With so many different fashion schools all over the world, it’s very difficult to find the right fit for you. All schools offer different programs with majors in fashion design or fashion business, and the courses taught differ from school to school.
To help you with your choice of fashion school, we decided to interview some current and former student to give you all of the insider’s information.
The first school we talked about is Mod’Art International, based in Paris, France and today with this second episode we will talk about one of the most famous fashion school in the world.
Polimoda is the number 1 Italian fashion school, and ranks in the top 10 of fashion schools worldwide. The private school was founded in 1986 by 2 international centers of fashion, Shirley Goofman and Don Emilio Pucci. Since 2006, Polimoda ’s president is the world famous shoe designer, Ferruccio Ferragamo.
Located in Firenze, the heart of Tuscany, Polimoda offers different programs ranging from Undergraduates, Master Degrees and short programs of 1 month throughout the year.
Students choosing Polimoda have a lot of different options in terms of the majors they want to take. From regular fashion design, business and management, there are also unconventional courses such as bespoke fashion, journalism, leather craft, fashion law, sustainable fashion and even sneakerology.
70% of the students come from out of Italy, and to better understand the teaching techniques and benefits of this school, we interviewed 3 students about their experiences. Manon Rens, a Belgian fashion lover, had nothing but good things to say about Polimoda, and why she chose the school in the first place. “Even though Polimoda isn’t the first Fashion school you’d think of, I am very happy to have chosen this school. Polimoda has a very unconventional way of teaching, all professors have a career in the industry and teach us the real deal, not that glamour world that everyone thinks it is. It’s not about the name, it’s about the content. We learn how to develop our own perspective, our own opinions, our identity, rather than just imposing one on us, that’s what I value at this school.”
The other interviewed girls chose to attend Polimoda because of its ideal location in Italy and the high ranking as well as feedback given from friends. Caroline D’Hollander wanted to pursue a master to help her move upwards in the fashion industry: “Coming from a marketing background I was looking for a deeper knowledge of the business in general. I came to know the school via a friend. When I looked into the rankings of Business of Fashion Polimoda was considered as the 5th best school in the world and the first in Italy for masters. Everything fell into place when I look at Polimoda’s master program Fashion Brand Management. The master offered creative courses such as fashion styling, learning how to work with Photoshop and InDesign, event management but also more business focused courses such as fashion operations, business administration, fashion law and so on.”
The school campus is an old and charming villa which was turned into a school, this combined with one of the largest fashion library in Europe, makes Polimoda a fantastic environment to study. Students leave the school with a bunch of knowledge of the industry and the teachers, who act more as mentors than teachers, make sure the students are challenged and get them to think a step ahead. Caroline said “If you want the classical fashion education, go somewhere else.”.
Classes are small, around 20 people, which makes the experience much more personal and it’s a chance to get to know all your classmates and teachers in a different way.
One student we talked to, also loved her experience at Polimoda, but stated that she had some issues with the barrier of culture, even with the teachers.
We all know that fashion schools can get quite expensive, and especially a private school such as Polimoda. The ultimate goal for the students is getting their dream job after graduating, and at Polimoda that seems very likely! The school has great contacts with companies in the industry and often organizes events where both professionals and students attend. This is the perfect environment for students to do some networking and get a potential internship or job. One of the girls we talked to, Caroline, applied to some internships and is now successfully doing hers at Melijoe Paris, an e-commerce leader in the luxury ready-to-wear for children.
Julie Gauthier, a French fashion lover doing a 4-year Bachelor in Fashion Art Direction, is constantly working on her resume in her free time: “I personally work during the summer to have as much professional experience as I can, to be sure not to struggle after graduating. I heard that it is pretty easy to find a job after you finish, especially that you have to do a six-month internship at the end of the 4th year and the company can offer you a job.”
We asked all the girls if they would choose to attend the school again, and their answers are all the same: YES! Manon said she could not have dreamt of studying at any other school, and the professors she had were all amazing and had inspiring visions. She said she left the school each day with the urge to learn more the next day.
Caroline explained that Polimoda is a school that is a step ahead of others, and where they train their students to find the answer to tomorrow’s questions.
For Julie, who had the choice of studying at another renowned fashion school, would choose Polimoda over and over again: “I heard so many bad stories about fashion schools that don’t give enough classes, that are extremely expensive, that don’t really care about the students etc… I think Polimoda is one of the best Fashion schools in Europe and probably in the world.”
It’s quite clear that people who studied at Polimoda have a bright future. Usually landing a great internship after graduating, this leads to a great job at one of the luxurious houses in fashion. Manon is still studying at Polimoda, while Caroline is doing a post-school internship in Paris and Julie is interning at a magazine based in London.
