Ente per le Arti applicate alla Moda e al Costume ("Institute for the Arts Applied to Fashion and Costume"), abbreviated as Polimoda, is a private fashion school in Florence, capital of Tuscany, Italy. The school was originally founded by Shirley Goodman, the former Executive Vice President Emeritus at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York and Executive Director of the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries, and Don Emilio Pucci, Marquis of Barsento and founder of the famous Florentine brand Emilio Pucci.
History
The school was founded in 1986 as a joint project of the city of
Florence and
Prato, and the Fashion Institute of Technology of State University of New York, currently has 17 campuses spread across
Italy.
It is a member of the
International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes.
It is not listed by the Italian ministry of education, the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, among the institutions authorised to award degrees in music, dance and the arts.
[ Istituzioni autorizzate a rilasciare titoli di Alta Formazione Artistica, Musicale e Coreutica (art.11 DPR 8.7.2005, n.212) (in Italian). Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca. Accessed March 2015.]
In 1986, Polimoda was founded as Politecnico Internazionale della Moda in an agreement between two international centres of fashion, and two trailblazers of the industry. Shirley Goodman, the former Executive Vice President Emeritus at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York and Executive Director of the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries, and Don Emilio Pucci, Marquis of Barsento and founder of the famous Florentine brand Emilio Pucci, came together to create a centre for excellence in fashion education, to serve the city as much as the global industry. The first classes took place at Villa Strozzi in central Florence that year, and the Institute has only grown in strength and influence since then.
A second campus dedicated to knitting and textile creation opened in Prato in 1992, and later in 2000, a third outpost specialising in design was inaugurated in Via Baldovinetti. Bringing together these two purposes in one unified space, the Polimoda Design Lab put down roots in its current location in Scandicci in 2015.
In 2006, Polimoda welcomed its new President, Ferruccio Ferragamo, who was joined by Linda Loppa, former Director and current Advisor of Strategy and Vision. This marked a new era for the Institute, and together in 2011, they inaugurated the campus at Villa Favard where the school remains today.
Massimiliano Giornetti, former Creative Director of Salvatore Ferragamo and Polimoda head of fashion design department, was named the new Director in 2021. He is a Polimoda Fashion Design alumnus and believes in the school's internationality, connection with the city of Florence and development of relationships with the most important companies of the sector.
It offers full-time courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as a variety of short courses. In 2018 there were about 2300 students of 75 nationalities on three campuses.
Departments
Polimoda offers undergraduate, post-graduate, and doctoral programmes in design, management, and technology. Our undergraduate programs are the beating heart of Polimoda’s educational offerings, ideal for young people who have completed high school and want to gain expert and detailed training in the various fields of fashion.
Undergraduate programs across the areas of Fashion Design, Fashion Business, Art Direction and Fashion Marketing Management. Building on gained knowledge each year, Polimoda also offers 3-month internships towards the end of these courses to further develop students’ skills in a professional setting and introduce them into the working world.
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Digital Strategy for Fashion
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Fashion Design
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Fashion Business
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Fashion Art Direction
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Fashion Styling
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Fashion Marketing Management
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Atelier Design
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Fashion Accessories Design
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Product Management
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Fashion Design Management
Presidents
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Alberto Amorosi
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Lorenzo A. Ferracci
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Giovanni Maltinti
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Renato Ricci
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Ferruccio Ferragamo
Directors
Notable alumni
Alumni of the school include
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Justina Blakeney - American designer, artist, interior designer, author, and speaker.
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Sheila Bridges - American interior designer who founded her own firm, Sheila Bridges Design, Inc., in 1994.
[ New York Times:At Home with Sheila Bridges]
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Meagan Cignoli - American photographer, filmmaker, and businessperson who is the founder and creative director of Visual Country, a video production agency.
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Massimiliano Giornetti - Italian fashion designer, creative director of Salvatore Ferragamo from 2010 to 2016,
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Bárbara Sánchez-Kane - Mexican menswear fashion designer.
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Samu-Jussi Koski - Finnish fashion designer, founder and creative director of Samuji.
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Kaila Methven - American fashion and lingerie designer.
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Francesco Risso - Italian fashion designer, creative director of Marni since 2016.
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Laksmi Shari De-Neefe Suardana - Indonesian fashion designer, author, UNICEF activist, G20 Ambassador, co-founder Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Puteri Indonesia 2022 (Miss Universe Indonesia 2022).
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Moses Turahirwa - Rwandan businessman, fashion designer, creative director and founder of Moshions fashion line.
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Italo Zucchelli - Italian fashion designer, creative director of Calvin Klein men's collection from 2004 to 2016.
[Alexander Fury, Ciao, Italo: Alexander Fury Considers Italo Zucchelli’s Legacy as He Exits Calvin Klein Collection, Vogue.com, 2 April 2016][ Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli Are Out at Calvin Klein, Nytimes.com, 19 April 2016]
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Rachele Risaliti - Italian model and beauty pageant titleholder of Miss Italia.
