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Film Costume Design
Milan
ITA
Master
Language
Italian
Start date
November 2026
Frequency
Full time
Fruition
On campus
Duration
1 Year
Price
EU/EEA resident students: €17.500
Non‑EU/Non-EEA resident students: €19.500
Costume plays a fundamental role in filmmaking. Although it belongs to a specific craft area, it is deeply interconnected with mise-en-scène and with the director’s vision. By nature, costume design is closely linked to the world of fashion, yet the work of a costume designer differs profoundly from that of a fashion stylist. While a stylist creates worlds based on a personal aesthetic and recognizable signature, a costume designer studies the universe imagined by the director and reconstructs it in service of the story.
In a successful film, the costume designer’s personal style should not be immediately recognizable. What truly defines excellence in this profession are taste, accuracy, narrative coherence, and sensitivity, qualities that make costume designers trusted collaborators for directors and producers alike.
Milan is internationally recognized as the capital of fashion. Because cinematic costumes constantly dialogue with both historical and contemporary fashion trends, studying Costume Design for Film in Milan offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with fashion maisons, design studios, historical fashion archives, showrooms, ateliers, and high-end tailoring workshops.
This context allows students to develop a richer, more contemporary visual vocabulary, while building meaningful connections with the Italian and international fashion systems. The strong relationship with advertising and brand content further enhances the program’s value, especially at a time when corporate communication increasingly relies on storytelling techniques borrowed from cinema.
The Master’s Program in Film Costume Design offers an in-depth exploration of all aspects of filmmaking that are relevant to the costume department. The curriculum also includes preparatory courses dedicated to film analysis and interpretation, with a specific focus on the role of costume within narrative structure and visual storytelling.
The program runs in parallel with the Master in Film Scenography and includes shared classes on cross-disciplinary topics, encouraging an interdisciplinary approach that mirrors real-life dynamics on film and television sets where costume and scenography constantly interact to shape the visual identity of a project.
Through lectures taught by industry professionals and hands-on workshops based on real case studies, students gain a concrete understanding of the tools, workflows, and challenges of the costume department within the audiovisual industry. Direct interaction with professionals helps students grasp market expectations and onset practices.
Structured according to the same phases as a real film production, the Master begins with script reading and analysis, followed by costume breakdowns, research into the historical, social, and cultural context of the story, and the interpretation of its visual and narrative themes. Special attention is given to the cinematic language of Stanley Kubrick, offering students an advanced perspective on the relationship between costume, image, and storytelling.
The program also explores the connection between costume and narrative environments, focusing on space, color palettes, lighting, and their impact on character construction. Students learn how to select suppliers, evaluate the use of costume rentals versus original designs, manage budgets, draft cost estimates, and organize the costume department efficiently.
A core component of the Master is dedicated to costume concept development and design, as well as to understanding how costume designers collaborate with other departments—direction, cinematography, and production design to create a cohesive visual language on set.
The program culminates in a final thesis project consisting of a short film. During this phase, students engage in a real artistic and professional collaboration with the director, cinematographer, and production designer, overseeing costume design, budgeting, on-set management, and support during shooting. This experience represents a crucial hands-on opportunity and forms the foundation of a professional portfolio.
Graduates of the Master’s Program can pursue careers as costume designers, assistant costume designers, on-set costume assistants, costume supervisors, or wardrobe coordinators, working across film and television productions, advertising, international projects, and European co-productions.
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