The Fashion Institute of Technology Opens The Beauty Center at FIT

The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a college of the State University of New York (SUNY), announced the opening of The Beauty Center at FIT, a research center for the beauty industry, dedicated to global business strategy and consumer trends.

In partnership with the beauty industry, the center will contribute thought leadership to the beauty sector, which is expected to grow at impressive rates on the heels of nearly 20% growth since 2018, per Cosmoprof North America. According to Cosmoprof – the largest research partner to FIT’s graduate beauty program – the sector registered a total value of over $617.2 billion worldwide in 2023, and in 2024 is projected to reach $670.8 billion with 9% annual growth.

“As an extension of FIT’s internationally recognized program in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management (CFMM), we are proud to establish The Beauty Center at FIT,” said Joyce F. Brown, president of FIT. “Through industry partnerships and innovative research that will be advanced by the Center, our master’s level students will be positioned to help shape the future of the global beauty industry, often alongside other distinguished CFMM alumni who are leading renowned brands.”

The Future of Accessible Beauty

A successful education partner to the beauty industry for over 35 years, FIT is also the only college in the US with a state-of-the-art fragrance and cosmetics laboratory. Now, with the addition of The Beauty Center, FIT will accelerate its ability to predict market trends, identify strategic business opportunities and build on its record of global research success.

Past research by CFMM has incorporated extensive field study work in markets ranging from Asia (China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore) to the Middle East/North Africa (Morocco, UAE) to Europe (Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, UK).

On June 26, the Class of 2024 will unveil its latest research study, The Future of Accessible Beauty.

“Having been a senior executive in the beauty industry for 20 years, prior to spending 11 years on the teaching faculty of the CFMM graduate program, it is a particularly special joy for me now, as dean, to be part of the establishment of a center that will further enhance and support the cutting-edge qualitative and quantitative research done in the program, and to help FIT continue to elevate its unique educational partnership with the highly creative beauty industry sector,” said Dr. Brooke Carlson, interim dean of Graduate Studies.

The only one of its kind in the US, and widely recognized as the “Think Tank for the Beauty Industry,” the CFMM graduate program will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year. To date, more than 450 students have graduated from the program. Distinguished CFMM alumni include executives from Chanel, Coty, Inc., DSM Firmenich, ELF Beauty, Estée Lauder, IFF, L’Oréal, LVMH, Shiseido, Unilever and more.

“After 25 years as founder and chair of the master’s program, it is the fulfillment of the original vision of a true academic Think Tank to see this Center come into being,” said Professor Stephan Kanlian, chairperson, MPS Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management. “It will be a place to conduct collaborative research with industry, showcase the existing global research done annually by our students, and exchange new ideas with industry through symposia and conferences, as well as to create a place for our alumni to experience lifelong learning.”