Joined Stern 2012
Leonard N. Stern School of Business
Tisch Hall
40 West Fourth Street, 802
New York, NY 10012
E-mail ts307@stern.nyu.edu
Personal website
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Thomai Serdari
Biography
Thomai Serdari, Ph.D. is a strategist in luxury marketing and branding. She helps clients launch, grow, and successfully manage luxury brands. She is an expert on luxury and actively studies, values, and reports on companies or funds that operate and invest within the luxury goods market.
Prof. Serdari has been teaching at New York University since 2004 and at Stern since 2012. She developed the core courses for the MBA Business: Luxury & Retail specialization among others and became Academic Director of MBA Business: Luxury & Retail in 2019.
Originally trained as an architect at the National Technical University of Athens, Prof. Serdari received her doctorate in Art History & Archaeology from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University in 2005. She also holds an MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, with a specialization in corporate and quantitative finance (2009).
Heavily drawing on her interdisciplinary training, Prof. Serdari heads Brand(x)Lux, a brand consultancy that uses critical, business and design thinking to help brands interpret culture, the questions that define it and the trends that will impact the future of business.
She often contributes to Luxury Daily, VOGUE Business, The New York Times, Le Monde and is the editor of the first academic interdisciplinary journal Luxury: History, Culture, Consumption published by Taylor & Francis. She is also the host of POPULUXE, a bi-weekly podcast that explores the desire for luxury through stories told around unique objects chosen by the podcast guests, creative professionals from across ages, cultures, and professions.
Research Interests
- Luxury Marketing
- Entrepreneurship
- New Business Models in Fashion, Art, Media, and Entertainment
Courses Taught
- Luxury Branding
- Luxury Launch
- Luxury Marketing
Academic Background
M.B.A., Business Administration, 2009
NYU Stern School of Business
Ph.D., Art History and Archaeology, 2005
Institute of Fine Arts, NYU
M.A., Media Studies, 1997
The New School for Social Research
M.A., Architecture, 1994
The National Technical University of Athens
Selected Publications
Serdari, Thomai (2022)
The Role of Cultural Innovation in the Success of Luxury Startups
Journal of Strategic Change in Entrepreneurial Finance
Appointed Editor-in-Chief of Luxury (2021)
History Culture Consumption
Taylor & Francis
Serdari, Thomai (2020)
Rethinking Luxury Fashion: The Role of Cultural Intelligence in Defining Creative Strategy
New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Serdari, Thomai (2016)
Experiments in Suchness: Hiroshi Sugimoto Silk Shiki for Herm?s
Critical Luxuries: Art, Design, Media, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Serdari, Thomai (2015)
STEIDL: Printer, Publisher, Alchemist: The Field of Luxury Production in Germany
Luxury: History Culture Consumption, London: Taylor & Francis
Related News & Research
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Luxury Got Caught Up in the China-U.S. TikTok Crossfire. How Should Brands Respond?”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Another Sign These Are Uncertain Times in NYC? Clogs Are Back.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Are Fan Frenzies Outside of Fashion Shows Good Business or a Nuisance?”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “On Running’s ‘Soft Wins’ Campaign Is Latest Shot at Nike.”
Inaugural NYU Stern MBA in Luxury and Retail Conference in Florence, Italy Convenes Global Industry Leaders to Unlock New Value in the Luxury Sector
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “How the Ugly Shoe Got Chic.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Arnault Son Is Tapped To Lift LVMH’s Spirits Unit.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “A Resale Pioneer’s Plan to Stay in Business For a Century.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “The NFL's $1,000 Branded Designer Jackets Are the Latest Sign of Fashion's Newfound Love Affair With Sports.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Fashion Is Losing the Middle Ground.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Chappell Roan says H&M Doesn't Belong in Her World. That's a Bad Sign For Fast Fashion Brands That Need Gen Z's Buy-In.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “New York Fashion Week Is Back, But the Industry is Bleeding Jobs and Influence.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “The Meme-ification of Political Merch.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Bulgari Supports Preservation as Louvre Museum Presents ‘Torlonia Marbles.’”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Bernard Arnault Explains How He Built LVMH Into an Empire of Opulence.”
NYU Stern's refreshed one-year Luxury & Retail MBA Program is highlighted in a dedicated feature; Professor Thomaï Serdari is quoted: "NYU Stern Announces Updates to Specialized MBA."
NYU Stern Refreshes One-year MBA in Luxury
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari: “Brioni's Long Heritage of Suiting Up Cinema's Leading Men.” (Translation Required)
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “The Jeans Fluencer.” (Translation Required)
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Réalisation Par Knows How to Build Buzz. But Can It Create Longevity?”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Another Sign These Are Uncertain Times in NYC? Clogs Are Back.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Are Fan Frenzies Outside of Fashion Shows Good Business or a Nuisance?”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “On Running’s ‘Soft Wins’ Campaign Is Latest Shot at Nike.”
Inaugural NYU Stern MBA in Luxury and Retail Conference in Florence, Italy Convenes Global Industry Leaders to Unlock New Value in the Luxury Sector
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “How the Ugly Shoe Got Chic.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Arnault Son Is Tapped To Lift LVMH’s Spirits Unit.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “A Resale Pioneer’s Plan to Stay in Business For a Century.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “The NFL's $1,000 Branded Designer Jackets Are the Latest Sign of Fashion's Newfound Love Affair With Sports.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Fashion Is Losing the Middle Ground.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Chappell Roan says H&M Doesn't Belong in Her World. That's a Bad Sign For Fast Fashion Brands That Need Gen Z's Buy-In.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “New York Fashion Week Is Back, But the Industry is Bleeding Jobs and Influence.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “The Meme-ification of Political Merch.”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Bulgari Supports Preservation as Louvre Museum Presents ‘Torlonia Marbles.’”
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Bernard Arnault Explains How He Built LVMH Into an Empire of Opulence.”
NYU Stern's refreshed one-year Luxury & Retail MBA Program is highlighted in a dedicated feature; Professor Thomaï Serdari is quoted: "NYU Stern Announces Updates to Specialized MBA."
NYU Stern Refreshes One-year MBA in Luxury
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari: “Brioni's Long Heritage of Suiting Up Cinema's Leading Men.” (Translation Required)
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “The Jeans Fluencer.” (Translation Required)
Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Réalisation Par Knows How to Build Buzz. But Can It Create Longevity?”
Areas of Expertise
Industry
- Art
- Luxury Goods
Marketing
- Advertising/Marketing/PR Strategies
- Social Media