Thomai Serdari

Thomai Serdari

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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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 Luxury Marketing specialization among others and became Academic Director of the Fashion & Luxury MBA 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: "Choosing Between USA and Europe for Your MBA."

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Bulgari Applies Golden Touch to South Korea.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Tom Ford Lifts Zegna Group to $2.1 Billion in Revenue, Up 28% in 2023.”

Commentary from Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari is highlighted: “Inside New York Fashion Week Where Subtle Luxury Still Reigns Supreme.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Squeezed by Soaring Rent, Small Shops Get Creative.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Zac Posen Is Gap Inc.’s Latest Hire in a Long Line.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari podcast interview: “Can European Luxury Firms Keep Winning?”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Can Anyone Bar Europe Do Luxury?”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Why Banal Is Big in Fashion’s Latest Campaigns.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Best Credit Cards for Restaurants.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “The Return of Dad Fashion Matches How Americans Feel About the Economy.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “The New York Times, Google Bringing ‘Style Outside’ to Art Basel.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Why Doesn’t Anyone Know Where to Shop Anymore?”

Commentary from Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari is featured: “Experts Advise: Does a Growing New York City Clothing Brand Need a Storefront in the Digital Age?”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “How Gap Lost Its Khaki Soul.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “Birkenstock: Once-Uncool Sandal Maker Now Worth Billions.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “As Luxury Brands Expand In New York City, Their Success May Be Delayed.”

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: “NYFW Displays Fashion's Changing Landscape.”

How Will Birkenstocks Fare After Its Billion-Dollar Bet To Go Public?

Clinical Professor Thomaï Serdari interview: "Forced Out at Estée Lauder For a ‘Racist’ Meme, John Demsey Is Back—With High-Profile Support."

Areas of Expertise

Industry

  • Art
  • Luxury Goods

Marketing

  • Advertising/Marketing/PR Strategies
  • Social Media