Rome is the global capital of culture, a city where you can breath an atmosphere dense of history, art and beauty. The ideal place where to study fashion. If you want to become a fashion designer, a stylist or a costume designer, Rome is perfect. But only choosing the right fashion school, that can boost your talent and help you to realize your dreams. Here a guide to the 8 best fashion schools of the capital of Italian Haute Couture
Every city has its own character. Rome has a noble charm result of millennials of history, stratifications of artistic periods, intersections of styles. In the placid quite of the Roman sunny days you can see something beatiful every step on the way. An enormous, sometimes apparently too big and chaotic city, where everything has a meaning, a story to tell.Like a giant open-air museum, Rome is an infinite source of inspiration for sensitive souls and creative minds. Mindful of its past glory, this city tries to look forward betting on young people and new ideas.
- to improve your cultural background
- to have a large range of possibilities and courses (fashion design, styling and communication, costume design, accessories design, jewelry design, tailoring and pattern-making)
- to know both Haute Couture and ready-to-wear
- to have many different schools to choose from (according to your skills and desire)
- to have the possibility of showcasing your talent at Altaroma
- to have the possibility of showcasing your talent at Altaroma
- to have the possibilities of working in many fashion houses, but also theatres, television and cinema
- to stay in a wonderful place with a nice weather (why not?)
Choose how to spend your future years of studies could be not easy, so for example you could take a look to my previous articles, in which I wrote a guide for aspiring designers with many advices about
how to choosethe perfect fashion school (part 1 and part 2). If you are looking for a fashion school in Rome, here are the 8 best academies and schools (in alphabetical order).
ACCADEMIA COSTUME E MODA
ACCADEMIA COSTUME E MODA has a strong tradition and a bright present. Founded in 1964 by
Rosana Pistolese, fashion and costume historian and designer, and with over 50 years of activity, now this school reached the great goal of being considered one of the most important fashion schools in the world for the “Global School Rankings 2019”
The Business of Fashion (BoF) Witha very strong identity, this school bases its roots in the close
connection between fashion and costume, in the cultural approach to
design and in the perfect balance between craftsmanship,
experimentation, technological innovation and sustainability. With a
special eye on Haute Couture. The school has a very good relationship with fashion industry. In fact, it has more than 85% of job placement, with ex-students who work as important Creative Directors, fashion designers, professionals of fashion communication and costume design. Every year, the academy partecipates to Altaroma, Fashion Graduate Italia and many other important fashion events.
The academy offers many types of advanced training courses, most of which are accredited by Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR):
- 3-YEARS UNDERGRADUATE COURSES – BACHELOR OF ARTS (180 CREDITS ECTS): with three different programs for Costume & Moda (Fashion Design, Accessories Design and Costume Design), Fashion Editor, Styling and Communication and Cinema and Filmmaking: Media Design & Multimedia Arts
- 2-YEARS MASTER OF ARTS (120 CREDITS ECTS): with two programs for Accessories & Jewellery Design and Costume & Alta Moda Fashion Design
- ACADEMIC MASTERS (60 CREDITS ECTS): with 5 very specific programs for Alta Moda Fashion Design, Accessories Design, Creative Knitwear Design (very innovative), The Art & Craft of the Costume Designer and Fashion Jewellery
- VOCATIONAL COURSES: with two programs for Fashion Communication and Fashion Design
The school offers also many intensive and short introductory summer courses. Choose Accademia Costume e Moda if you want:
- to have an advanced training
- to have strong cultural basis
- to have great skills in trend research and forecasting
- to design Haute Couture
- to design fashion accessories
- to work in fashion communication
- to become a costume designer
For information: ACCADEMIA COSTUME E MODA website Via Della Rondinella 2 – 00186 Roma Phone +39 06 6868169 info@accademiacostumeemoda.it
ACCADEMIA DEL LUSSO
needs, creating a very large range of educational programs and courses
to train modern professional profiles in the fields of fashion design,
communication, styling, management and retail.
One of the most interesting aspect of the school is the ability to adapt to
the international market, renewing every time its educational offer,
having an academic staff of professionals and offering complementary
activities that improve the student’s experience. Like seminaries,
talks, visits to museums, fashion houses and industries, international
events and trade fairs.
Belgrade and Shanghai, has in Rome two headquarters, with many
laboratories and classrooms dedicated to theoretical and practical
subjects. Those in the beautiful set of Piazza di Spagna was inaugurated
last September 2018 with a great fashion show.
most, with classes of maximum 8-10 students that, in this way, could be
better followed by teachers. The school offers 5 different types of
courses, both in Italian and English:
- 3-YEARS
EUROPEAN BACHELOR’S DEGREE: with three programs for Fashion Design,
Fashion Styling & Comunication and Fashion Brand Management - 1
ACADEMIC YEAR MASTER COURSES: with four different educational paths
regarding Fashion Brand Management, Fashion Communication Management,
Fashion Collection Management and the brand-new Sustainable Fashion
Design (very interesting and contemporary) - 1-YEAR
INTENSIVE COURSES: with 8 different programs, among which I’d like to
mention the most interesting and innovative Fashion Couture Design
(oriented to craftsmanship and sustainability), Fashion Accessories
Design and Interior & Retail Design - 6/14-MONTHS
PROFESSIONAL COURSES: with 16 different programs for every sector of
fashion and communication system, among which the newest and more
contemporary are Fashion & Luxury Influencer, Fashion Styling,
Fashion Events, Visual Merchandising and Haute Couture Design - PREPARATORY
COURSES: short introductory courses to perfect the skills, like Fashion
English Language and Italian Lifestyle, Culture & Language (to
approach to Made in Italy)
What are the school’s strenghts? Accademia del Lusso is perfect for you if:
- you prefer a customizable program with dedicated teachers
- you want dinamic and intensive courses
- you want to learn new types of fashion professions
- you like styling and contemporary communication
- you want a modern and experimental approach to fashion design
- you are interest to fashion and luxury world
ACCADEMIA ITALIANA
ACCADEMIA ITALIANA is a university-level school with two headquartes in the major Italian cities of art, Florence and Rome. Founded in 1984, this academy has internationally renowned departments of fashion, design and photography, with a strong synergy and spirit of collaboration between the different courses, through many interdisciplinary projects.
The school, which has a great number of foreigner students, coming from all over the world, offers a complete educational program, large spacious areas with specific workshops and classrooms for each theoretical and practical subject and a teaching staff of high-level professionals.
The rigorous design process is at the basis of every course, as well as the development of the cultural background of the students, who have the opportunity to study subjects like Aesthetic or History of Art, together with the more specific topics and the most modern technologies applied to design. Every year the academy brings its best students under the spotlight of international mass media and the radar of talent scouts, with a final-year collective fashion show, the partecipation to numerous events and a serious service of job placement.
The academic program is based on undergraduate university-level courses accredited by Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) and by European Accreditation Board of Higher Education Schools, as well as many different types of shorter courses:
- 3-YEARS BACHELOR’S DEGREE (180 CREDITS ECTS): with four programs for Design (Interior & Product Design), Photography & New Media, the very interesting Jewelry Design and s complete course of Fashion Design
- 1-YEAR MASTER COURSE in Luxury Marketing & Brand Management
- PROFESSIONAL COURSES: that could last up to 1 year and with 7 different programs, among which I’d like to mention Fashion Design, Contemporary Jewelry Design, Fashion Photography and Styling Course
- SUMMER COURSES: which can be intensive or very specific, like Fashion Illustration, Drawing & Painting, Intensive Fashion Design or Photoshop
Why choose Accademia Italiana? Its strenghts are:
- university-level training
- strong cultural and artistic approach to design
- modern infrastructures and equipment
- very serious design process-oriented programs
- valid fashion design and jewelry design courses
- international authority and recogniction
ACCADEMIA KOEFIA
ACCADEMIA INTERNAZIONALE DI ALTA MODA E COSTUME KOEFIA is another school with a long heritage, because founded in 1951 by the dressmaker Toni Alba Koefia, who invented a particular draping method similar to the French moulage to create the clothes shapes directly on sartorial dummies, giving life to beatiful Haute Couture creations.
This method, together with the most modern technologies, is still teached in this school, that is one of the most renowned at international level and that often collaborates with other important realities of fashion educational system. Member of PSFM Piattaforma Sistema Formativo Moda, the academy partecipates every years to the events of Fashion Graduate Italia and AltaRoma, presenting the graduate collections of its students also in international contexts.
Thanks to its long tradition and reputation, Koefia prepare the students for working in all the fields of fashion design, especially in Haute Couture and artisanal techniques, and it has also very good results in terms of job placement, near to 80%.
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| Accademia Koefia |
All the courses proposed by the school are accredited by the European Accreditation Board of Higher Education Schools, and release a certification. There are many long-term or short courses:
- 3-YEARS UNDERGRADUATE EUROPEAN BACHELOR DEGREE COURSES (180 CREDITS ECTS): with two programs for Fashion Design Project & Research (focused on ready-to-wear design process) and Fashion Design High Fashion Tailoring (Haute Couture-oriented)
- 2-YEARS POSTGRADUATE MASTER COURSE (120 CREDITS ECTS) in Italian Haute Couture Production (focused on luxury market and sartorial skills)
- 4/9-MONTHS EXECUTIVE COURSES: with four different programs like Poise & Style – Model (for styling and fashion top models), Haute Couture Tailoring (modelling, tailoring, millinery and embroidery techniques), Fashion Designer and Haute Couture 3D Modelling (moulage technique)
The school has also many short and very specific courses dedicate to who want to deepen particular topics. Choose Accademia Koefia if you want:
- to have advanced training
- to learn traditional and modern design processes, from concepts to modelling and tailoring techniques
- to design Haute Couture
- to learn high fashion techniques of decorations and accessories
- to have a complete preparation in the fields of fashion design and tailoring
- to become a fashion model or an influencer
ACCADEMIA MODA MAIANI
ACCADEMIA MODA MAIANI owes its reputation to the long experience (over 45 years) of its founder Mrs Maria Maiani, who worked as “Premiére” patternmaker and designer for many important brands of Italian Haute Couture before starting to teach and create her own personal patternamking method.
The Maiani’s Method© is a patented process of modelling that simplifies the transformation of the bidimensional fashion sketches and patterns into a three-dimensional prototype which fitted perfectly to the real measures of female body avoiding too long defects corrections. This method is used to realize made-to-measure garments, but also standard sizes, plus-sizes and industrial patterns. In fact, together with the most traditional tailoring and modelling techniques, the school provides also specific courses with the most modern CAD-CAM Lectra systems.
The teaching staff is formed by professional of different field of fashion deisgn, costume desing and communication and boasts personalities like Stefano Dominella, President of Maison Gattinoni, and the same founder Maria Maiani.
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| Accademia Moda Maiani |
Differently from many other types of fashion schools, this academy is decidedly oriented on very practical know-how, without forgetting the part of concept and design, and proposing also many interesting and less usual courses. Many courses are accredited by Regione Lazio and release a certification of professional qualification following the EQF (European Qualification Frameworks) standard:
- 2/3-YEARS ACADEMIC COURSES: with 6 different educational paths among which I want to mention Fashion Designer, Cinema & Visual Audio Costume Designer, Clothing Patternmaker and Prototype Tailoring Technician
- PROFESSIONAL COURSES: with four different programs for Fashion Design, Prototype Tailoring & Modelling, Patternmaking and Technical CAD/CAM Lectra System
- MASTER COURSES: with four programs for Stylist & Fashion Communication, Fashion Graphic Design, Visual Merchandising and History & Techniques of Fashion Photography
- SHORT COURSES: with 8 different training paths among which I’d like to mention the most interesting like Textile Decoration, Haute Couture Embroideries and the innovative Cosplay Design
Why choose Accademia Moda Maiani? This school is perfect for you if:
- you want to learn a particular and innovative patternmaking method
- you are interested in fashion design and prototype realization
- you want to learn the traditional sartorial techniques of high fashion
- you want a career as tailor or patternmaker
- you want to learn all the decorative and sartorial techniques for garments and fabrics
- your passion is Costume Design or you want to work with Cosplayers
ISTITUTO EUROPEO DI DESIGN
IED ISTITUTO EUROPEO DI DESIGN is one of the most renowned realities of fashion educational system. More than a simple school, IED is a network of schools that embraces many fields of artistic education, ranging from Design to Fashion, Visual Art and Communication.
Founded in 1966 by Francesco Morelli, now the institute is an international network with 11 sites in Italy, Spain and Brazil, with a close interconnection between the different departments and a real interdisciplinary process, with many projects that involves the students of various disciplines.
In Rome the School of Fashion is one of the most renowned and it follows the IED’s method based on design culture and process, deep knowledge of theory and know-how. Practice is a fundamental part of the training experience and, in fact, the school has spacious equipped laboratories and classrooms dedicated to training and research activities. But especially, it has a teaching team formed by high-level professionals of fashion industry who work for many important brands and allows a continue exchange of knowledge and skills between the working world and the school’s reality.
IED’s method is based on the concept of “learning by doing”, that’s why the students are involved since the first year in projects and collaborations with many companies. Every year IED School of Fashion partecipates to international events and competitions and can boast a number of successes in terms of results achieved and job placement.
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| IED School of Fashion Rome |
Regarding fashion disciplines in Rome, IED educational offer includes many types of long-term and short courses, most of which are accredited by Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) or released a private diploma:
- 3-YEARS UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC DIPLOMAS 1st LEVEL (180 CREDITS): with training programs for Fashion Design, Jewelry Design and Fashion Stylist & Editor
- 1-YEAR IED MASTER COURSES: with programs for Fashion Marketing & Communication and Jewelry Design (with advanced 3D design software, traditional techniques and a workshop in watch design)
- ADVANCED STUDY PROGRAM: a 7-months course in Stylist for Fashion
- PROFESSIONAL COURSES: with 2 short programs for Fashion Styling and Personal Shopper
Why choose IED School of Fashion? It’s perfect for you if:
- you want an advanced and high-level training
- you want to work and collaborate in multi-disciplinary projects and in team
- you want to learn every step of design process with a strong and rigorous method
- you want a modern, higly-technological approach to fashion design
- you want to become a jewelry designer
- you want to work in the field of styling and communication
ISTITUTO ITALIANO DELLA MODA
ISTITUTO ITALIANO DELLA MODA was founded in 1987 by Agata Di Giannantonio and since the beginning boasted a close collaboration with many fashion companies, with the intent of creating a new type of school in which the students of fashion design can have a complete training program, in which theory is supported by practice and the talent of each student in enchanced by an almost individual approach.
One the particularity of this school is the total customization of the courses, which can be adapted to the real needs of the students in terms of frequency, subjects and costs. It offers many different types of courses, from the long-term programs to short courses and even brief workshops which address many fashion issues. The purpose is to train a new generation of designers able to work in the modern industry without forgetting the long heritage of Italian craftmanship.
Other interesting things are that the students can partecipate to the final fashion show and many competitions since the first year of course, the inner service of job placement through a fashion agency and especially the good quality-price ratio.
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| Istituto Italiano della Moda |
The school offers many different courses, that can be in groups or even individual:
- 3-YEARS COURSE: with a complete program for Fashion Design (with subjects that goes from to fashion illustration, collection design process to tailoring, patternmaking and computer design)
- SPECIALIZATION MASTER COURSES: with basic of advanced programs for Haute Couture, Accessories Design (shoes and bags), Patternmaking & Dressmaking, Bridalwear, Graphic for Fashion (patterns and prints) and Decoration & Embroideries
- SHORT COURSES “THE WEEK END OF FASHION”: with 14 different training programs among which I’d like to mention the most interesting, like Blogger, Cool Hunter, Fashion Photographer, Visual Merchandising and Fashion Illustration
Why choose Istituto Italiano della Moda? This school is good for you if:
- you want a customizable program (frequency and costs)
- you want a complete fashion design training
- you need specific short courses
- you want to learn the techniques of design process, modelling and tailoring
- you want to learn decorative techniques for fashion
- you want to become a fashion illustrator
For informations: ISTITUTO ITALIANO DELLA MODA website Via Ovidio 7/A – 00193 Rome Phone +39 393 7849720 istitutoitalianomoda@gmail.com
SCUOLA DI RICAMO ALTA MODA
In 2009 she decided to found her own fashion embroidery school, improving her expertise learning the Lunèville technique at Maison Lesage in Paris and Contemporary Collage at Central Saint Martins School in London.
Now the school has two sites, in Milan and Rome, and it’s the first embroidery school in Italy, with hundreds of students coming from all over the world and collaborations with many important fashion brands of Haute Couture. The courses are based on the modern concept of embroidery and, together with the traditional mehods, are taught contemporary, innovative and artistic techniques that can be used not only for fashion, but also in interior deisng, illustration and art.
- EMBROIDERY COURSES: with practical programs for Individual Embroidery Course (fully customizable), Haute Couture Embroidery (with traditional and 3D techniques), Lunèville Embroidery (specific French technique), Couture Embroidery Baroque Art Course (for more traditional and artistic techniques)
- PROFESSIONAL EMBROIDERY COURSE: with a complete program for every technique and embroidery design process specific for fashion
- OTHER COURSES: with practical programs for Moulage Draping (for fashion designers and patternmakers), Leather Handbags Design (accessories modelling techniques and process), Silk Flowers for Bridalwear (decorative techniques for fashion) and Millinery (creative hats and headpieces)
- you are already a fashion designer and want to update your practical skills
- you are passionate about embroidery art
- you want to learn traditional and contemporary embroidery techniques
- you are an artist or a fashion illustrator who wants to explore new forms of artistic production
- you want to collaborate with fashion houses, interior designers
- you want to learn an old craft in a totally new and modern way
Do you want some other advices about fashion schools in Italy? Continue reading The Fashion Propellant or contact me for a consult!
