NEXT GEN LEATHER DESIGNERS: OUR STUDENTS RECOGNISED BY THE LEATHER INDUSTRY

From the runway of ACM Talents Fashion Show 2026 to a direct encounter with the leather industry: projects by our BA in Costume & Fashion students have reached the Next Gen Leather Designers competition, promoted by Lineapelle and Piattaforma Sistema Formativo Moda ETS. Two of our students have also received major awards.

When a project leaves the classroom

A project begins during a student’s academic journey, grows through research and experimentation, and finds its first audience on the runway. But what happens when that same project enters into dialogue with an industry and its production chain?

This is what happened to the collections created by our third-year BA in Costume & Fashion students, presented in Rome during ACM Talents Fashion Show 2026 and subsequently selected to take part in the first edition of Next Gen Leather Designers.

Promoted by Lineapelle and Piattaforma Sistema Formativo Moda ETS, the competition aims to create a meaningful connection between the next generation of designers and the leather industry, showcasing projects that bring together research, creativity, innovation and real potential for development.

For the finalists, the journey continued in Milan, where students from the participating schools were invited to present and exhibit their projects in a dedicated Next Gen Leather Designers stand at Lineapelle. It was an opportunity to bring the work developed throughout their academic journey directly into the heart of the industry and engage with professionals, companies and industry experts.

Five students represented Accademia Costume & Moda in the final: Benedetta Boidi, Laia Bombelli, Sara La Rosa, Lorenzo Antonio Petrone and Lorenzo Castiello.

Bridging Tribes, Building Dreams

The competition brief, “Bridging Tribes, Building Dreams”, invited students to reflect on the meeting of different identities, cultures and perspectives, and on the possibilities that emerge from the dialogue between innovation and craftsmanship, digital and analogue, local and global.

The theme encouraged students to approach leather not simply as a material, but as a starting point for developing new narratives and new approaches to design.

The transition from the runway to the competition therefore represents a further stage in the students’ journey: projects developed throughout their studies are viewed through the lens of the industry and assessed also in terms of their ability to engage with production, functionality and the market.

Two awards, two visions

Among the projects presented, two of our students, Benedetta Boidi and Laia Bombelli, stood out.

Benedetta Boidi received the Overall Innovation Award for a collection inspired by nomadism and the encounter between cultures. The project was recognised by the jury for its ability to translate research into products with genuine development potential, as well as for the dialogue it establishes with the fashion and leather production chain.

Laia Bombelli received the Special Mention for Accessories and Bags for her project “Hobo”, recognised for its potential application within the contemporary market.

Two awards that reflect two different design approaches and, above all, the opportunity for students to transform their research into proposals capable of engaging with the professional world.

From education to industry

The value of an experience such as Next Gen Leather Designers also lies in the process behind each project.

For students, it means starting from an idea, developing it through research, making design decisions, experimenting with materials and techniques, and ultimately arriving at a proposal that is at once personal, contemporary and tangible.

It is precisely within this space between creativity and application that education meets industry: not only through the final outcome, but through a way of designing that prepares students to understand the fashion system in all its complexity.

Taking part in initiatives such as this enables students to broaden their perspective, put the skills they have acquired to the test and begin building a direct relationship with the industry while still completing their academic journey.

Studying at Accademia means shaping your own vision

For a student, studying at Accademia Costume & Moda means, above all, having the space and the tools to develop their own creative and design voice.

It means experimenting, making mistakes, starting again, working on real briefs, engaging with professionals and progressively transforming personal research into a fully developed project.

Through Industry Projects, competitions and opportunities to engage with the fashion system, students can take their work beyond the classroom and test themselves in real professional contexts.

The awards received by Benedetta Boidi and Laia Bombelli at Next Gen Leather Designers are the result of this journey: two projects born from education, developed through research and brought into dialogue with one of the most significant industries within fashion.

Because talent needs vision, but it also needs opportunities to be put to the test.