ow do I break into luxury marketing without direct luxury experience?
Hi everyone! I wanted to share a bit about my situation and ask for some advice.
Sorry if it's too long!
I’ve always wanted to work for fashion houses or luxury groups such as Chanel, Dior, Puig, LVMH, Kering, etc. However, when I studied my Bachelor’s in Marketing and later my Master’s in International Business, there were basically no internship opportunities in that sector available to me at the moment, the only opportunities were for people with plenty of experience.
The closest experience I had was working in marketing for luxury cosmetics and perfumes for a travel retail company (airports), and I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, HR decided to eliminate my position along with several others, and now I currently work in marketing in the automotive industry. It’s not my passion, but I’m comfortable there and the salary is decent.
I’m now 26 (turning 27 soon), so I feel a bit too far removed from university to “start over” with internships again. I graduated years ago and realistically I can’t afford to live on an intern salary anymore.
What I truly enjoy is marketing in all its areas: branding, PR, communication, trade marketing, retail, analytics, etc. I would really love to work in the luxury industry doing something related to that. Since I don’t have direct experience in luxury, I’ve been considering doing a course or diploma related to the industry (I’m not fully convinced about doing another Master’s, although I could consider it). I know a course or degree won’t magically get me a job or open doors automatically, but I do think it could help me better understand the industry and maybe improve my employability/networking opportunities.
I’ve been researching schools like IFM and ESSEC, which seem to offer programs in luxury management/marketing but they seem to be directed at recent graduates from bachelor's. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with these kinds of courses or Master’s programs, and whether you think they are actually worth it.
I’d also love to know:
- Which programs you would recommend (better if it's online or online owith occasional on-campus sessions)
- Whether these programs genuinely help with networking/recruitment opportunities in luxury
- How to get a job in the industry!!!
In my home country, these types of specialized luxury programs don’t really exist, and some of the “prestigious” ones honestly seem more like money grabs.
One advantage is that I could work remotely while studying, so balancing both wouldn’t be a problem for me, I’m already used to working and studying at the same time.
Also, if the course is in countries like France or Italy, both my French and Italyianare quite good. My only issue is that for studying, I’m much more comfortable in either my native language or English. I can work in French and Italian without a problem (I already use it at work), but studying in those languages would probably be difficult for me, so it would be nice if the program is in English.
I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thanks a lot!