Danilo Venturi is the director of IED Milan and the author of Brand Persona.

His expertise spans fashion, strategic branding, curation, creative direction, communication, writing, and education.

With a background in political science and luxury management, he pursued a multidisciplinary career from the very beginning: from the music industry to pioneering e-commerce, and from concept stores to La Perla lingerie.

As Director of Polimoda from 2015 to 2021, he involved global giants such as LVMH, Kering, and Richemont, as well as iconic brands including Gucci, Ferragamo and Valentino. He fostered pivotal collaborations with leaders like Vogue, WGSN, and the CFDA, and engaged with visionaries such as  Alber Elbaz, Suzy Menkes, Renzo Rosso, Marina Abramović, and Rick Owens.

That chapter began with Fashion Displacement, a panel discussion in the Sky Room of the New Museum, New York and over time evolved into an innovative educational model—one ultimately praised by Forbes as The Reign of Error.

During a creative pause in Miami, he authored Brand Persona, featuring a foreword by Marco Bizzarri, then President and CEO of Gucci.

In the same period, he started a collaboration with  Fashion Politique, sharing a taste for iconicity in fashion imagery. Together they worked with talents such as Monica Bellucci, Maye Musk, and Carmen Dell’Orefice, alongside photographers including Paolo Roversi, Ellen von Unwerth, and Albert Watson. Notably, Carmen and Albert’s cover was featured in  Vanessa Friedman’s New York Times Open Thread, marking a significant milestone. The cover created for Vogue Portugal featuring Twiggy is now officially part of the National Portrait Gallery.

In 2022, Venturi was appointed Director of IED Florence, where he brought together fashion, art, and design, involving Michel Comte, Stefan Sagmeister, and Joana Vasconcelos on the occasion of her exhibition at the Uffizi. Thanks to a partnership with Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, IED also hosted the public programs for the exhibitions of Jeff Koons, Olafur Eliasson, and Anish Kapoor.

Venturi expanded IED’s presence in Florence by opening fashion labs at Palazzo Pucci n. 6—where Emilio Pucci designed his collections—and revamping the 18th-century Oriuolo Theater for curatorial practice and digital arts. With three locations all within walking distance of Brunelleschi’s dome, the campus has become synonymous with Florence itself.

Now, as Director of IED Milan, Venturi continues to affirm his belief that fashion is made of people even before the clothes they wear.

Among his curated projects are Breaking the Mould, a culinary symposium at Ginori 1735 during Pitti Uomo on what defines the contemporary; interviews with Coco Rocha for Forbes and Anna Dello Russo for Harper’s Bazaar; IED Tomorrow, the series of panel discussions at the historic 10 Corso Como; and Very Good, the video interviews featuring Margherita Missoni, Danielle Kwateng, and Diane Pernet, exploring how fashion can contribute to a better future.

More about Danilo Venturi and direct connection via social media.