IFM: Sidney Toledano elected chairman of the board of directors

By

Marion Deslandes

Translated by
Roberta HERRERA

Published
Jun 15, 2022

The presidency of the French Fashion Institute (IFM) has been passed on. At the general meeting held on June 14, Sidney Toledano, CEO of the LVMH group’s fashion division, was unanimously elected chairman of the board of directors of the globally renowned fashion school in Paris. He will be succeeding André Beirnaert, who did not renew his candidacy.

Toledano is no stranger to IFM, having served as vice-president for the past five years and as director for more than 20 years. "I am keen to put my experience and vision of fashion at the service of the younger generations," he explained in a press release. “I strongly believe in the transmission of knowledge and in the central role of education. I am therefore proud and happy to have been entrusted with the task of helping the Institut Français de la Mode in its already well-developed project to become a world-class fashion school. Bringing together and nurturing talent from all over the world in Paris, both in management and in design and know-how, is essential for our industry."
 
Xavier Romatet, the school's director general, considers it a "great opportunity" to have Toledano as president of the board of directors, "with his incomparable experience, his fine knowledge of world fashion and his multiple connections".

70-year-old Toledano, a graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Paris, began his career as a consultant at Nielsen before joining Kickers and later Lancel -as general manager- in the 1980s. In 1994, he began his ascent at Dior, and was appointed CEO of the fashion house in 1998. 20 years later, in 2018, he assumed the role of CEO of the LVMH group’s fashion division, which includes brands such as Givenchy, Celine, Pucci, and Kenzo.

The highly accomplished man is also vice-president of the Comité Colbert and a member of the executive committee of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture and the executive committee of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.
 
Anne Dellière, marketing and strategic planning director at the Richemont Group, will become vice president of the IFM board of directors, taking the seat left vacant by Toledano.