The contents of the Master integrate different disciplinary fields. These fields represent the areas of knowledge and competence that allow to understand and manage the development processes of fashion accessories. Evidently, the design phase will be given utter importance.
The Master includes 720 hours of classroom training and a final internship of at least 480 hours. The Programme is structured in 5 units: Tools, Warm-up, Fashion Pillars, Fashion Workshops, Fashion Practices. The main goal is to accompany the student in their journey of progressive knowledge of the sector and the key processes that characterize the professional profiles.
The units are organized in modules with the presence of teachers from different disciplinary areas, who are able to give a complete picture of the structure and functioning of the sector. A part is dedicated to theoretical training while another portion is dedicated to practical and application activities with the aim of transferring successfully concrete methods, techniques and working tools.
Warm up & tools: acquire the basic lexicon
This unit consists of 100 hours dedicated to creating a homogeneity of knowledge in the class necessary for the subsequent learning phases. The lessons provided allow students, based on their origins, to fill basic gaps in the areas of design software use. Additionally, it allows them to deepen their knowledge of issues from a sociological and research point of view related to the Fashion System.
• Fashion Design Modelling
The unit includes 40 hours dedicated to teaching 3D modeling and rendering tools. The course aims to promote knowledge of 3D design software in the field of fashion accessories, with particular attention to aesthetics and rules of photo realistic representation. Students will be educated on the usage of one of the main software for modeling simple and complex surfaces, through lectures and exercises. Teaching is structured in surface modeling through the use of the Rhinoceros program and creation of realistic photo images using Keyshot.
• Fashion Design Graphics and Representation
The teaching plan is divided into 40 hours and is aimed at transmitting knowledge on the use of visual languages and related tools and techniques aimed at representing the project in the context of the accessory. The module will consist of lessons dedicated to graphics, through the use of software such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign, and lessons in photography and video making. The module has the function of transferring to students the skills to develop and tell their ideas and projects effectively through visual language.
• Sociology for Fashion
Fashion in its diverse manifestations changes, morphes and shapes its own definition. This module analyzes the role of fashion in shaping identities and its significance inside a social context. The course starts from the presumption that fashion is not just a capitalist invention or a superficial aspect, but that it is a crucial part of the formation of a culture. Knowledge on how to demonstrate projects, grasping what facilitates and improves understanding is fundamental in today's labor market. The module's objective is to develop technical skills that create a professional figure and the proper methods of self promotion to students leaving the training course.
FASHION PILLARS: Structure of the fashion sector and its working tools
This unit includes 100 hours dedicated to learning about the structure of the fashion sector, companies that characterize it, different research and design methods. It also aims to transfer operational techniques and tools for planning and organizing activities. And, to investigate and process qualitative and quantitative market data.
Modules provided are:
• Project Management
The Project Management for Fashion course aims to provide the student with the basic methodologies of management of activities and processes: Planning, Timing, Objectives, Resources, Responsibilities, Outputs, Cost / Benefit Ratio. These processes are applicable to the different types of project characteristics in the Fashion sector such as: Brand and Product Area, Retail and Commercial Area, Research and Communication Area. The methodologies and tools will be coupled with organizational contents ie: characteristics of the project manager, team motivation, project marketing - which allow a correct contextualization in the company.
• Research Methods & Trends
The course aims to offer a broad view of the different research methods and tools, useful for investigating fashion markets and consumers. Meta-project research and trend research: the processes, tools and artifacts that characterize research in the field of fashion design. For example: blue sky research, visual research, product research. Research tools and phases from brainstorming to collection concept. Socio-cultural and scenario research through coolhunting. Socio-cultural investigation methods: social research, desk research, coolhunting. Investigation tools and phases: from the brief to the report. Actors of trend analysis: fashion companies, research agencies, freelancers. Qualitative and Quantitative Marketing Research: desk analysis and field analysis (e.g. focus groups, surveys, customer insights from online communities). Difference between primary data usage and secondary data. Difference between exploratory marketing research and confirmatory marketing research. Subsequently an overview and explanation on the main trends, their dissemination processes, contents and forecasts will be introduced, focusing both on fashion and on industries not related to it.
• Fashion History
The course aims to provide a historical overview through the main transformations of fashion, from modernism, which celebrates art and fashion, all the way to the third millennium. More specifically it discusses: the "roaring twenties"; Art Deco and the aesthetics of the machine; the emergence of "couturier" women: Madeleine Vionnet, Elsa Schiaparelli, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel; Hollywood cinema and fashion in the 1930s; 1950 and Existentialism; 1960: optimism, “pop” art and London street fashion; 1970: punk and anti-fashion on the streets of London; 1980 and the pluralism of fashion; 1990; postmodernism, and globalization in the third millennium.
• Creativity Innovation
From the union of theory, practice and technology, all the actions and objects that determine the culture of design develop, which sees the traditional artisan approach being alternately light and shadow of a more contemporary design attitude. From fashion to design, from high technology to high craftsmanship, the course provides an overview of the accessory product - with insights into production techniques, traditional and innovative materials and their uses through best practice case studies.
Fashion Workshops: How to manage the creation process of accessory product
This unit includes 400 hours dedicated to the main processes of: creating fashion accessory products, promoting the brand identity, implementing and managing the development processes of the fashion product.
Through case studies, the course will be a fertile ground for creativity, complex research and development of the collected data. The result will be a real product that the students have produced. Following the principle of design methodology, the course will be organized in the form of short sequential practical workshops, each of which will be dedicated to a different product typology. In each workshop, students will be personally guided by a professional teacher of the sector, in the development of individual projects through the different phases: launch of the brief, research, conception, concept development, design, prototyping and presentation. Each lesson will therefore consist of a series of activities: from instructions on the use of practical tools, to lessons dedicated to the analysis of specific examples and case studies.
• Hat Design
The workshop aims to introduce students to the world of millinery, going beyond the ordinary idea of a hat. Students will be guided on a creative path with a practical approach to the project, using the shape of the head as a blank canvas on which to build on. With the help of the teacher, students will carry out their own projects, combining traditional techniques and unconventional procedures.
• Eyewear Design
Between functionality and ornament, glasses have always been a cult accessory that accentuates the style and personality of the wearer, adapting to the needs of different contexts and lifestyles. This course provides students with skills and tools for the development of projects in the field of eyewear, through a presentation of the characteristics of the sector, the technical specificities of the product, with a focus on materials and technologies, structure and details, and ergonomics.
• Watch Design
The course first of all provides an overview of the world of watches, the different types, components and functions. Starting from the types of watches presented, the students will therefore be asked to design a collection of watches, made up of chromatic and functional variants. Students will develop the project concept and present it through manual 2D or 3D renderings.
• Jewellery Design
The Jewelry Design workshop aims to make the student understand the complexity of the project in its various components, from analysis to criticism, from the research of materials and technologies to the design vision. Jewelry design is a sector with multiple design challenges due to the coexistence of the artisan vs industrial limits which places an extra layer of challenges to the jewelry/maker.
• Handbag Design
The course addresses the process of developing a handbag. The educational experience includes design experimentation and theoretical lessons aimed at providing guidance on the construction of a handbag, in terms of different construction type, to the different types of materials.
• Leather Design
Students will be guided by a veteran in the sector through the different phases of the design process in the leather goods field: research, conception, conceptualization, hand sketches and digital representation, development of moodboards, synthesis of a research on materials and development of prototypes.
• Luggage Design
Dedicated to the world of suitcases, the course aims to guide students in the development of innovative projects and intelligent solutions. Projects must take into consideration both aesthetics and functionality, but also sustainability and performance, responding to the needs of the market.
• Shoe Design
Reflecting the style, influence and spirit of the times, shoes have always been a fundamental accessory in the history of fashion and attire. The course explores creative research techniques for the development of a footwear project, considering sustainability and innovative materials. Students will be educated on materials and on the different models of footwear.
Fashion practices: experience the skills learned in the field
Curiosity
The module consists of a series of seminars that provide a broad view of the socio-cultural evolution of fashion with some important interdisciplinary insights into the main Italian brands. Focus will be put on phenomena such as the spread of global trends, the hybridization of styles, the birth of new forms of production and sustainable consumption styles, and the success of new communication methods linked to new media.
Fashion Design: Presentation & Portfolio
This course enhances the student's Soft skills by honing his/her self-assessment prowess, in the presentation of their work. The final output will be a collection of the projects carried out during their journey. Students will be supported with theoretical lessons, exercises and reviews aiming to select the most important outputs, editing them and presenting them in the best possible way.
Empowerment & Career Management
The module aims at providing the necessary skills to face the company selection processes, both in internship contexts and placement in the job market. During the module, students will be put in contact with Head Hunters specialized in the fashion and design sectors, and with professionals responsible for the selection of the most important and significant companies operating in the fashion sector. This results in the student understanding the dynamics of the selection and to enhance their professional profile.
Internship
The internship represents one of the most significant experiences of the master. It consists of the application - inside a business context - of the skills learned during the Master, on the basis of a training project jointly agreed by the Milano Fashion Institute and the host company. It is coordinated by the Director of the Master.
Italian language
The module aims at introducing the Italian language for international students. The objective is to understand the most common ways of interaction and communication, both in everyday life and in the professional context. Students will be divided into two parallel courses, after having taken a preliminary assessment test, to identify the starting level of the language:
Italian intermediate level B1 is designed to equip students with the necessary skills to take a job interview in Italian, to introduce the basic vocabulary of the fashion industry and to be able to work properly in an Italian work environment.
At the end of the courses, students will take a final exam. After passing, students will have the opportunity to obtain the internationally recognized PLIDA certificate (B1), confirming proficiency in Italian as a foreign language in accordance with the six levels of the Common European Framework.
