Fashion Design Management

Course

The fashion and textile industry is facing a significant workforce and skills transition across Western markets. According to EURATEX, the European textile and apparel sector employs approximately 1.3 million people across more than 143,000 companies, yet companies increasingly struggle with labour shortages and the need for digital and sustainability-related reskilling. The World Economic Forum estimates that 39% of current skills will be transformed or become obsolete by 2030, with growing demand for AI, digital and sustainability competencies.

Stemming from the collaboration between POLI.design and Graduate School of Management (GSoM), the Specializing Master in Fashion Design Management provides the skills to fill this gap. This learning experience combines design, managerial, and technological knowledge, with particular focus on digital technologies. Students will work on real-life managerial challenges alongside industry professionals and partner companies.

The Specializing Master is a bespoke experience exploring areas such as product management, design engineering or customer experience. In addition to theoretical lessons, the program includes cultural engagement activities, meetings with fashion industry stakeholders, international seminars, practical labs and project-based challenges.

• Online Grounding sessions: foundation of fashion design and general management
• In-person learning on four core pillars: Cultural Basics, Digital Basics, Management Basics, and Fashion Design Management Basics
• Specialized tracks to develop advanced and targeted competencies: Fashion Product Management, Fashion Product Design Engineering, and Fashion Customer Experience Management
• Project work in collaboration with companies to engage with real-world contexts, address operational challenges, and develop innovative solutions

Didactics

Training objectives

Through the Specializing Master, students develop highly qualified skills to operate strategically, creatively, and responsibly within the contemporary fashion system. Integrated competencies combine design, managerial, and technological knowledge, with particular focus on digital technologies. Here are the program objectives.

• To navigate the transformations of the fashion industry with expertise, responsibility, and an innovative mindset, actively contributing to the creation of sustainable value
• To gain cross-disciplinary foundation on fashion design, management, digital culture, and cultural contexts
• To explore the strategic management of collections, engineering development of innovative products, and design of omnichannel customer experiences
• To apply knowledge in real-world contexts through project-based experiences and collaborations with companies, fostering analytical, decision-making, and operational skills
• To adopt an approach oriented toward sustainable development in both decision-making and strategic processes.
• To understand the impact of business decisions on sustainable development goals
• To develop soft skills and leadership: communication, negotiation, and team management skills, understanding of organizational dynamics and performance

Didactic Modules

The curriculum is based on a set of mandatory pillars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10). In addition, students have to choose four elective teachings (up to 10 CFU) among those of pillars 7, 8, and 9, for a total of 64 hours of lessons.

Pillar 1
Grounding
Mandatory modules:

• Management with Purpose
• Intercultural Management
• AI for learning
• Introduction to Fashion
• Fashion Design Fundamentals

Pillar 2
Cultural Basics
Mandatory modules:

• Made in Italy: Cultural and Operational Characteristics

Pillar 3
Digital Basics
Mandatory modules:

• Digital Transformation and Innovation

Pillar 4
Management Basics
Mandatory modules:

• Fashion Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Fashion Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship

Pillar 5
Fashion Design Management Basics
Mandatory modules:

• Fashion Product Development and Innovation
• Brand Management and Positioning in Fashion
• Retail Management in Fashion
• Social, Environmental and Cultural Sustainability in Fashion

Pillar 6 
Empowerment
Mandatory modules: 

• Leadership and Managerial Skills  
• Master your Growth 

Pillar 7
Fashion Product Management
Elective modules:

• Product Management
• Merchandising & Collection Strategy
• Fashion & Market Trends
• Data, AI & Decision-Making

Pillar 8
Fashion Product Design Management
Elective modules:

• Product Design & Development
• Materials & Textile Engineering
• Technologies for Fashion Production
• Digital Transformation & AI for Product Engineering

Pillar 9
Fashion Customer Experience Management
Elective modules:

• Fundamentals of Customer Experience in Fashion
• Emerging Technologies for Fashion Retail
• Service & Relationship Management
• Digital Transformation & Data for CX

Pillar 10
Project Work

Hands-on activity in collaboration with companies: participants engage with real-world contexts, addressing operational challenges and developing innovative solutions. It is a key step to enter the field of fashion design management.

Title Released

At the end of the of the program, once the final examination has been passed, the 1st level Specializing Master “Fashion Design Management” diploma will be issued with the related achievement of 60 CFU/ECTS.

Employment Opportunities

This Specializing Master trains professionals capable of managing the entire fashion product lifecycle and customer experience. Here are the career prospects:

• Fashion Product Manager / Assistant Product Manager
• Product Developer / Product Development Coordinator
• Fashion Product Design Engineering Coordinator
• Design Project Assistant / Collection Coordinator
• Merchandiser / Planning Assistant
• Supply Chain and Production Assistant
• Retail and Fashion Customer Experience Specialist
• CRM and Customer Engagement Assistant
• Brand and Product Strategy Assistant
• Innovation and Sustainability Project Assistant

Admission

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree (or equivalent), or a First or Second Level Academic Diploma are required to be admitted. Foreign qualifications that are equivalent within their respective education systems will also be considered valid. Selection will be carried out by the Scientific Committee.

Admissions are processed on a rolling basis, according to the chronological order in which applications are submitted, until all available places are filled.

Deadlines

To take part in the I edition of the Specializing Master in Fashion Design Management, starting on February 15th, 2027, applications must be submitted according to the following criteria*:

Italian qualification within 60 days before the starting date

STEP 1
1) Documents to be sent for preliminary verification to POLI.design

• Curriculum vitae
• Portfolio
• Motivation letter
• Copy of ID document
• Other

The following documents should be uploaded on this page

2) Documents to be sent for preliminary verification to Politecnico

• ID document copy
• Copy of the Diploma Supplement and copy of the degree diploma or self-certification on the appropriate form that can be requested to POLI.design (selezioni@polidesign.net)
• ANIS certification (access to the ANIS portal is via SPID or CIE from the following link)

The following documents are to be uploaded on this page by following the instructions at this link
____________________

European qualification within 60 days before the starting date

STEP 1
1) Documents to be sent for preliminary verification to POLI.design

• Curriculum vitae
• Portfolio
• Motivation Letter
• Copy of ID document

The following documents should be uploaded on this page

2) Documents to be sent for preliminary verification to Politecnico

• Copy of ID document
• Copy of Diploma Supplement
• Photocopy of degree certificate

The following documents are to be uploaded on this page by following the instructions at this link

STEP 2
1) Documents to be sent for authenticity verification (within 45 days before the start date) 

• Diploma Supplement with a digital signature or verifiable QR code. Should the student lack a Diploma Supplement with a valid signature or verifiable QR code to verify its authenticity, the student will have to submit one of the documents required for students with a non-EU qualification (cfr. next item).

The following documents are to be uploaded on this page by following the instructions at this link
____________________

Non-EU degree within 60 days before the start date

STEP 1
1) Documents to be sent for preliminary verification to POLI.design

• Curriculum vitae
• Portfolio
• Motivation Letter
• Copy of ID document

The following documents are to be uploaded on this page

2) Documents to be sent for preliminary verification to Politecnico

• Copy of ID document
• Degree in original language + Italian/English translation
• Original transcript of passed examinations + Italian/English translation

The following documents are to be uploaded on this page by following the instructions at this link

STEP 2
1) Documents to be sent for authenticity verification (within 45 days before the start date) 

• Enic/ Naric Certification or CIMEA 
• World Education Services (WES) Certification 
• Statement of value 
• Copy of the visa application or copy of the visa

According to the timeframe provided for by Italian law, the details of the application for a residency permit must also be communicated as well as the residency permit as soon as it is issued.

The following documents are to be uploaded on this page by following the instructions at this link

*Applications submitted after the deadline may be considered at the discretion of the Scientific Committee.

Price

The cost of the University Specializing Master’s programme is € 20.500 broken down as follows:

• € 500,00 – enrolment fee to be paid to the Politecnico di Milano, no later than 30 days before the starting date following the procedures that POLI.design will specify;
• € 20.000 – participation fee for the University Master’s Course to be paid to POLI.design following the procedures that will be specified upon admission.

Faculty

Scientific Director: Chiara Colombi

Vice-Director: Daria Casciani