School

Accademia Costume & Moda

Founded in 1964 by the academic, designer of costume and fashion Rosana Pistolese, who’s vision was to shape and support the cultural heritage of Italian Costume and Fashion industries in an innovative approach taking into consideration the interaction between these two fields. Today the Accademia is run by the founder’s family, third generation.

A coherent balance across research and culture, design and product, Italy, and the tight collaboration with the most relevant protagonists of both industries, have led Accademia Costume & Moda to be the nest of current and future designers and communicators within a variety of fields.  Accademia is today among the Top 3 Schools in the World to have received 4 Badges of Excellence given by The Business of Fashion in its latest 2019 Report and n.1 in Italy for both Undergraduate & Graduate Fashion Design Courses. Alumni today include the Creative Director of Gucci, Alessandro Michele, his predecessor Frida Giannini, Albino D’Amato, Maurizio Galante, Marco Mastroianni, Responsable Création Matières Chez Louis Vuitton, Aldo Maria Camillo and many among the most important professionals of the Global Fashion Industry. The Accademia has a placement ratio of well above 85% on total population in the most prestigious international fashion houses and entertainment productions.

Culture and historical subjects are still vibrantly interconnected. The aim of the Accademia is to enhance these aspects together with an in depth critical approach to take research, knowledge and competence into the future. Designers and communicators as thinkers able to envision, design and interpret the future of our worlds and societies. Suzy Menkes on occasion of first visit at the Accademia described it as “A Haven for Culture, Art & Design”, while on her second she stated: “Is Fashion performing Art?"

We are living a moment where the fashion rules are in flux, where the fashion system has been put into question, from design to supply chain, distribution, to languages, methods of communication and to the interaction with final users.

Accademia is on the edge of a cultural and global transformation thanks to the tight links created and developed in the last years with the more 80+ companies from the Italian Manufacturing industry, national and international maisons, and to a network of professionals operating in all areas of Fashion: from researchto design, from prototyping to product, from storytelling / narrative / communication to positioning, to business.

Head of School

Accademia is run today by the Founder’s family 3rd Generation, Deputy Chairman A. Lupo Lanzara together with his brother Furio Francini, CEO.
Along with them, the Academic Team is composed by:

  • Director of Education, Adrien Yakimov Roberts:

Executive Director and trustee, Graduate Fashion Week, London, former student of Central St. Martin’s and Parson’s School, New York, with a professional career as designer with Paul Smith and several Italian brands and a long experience in education on both national and international scale as former Director of London College of Fashion, and of University of Creative Arts, London

  • Director of Academic Programmes, Barbara Trebitsch:

Fashion Designer,former Senior Head of Academic Projects of Domus Academy and NABA, Milan, Dean of Global Art and Design Academy (GADA), East China Normal University, Shanghai, Director Domus Academy Fashion School. Member of the Academic Direction of Ixel Moda, of the Education Board of Arts Thread, Art Director Fashion Graduate Italia, President Ministry of Culture Commission on Fashion, Member of the expert commission MAM Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte and among the founders of the Fashion Colloquia together with the London College of Fashion, Parsons School of Design and IFM, Paris.
 

Courses Overview: Undergraduate and Postgraduate

All its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are accredited by the Italian ministry of education, university and research (MIUR).
Undergraduate - 3 year Bachelor Degree Programmes (180 ects)

Bachelor Degree in Costume & Fashion
Bachelor Degree in Fashion Editor: Styling and Communication
Bachelor Degree in Cinema & Filmmaking: Media Design and Multimedia Arts

| Postgraduate – 1 Year Master’s (60 Ects)
Academic Master in Alta Moda, Fashion Design
Academic Master in Creative Knitwear Design
Academic Master in Accessories Design
Academic Master in The Art and Craft of the Costume Designer Academic Master in Fashion Jewellery Design
Academic Master in Fabrics Innovation Design

| Postgraduate – 2 Year Master’s (120 Ects)
Master of Arts in Costume Design & Alta Moda – Couture Design Master of Arts in Accessories & Jewellery Design

Noteworthy Alumni

Among the many companies (Made in Italy manufacturers, Fashion Houses, Textile Companies, Institutions etc) that collaborate with Accademia are: Gucci, Fendi, Valentino, Ferragamo, Brioni, The Woolmark Company, Modateca Deanna, Fondazione Pitti Discovery, Taroni, Alesilk, Gentili Mosconi, Lanificio di Sordevolo, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Altaroma, Vogue Talents, Brioni, Clerici tessuto, Forza Giovane, Graziano Ricami, Gruppo Dondi, Iafil, Jackytex, Woolrich, Lineapiù, Mazzanti Piume, Lineapelle, Milanounica, Lineapiù, Ricami Laura, Russo di Casandrino, Jacop Schlaepfer....
The projects developed in collaboration with the Industry have supported the School’s reputation and most importantly has allowed the students to be placed internationally and in Italy in well established companies.

Moreover in the last years the Accademia and it’s students have been awarded with most prestigious global prizes such as the LVMH Graduate Prize in Paris, The Camera Nazionale della Moda Fashion Trust Prize in Milan, The Mittelmoda Fashion Award in Milan, The Dorothy Waxman Textile Prize in NY, the Designers for Tomorrow Prize in Berlin, Vogue Talents and selected finalists at well knowns contests as The International Talent Support, ITS, in Trieste, etc.

With regards to the entertainment industry, Accademia is the proud starting point forAcademy Award winners like Manlio Rocchetti (“Driving Miss Daisy”) also nominated for the BAFTA Awards for “Gangs of New York“, Isabella Rossellini, and top level costume tailors like Francesca Sartori and Gianna Gissi, both winners of several David di Donatello (Italian Oscar Awards), Stefano Canulli (Costume Designer for Cirque du Soleil, Illustrator and close collaborator of Thierry Mugler on various projets) or professionals who have styled global celebrities.

Campus Facilities

Accademia Costume & Moda offers a various range of services to its students and alumni:

  • Library and Fashion Magazine Archive:

Accademia Costume & Moda contains a historic library – and magazine / newspaper – archive (BEA), which is open to the public from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm and attended by professionals and students of costume, fashion, textile and jewelry alike. The BEA consists of more than 4,500 monographs and about 8,000 magazine issues. The magazine / newspaper – archive also includes unique items such as the first issue of the American magazine Harper’s Bazaar (November 1st 1987) unique in Italy, the first issue of Club magazine: a review on men’s fashion (Winter 1949), as well as exclusive numbers of historical magazines such as Margherita, L’Officiel, Vogue America and Vogue Italy. Also, most importantly the precious collection of Bellezza: high fashion and Italian lifestyle monthly magazine donated by the director Elsa Robiola, which the Accademia preserves and makes available to researchers and industry experts.

  • Fabrics Archive:

The Fabric Archive is a “fabrics library”. It was created with the objective to enable the students to acnkoweldge the importance and relevance of “materials”. This knowledge allows competitive advantage and enhance the skill set that we are transferring to our students, in order to facilitate more and more careers placement. It gives the students the opportunity to research, sample and study and is constantly updated thanks to the support of some the most important textile manufacturers, excellence of Made in Italy.
The students have also access also:

| two fashion and costume laboratories with industrial sewing machines, professional ironing systems, mannequins and busts for male and female design
| laboratory for accessories design equipped with leather working-machines and tools for the prototype construction 
| computer lab equipped with 50+ MAC equipped with all softwares for the editing of texts and images, digital design
| shooting lab with photo and background equipment for photographic services
| a makeup lab with professional make-up workstations
 

Life in Rome

Accademia Costume & Moda is in the heart of Rome in a 1925 building just in front Castel S. Angelo designed by Architect Vincenzo Fasolo. The experience of studying in Rome can be truly unique and very personal. The inspiration that an individual can draw from Rome's culture, history and beauty are unquestionable.

Tuition and Scholarship Information

Every year Accademia Costume & Moda offers full or partial coverage scholarships to talented students wishing to apply for Bachelor Degree and Master Programmes. To find out about this year regulation click here

The Fashion and Costume Heaven in the heart of Rome