First Level Academic Diploma in Fashion Design - IED Firenze

Language

Italian, English

Start date

January 2026
October 2026

Frequency

Full time

Fruition

On campus

Duration

3 Years

Credits

180 CFA/ECTS

Course Coordination

Vivetta Ponti

Course also available in:

Cagliari
Milan
Rome
Turin

The Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design at IED Firenze combines craftsmanship and technology, offering a pathway where manual skills interact with the most advanced digital tools. The programme provides a comprehensive preparation oriented towards the future, while remaining rooted in traditional knowledge.

Balancing practical expertise with theoretical study, the proximity to Prato – a leading district in sustainable textiles – enables an immersive experience in both industrial and artisanal processes within the sector.

Course structure and contents:

The IED programme spans three years, during which design is integrated with cultural knowledge, dialogue with professionals, technical skill development, and the use of innovative tools.

Year One: Establishes a solid and transversal foundation, integrating technical, cultural, and design tools for an informed first approach to fashion design. Courses combine theoretical subjects such as fashion history and art semiotics with practical disciplines including pattern-making, graphic design, and textile culture, translating creative intuition into structured projects. Students begin to develop a personal design language, producing initial prototypes in denim and natural fibres. Sustainability is emphasised through upcycling practices and textile manipulation. At the end of the year, students may choose a specialisation in clothing or accessories, while maintaining an integrated approach to the total look.

Year Two: Dedicated to experimentation and the definition of individual style. Projects move closer to professional contexts through capsule collections inspired by international brands, with teaching guiding the entire creative process – from research to concept, through to product communication. Workshops, competitions, and interdisciplinary activities enrich the pathway, allowing students to personalise their training. Theoretical studies expand to include photography history, marketing, and communication. Design skills deepen according to the chosen specialisation: clothing or accessories and footwear. Students work on specific prototypes such as knitwear pieces and genderless looks, or, in the accessories minor, leather goods and footwear components.

Year Three: Focused on developing a personal collection that reflects the student’s stylistic identity, designed within a simulated professional context where new materials, tailoring techniques, and visual languages are explored. Theoretical subjects such as phenomenology of contemporary arts and film analysis broaden critical and cultural perspectives. The thesis project, developed with faculty support, includes a professional portfolio, complete outfits, physical prototypes, and visual materials for concept presentation.

Final outputs may range from ready-to-wear collections to experimental fashion product projects, from accessory and footwear lines developed in collaboration with local companies to sustainable capsules created with innovative fabrics and digital printing techniques.

Faculty

Course Coordinator

Vivetta Ponti

Luca Parenti

Art Director    

Guido Riccitelli

Fashion Professor

Simona Ciacchi

Creative Designer    

Domenico Strecapede

Antonella Pilichi

Fashion Designer    

Emanuele Poli

Designer

Leonardo Galeassi

Livia Ridondelli

Fashion Designer

Virginia Fani

University Lecturer    

Marco Innocenti

Art Director

Giovanni Iozzi

Professor

Rita Quinto

Designer

Susanna Spoto

Professor

Stefania Pelliccia

Illustrator    

Elisabetta Digiugno

Art Historian

Rodolfo Bargelli

Professor

Eva Di Franco

Fashion Designer    

Laura Corvino

Fashion Designer

Jl Young Hur

Accessory Designer    

Walter Bolognino

Graphic Designer and Art Director

Pier Fioraso

Art-Creative Director

Renato Stasi

Designer

Serena Signorini

Chiara Mosti

Fashion Professor

Giuseppe Moretti

Professor

Sara Piccolo Paci

Professor and Author

Projects

Fashion Design and Styling

Florence

Final projects / thesis projects
Anomalia

Fashion Design and Styling

Florence

CIEMMECI Group

Fashion Design and Styling

Florence

Amorfo

Fashion Design and Styling

Florence

Maeba International

News

16 January 2026

Fashion and Sustainability: a Conversation with Matteo Ward and Sara Sozzani Maino

IED Firenze hosted a conversation with Matteo Ward and Sara Sozzani Maino that invited reflection on the role of sustainability within the contemporary fashion system, bringing together different perspectives.

13 January 2026

Cartier opens its doors to IED Torino students

An exclusive experience focused on understanding high jewelry production processes

12 January 2026

Stéphane Rolland’s haute couture at IED Barcelona

The star guest of the 10th Barcelona Bridal Night at Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week 26 visits the school to discover the creations by alumni of the Postgraduate Programme in Wedding and Ceremony Dresses Design, who will open the runway show next 22 April.

19 December 2025

IED Barcelona celebrates Graduation Day for a hundred students from Master's and Specialisation Courses

The event recognises their successful journey through their studies at the school.

18 December 2025

New April intake for Master’s Programs in Italy

Starting April 2026, IED launches new Fashion Masters in English. An international, hands-on path designed to build the skills demanded by the global fashion industry.

Green lettering on a blue background with the copy Welcome Event 26

18 December 2025

Welcome event Postgraduate 2025/2026 - IED Barcelona

It will take place on 15 and 16 January for Master's, Postgraduate and Specialization Course students.

01 December 2025

AQU Catalunya and IED Barcelona begin a mass survey to gauge the satisfaction of recent graduates

More than 60,000 people who finished their university and artistic studies last year will receive the survey, which will serve to improve the degrees currently being taught. Participants will be entered into a prize draw for the latest generation iPhone.

Tres premios a Alumni y estudiantes IED Madrid durante el mes de noviembre: Premio Nacional de Innovacion, Frame Awards & Premio Antalia Decora

28 November 2025

Three awards for IED Madrid alumni and students in November: National Innovation Award, Frame Awards & Antalia Decora

Federico Sáinz de Robles wins the National Innovation Award with his brand Sepiia, while Lucas Muñoz receives the FRAME Editor's Pick mention for his COLAB project for Sancal and Jacobo López del Hierro Llopis wins third prize at Antalia Decora

Innovative materials and smart fabrics: the new frontier of textile design

27 November 2025

Innovative materials and smart fabrics: the new frontier of textile design

How textile design merges creativity, innovation and social responsibility, reshaping the future of fashion.

Don't miss it

Encuentro Loewe Foundation Craft Prize - 20 enero 19.30h - Serrería belga
Lecture and Panel discussion

20 January 2026 - 20 January 2026

Madrid

Loewe Foundation Craft Prize Talk – 20th January 7.30 pm - Serrería belga

A talk about contemporary craftsmanship on the occasion of the ninth edition of LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize

Open Day

24 January 2026 - 24 January 2026

Multiple

IED Open Day Italy

A calendar of appointments to discover all training courses IED Italy in the areas of Design, Fashion, Visual Arts, Cinema, Communication, Art and Restoration.

Exhibitions and Festival

18 March 2026 - 22 March 2026

Barcelona

Saló de l’Ensenyament 2026

From 18 to 22 March, we look forward to welcoming you at stand D-453 at the Montjuïc venue of Fira de Barcelona, where you will be able to discover our educational offer in Design, Fashion, Visual Arts, Marketing and Communication. Come and visit us!