Welcome to Florence​

To be honest, I did not know what to expect before coming to Florence. Yes, you can find all sorts of posts and youtube videos on fashion design at FIT in New York, but not really in Florence. FIT in Florence is made up of three groups: freshman fashion design majors, sophomore fashion design majors, and juniors in the fashion business management major. In total, there is about 65 of us. In the fashion design freshman class, there is 15 of us. We all study at one of the best fashion institutes in Italy, Polimoda. Polimoda has a stunning campus, and as FIT students, we have access to all of it.

The campus is split up into two sections: the Villa Favard and the design lab. The Vila Favard is the headquarters of Polimoda and is right next to the Arno River. On the lower level of the Villa is the Polimoda library, which is famous for being the first fashion library in Europe. Definitely take advantage of having access to it; it has so many resources you can use for class or inspiration. There is also a cafe outside on the back side of the Villa, where you can get food or coffee. A lot of people waste time between classes sitting on the steps of the Villa, or at the cafe.

The design lab is in the Florentine district of Scandicci, which is famous for leather and garment construction. The lab is about 20 minutes away from historical Florence, so the design students take a tram from the train station (most popular tram stop to get on and off, but there are many others) to the district of Scandicci. The lab has plenty of workspaces, equipped with cutting tables, industrial sewing machines, irons, etc. Most students try to get to the lab as early as possible on Saturdays to be able to claim a good sewing machine and workspace, so definitely take this into consideration. The lab also features a shop behind the front desk where you can buy basically any material you need, as well as a mini cafe on the upper level where you can get food or coffee.

As a fashion design major, in the first semester we take six classes: Italian l (this is required in order to study abroad), Visual design concepts (drawing), Digital Design, History through Western Art, Materials and Construction (sewing techniques), and Draping. My typical day starts at 9 am and ends around 6 pm. As a FIT student, my workload is a lot, but completely doable. Time management is key as a fashion design student. I really try to take advantage of time during the weekend to get things done so I do not have to worry about homework during the week. It is also important to know that the design lab is only open from 8:30am-8pm until November, so you really have to be mindful of your time while at the lab. To get an idea of what my general week of homework looks like:

Italian: online homework exercises, study for quiz (roughly every two weeks)

Visual Design Concepts: Draw 3 fashion figures, in color

Digital Design: No homework

History through Western Art: Two readings

Materials and Construction: Seam samples

Draping: Drape a full princess bodice with matching sketch

This post is only a brief overview of the program, so if you have any specific questions about my experience here in Florence as a FIT student, please feel free to contact me. Of course, there are definitely more blog posts to come that will show my experiences as a student, so make sure to subscribe to stay updated!

With love,

Madison