Carmela Spinelli currently serves as International Special Projects Representative at the Savannah College of Art and Design, lecturing on fashion and design, international admissions and recruitment, innovative curriculum and academic initiatives.
 
Spinelli also served as Chair of the Fashion and Accessory Design Department at SCAD, developing curriculum for SCAD locations in Savannah, Atlanta, La Coste, France and Hong Kong.
 
Prior to this role she served as Associate Chair of the Department of Fashion Design at Parson’s The New School of Design, under renowned chair Tim Gunn. Spinelli oversaw academic curricular and faculty development, international special projects and internships programs at the renowned fashion design school. She coordinated the department’s History of French Decorative Arts and Fashion study abroad program in conjunction with the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and the Museé des Art Décoratifs in Paris. Spinelli also developed special projects for Parsons, partnering with the world’s finest luxury brands, retailers and trade associations including LVMH, Saks Fifth Avenue, The Italian Trade Commission, Ducatti, SAGA Furs and Van Clef and Arpels.
 
Spinelli lectures extensively on design, fashion history and the fashion business. She has spoken at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in conjunction with the Mayor of London’s culture diversity team, The Beijing Institute of Fashion and The China Academy of Art, the Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore, and Hong Kong Polytechnic.
 
Additionally, Spinelli has experience with the fashion and design industry, serving as an executive with Celine, an LVMH company and as Chief Creative Officer for Three Wildcats. LLC. a retail development firm. She led the retail creative vision for two new retail concepts with the architectural firm Gensler that garnered two international design awards in 2008 from the Association for Retail Environments for Outstanding Merit in Store Design and Store Fixtures.
 
She holds a Masters Degree in the History of Decorative Art from The Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and Parsons The New School for Design. Spinelli received the Lisa Taylor Fellowship from the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum for academic achievement.