The Master in Fashion Design starts in January and finishes in December.
Its teaching structure consists of a series of project seminars, different year after year, covering all the issues useful to train a complete designer.
1.The first months, January/February, are dedicated to the basic training of the students with the analysis of the complex distribution system, trade fairs and manufacturing processes. Students are asked to work on design methodologies and the knowledge of the territory and of the Italian Fashion System, through two project seminars developed in collaboration with professionals. The themes faced in the course are in fact constantly updated, considering the social, commercial and methodological evolution of the Fashion System.
Each project seminar lasts three/four weeks, and in this period the department plans meetings and lectures (psychology of fashion, anthropology, socio-economic forecasting, marketing and management, textile culture, contemporary art, etc.) on the theme of the seminar, which is consequently analysed from different angles, thanks to the support of the different professionals.
2. In March the projects in collaboration with companies and fashion designers start. The formula of these seminars change from time to time since the designers and the representatives of companies can choose to work separately or according to tandems built ad hoc to stimulate the confrontation with the students. The briefs become more complex and articulated. The students are not simply asked to develop a design project, but a pathway able to highlight their strategic abilities in using conceptual and research tools applied to the project. In this phase, the confrontation with the professional world becomes the operative key to build a path closer to the philosophy of a laboratory rather than to a traditional education experience. In this way, the students are given the opportunity to face the reality of the system in the different categories of product and of market.
The students work in collaboration with fashion designers representing the international ready-to-wear field, as well as with companies present on different levels of the market. In order to offer a complete overview of the possibilities offered by the Fashion System as well as a full understanding of the different competences, the students meet in this phase the different professional characters of the field.
3. At the end of the this second phase, in July, the companies that have taken part in the project seminars select a number of students who produced interesting results to follow them in the final Master thesis.
The final Master project is developed from September to December and it represents the moment when the students have the possibility to work individually with companies on a chosen theme.
4. The final Master project is presented to the Examination board at the end of November.
In December, all the Master projects are exhibited during an exhibition open to the public and to the press.
The Master's course in Accessories Design begins in January and ends in December. It is divided into three phases:
January - March
The first months of the course are dedicated to laying the conceptual groundwork on which to pursue our inquiries into the fashion industry so as to be better able to apply various methodological processes into the students' projects. The Fashion Department's fundamental courses (psychology, anthropology, socio-economic forecasting, marketing and management, contemporary art) are shared so as to allow students a fuller exchange of ideas. The first two design seminars take place in groups composed of students from the two departments. In the course of each design seminar, an analytic theme is selected which is also covered in the classes so as to provide students with all the necessary support toward the development of their projects. The basic design phase concludes in March with the third joint-department seminar where reviews occur separately in order to analyze the different program requirements.
March - July
Joint classroom activity continues with visiting faculty presenting the various professional specializations involved in this field. In this phase, the Master's course in AD forges its own specific path through some design seminars and workshops. The classroom activities also delve into matters pertaining to the field of accessories: graphic representational techniques, the culture of materials, and design culture with classes and workshops dedicated to bags, footwear, and jewelry. During this part of the year, the projects developed in collaboration with leading companies take place; in subsequent class-work, these projects will become the reference points for the students' Master's theses.
September - December
From September until the end of the course, students may work individually with companies and designers on the topic of their thesis. Meanwhile, project revisions and meetings with the project supervisor and with professionals in the field continue. The Master's thesis is presented during final exams at the end of November. In December, all the Master's projects are exhibited in a show open to the public and to the press.