L’École de design Nantes Atlantique launches a new MSc in Brand Design & Luxury Experience
Press Release August 28, 2026
L’École de design Nantes Atlantique is launching a new international Master of Science program dedicated to Brand Design & Luxury Experience, delivered between Paris and Shanghai, in partnership with the fashion and lifestyle media group Marie Claire.
Designed for creative and business profiles wishing to develop an international career in the luxury sector, this one-year MSc combines brand strategy, experience design, intercultural understanding and projectbased learning. The program leads to a Master of Science degree accredited by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles (CGE).
At a time when artificial intelligence, environmental challenges and new consumer behaviors are profoundly transforming the luxury industry, this MSc aims to train professionals capable of designing immersive, responsible and meaningful brand experiences. Students will learn to respond to growing expectations in terms of authenticity, personalization, digital and immersive technologies, and sustainability.
The program offers a unique journey between two major creative capitals. In Paris, students will explore the heritage, codes and narratives of luxury, with a particular focus on “quiet luxury” and the French art de vivre. In Shanghai, they will analyze the new dynamics of luxury through Chinese consumer culture, experiential retail, technological innovation and the rapidly changing Asian markets.
Structured over 12 months, the MSc comprises 472 hours of teaching, divided between four months in Paris, four months in Shanghai and a four-month internship or company project that can be carried out anywhere in the world. Courses cover, in particular, brand design, semiotics of luxury, generative artificial intelligence tools, brand storytelling, communication, social media strategy, anthropology of luxury in China, customer experience, immersive technologies and an introduction to Mandarin.
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This program will provide a global vision of contemporary luxury, grounded in concrete experience within two creative capitals of luxury that are rich in history and culture, but also undergoing rapid technological transformation, with a creative approach based on design and project work.
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The partnership with Marie Claire will give students access to a leading professional ecosystem. The group will mobilize its network of experts, partner companies and sector professionals through juries, masterclasses, educational projects, professional assignments and internship opportunities.
In Paris, the program and its professional contributors will be led by Amandine Dubessay, who will mobilize her network of houses, agencies and luxury experts to offer students privileged access to key players in the sector.
In Shanghai, Maxence Lucas, a designer based in China since 2012 and currently Head of the China Studio at L’École de design Nantes Atlantique, will coordinate the program, drawing on the creative and expert diaspora of the Chinese creative capital and on the strong professional network built through the school’s 18-year presence in China.
This MSc prepares graduates for leadership and project management roles in the international luxury industry, particularly in brand design, design management, strategic planning, event project management, digital marketing and customer experience strategy.
Applications for the 2027–2028 academic year will open in October 2026. The program is open to candidates with four years of study at bachelor’s level, or equivalent, in fields such as design, architecture, fashion design, communication, media or marketing. Candidates with three years of study in related fields may also be considered, subject to a limited number of places.
About L’École de design Nantes Atlantique
Founded in 1988 and supported and governed by the CCI Nantes Saint-Nazaire, L’École de design Nantes Atlantique is now an international design school with more than 2,500 students worldwide, across its schools in Cotonou, Benin, and Hangzhou, China, as well as international studios. Through its project-based pedagogy, the school trains creative professionals able to address complex challenges through design, innovation and strategic thinking, in close connection with the socio-economic world. A member of the Conférence des Grandes Écoles since 2003 and awarded the EESPIG label as a Private Higher Education Institution of General Interest, the school benefits from both the highest level of academic recognition — a-five-year Designer Diploma with master’s degree status, DN MADE and bachelor’s degree status — and recognition of the professional quality of its 4,300 graduates. The MSc Brand Design & Luxury Experience represents a new step in its international development in a sector that has traditionally been a strong employment driver for designers trained by the school.
About Groupe Marie Claire and the Marie Claire Academy
Founded in 1937, Groupe Marie Claire marked the advent of the modern women’s press and is now one of the leading women’s press groups in France. With an international presence through around thirty editions worldwide, it brings together a community of 13.5 million readers and nearly 10 million social media followers. With nearly ninety years of history, the group enjoys rare legitimacy among both readers and advertisers, as well as an in-depth understanding of brand and brand-experience issues in France and in international markets — a valuable asset for this MSc.
The Marie Claire Academy is the group’s training division: created in 2018, it brings together recognized schools and centers in the fields of beauty, wellness and sommelier professions. The MSc Brand Design & Luxury Experience marks its entry into higher education in brand design and luxury experience.
About Amandine Dubessay
Amandine Dubessay is a brand experience designer. A graduate of HEC, she has spent more than fifteen years designing experiences for luxury and fashion houses, from Longchamp to L’Oréal, by orchestrating a network of talents in service of brand narratives. She also led the creative and cultural industries sector at the Paris Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry for three years, as well as the Club Paris Capitale de la Création. She co-chairs the HEC Tourism & Hospitality Alumni Club.
About Maxence Lucas
Maxence Lucas is Academic Coordinator of the China Studio of L’École de design Nantes Atlantique in Shanghai. A 2014 graduate of the school’s Transcultural Design program, after two years of immersion in Shanghai and an initial background in interior architecture, she pursued her career in China, where she developed numerous interior architecture, retail and event design projects for the luxury sector for Creative Capital, May Twenty One and HCWD. She also contributes to pedagogical supervision within NACAA, a Franco-Chinese institute co-founded by L’École de design Nantes Atlantique and the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, and has been leading the China Studio since 2024 in partnership with Shanghai University.
Press contact
Frédéric DEGOUZON, Director of International Strategy & Development, L’École de design Nantes Atlantique,
+33 (0)6 23 82 34 26 – email: communication@lecolededesign.com
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