jedidi – Challenges and Opportunities in Luxury Research: Using Text Mining (TM) and Structural Topic Modeling (STM) to Explore, Structure and Review Extant Research
Paula von Wachenfeldt – Between the Real and the Kitsch. The Challenges of Luxury Brands on Social Media
17:15 – 18:15 – Phygital in Retail: Evolution and Opportunities
Rooted in a context of deep digital and technological acceleration and changing consumption patterns, the fashion retail area is facing new challenges and transformations. During the panel, FoReSeE research centre – Forecasting Retail Service Experience research centre, Design Dept. Politecnico di Milano, currently being launched – will be presented. The following discussion will delve into what it means today to engage with the phygital dimension and its potentialities and impacts for a meaningful and valuable retail experience.
18:15 – Conclusion
IPOL Conference 2022 Announcements
EUGENIA PAULICELLI JOINS US FOR IPOL CONFERENCE 2022
Eugenia Paulicelli will be joining us as a keynote speaker at the IPOL Conference 2022 on 27th May. Paulicelli is Professor of Italian, Comparative Literature and Women’s Studies at Queens College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Find out more about Eugenia Paulicelli at: www.eugeniapaulicelli.com
FASHION IN PROCESS 4.0 ARTISANSHIP
Focusing on the impact of Industry 4.0, such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced manufacturing (AM) and digital fabrication (DF), and collaborative robotics (CR) on the design and manufacturing processes of high-end fashion and luxury craftsmanship. The discussion will highlight opportunities in creativity, quality, products’ uniqueness, and sustainability, along with limitations and barriers to successful uptake.
PHYGITAL IN RETAIL: EVOLUTION AND OPPORTUNITIES
Rooted in a context of deep digital and technological acceleration and changing consumption patterns, the fashion retail area is facing new challenges and transformations. During the panel, FoReSeE research centre – Forecasting Retail Service Experience research centre, Design Dept. Politecnico di Milano, currently being launched – will be presented. The following discussion will delve into what it means today to engage with the phygital dimension and its potentialities and impacts for a meaningful and valuable retail experience.