From an idea to a garment, learning how to actually make it.
The BA in Pattern Cutting, Tailoring, Prototyping: Fashion and the Performing Arts Industries takes you into everything that happens after the drawing: you learn to read a design, understand materials, create patterns, develop prototypes and make garments using traditional and innovative tailoring techniques.
It is a hands-on programme where creativity meets precision. You study fashion and costume, experiment with fabrics and materials, learn how to construct garments and prototypes, and discover how to transform a design idea into a tangible form. Your education connects the culture and craftsmanship of Made in Italy with the technologies and processes shaping contemporary fashion: from tailoring and garment construction to 3D modelling, material innovation and production.
Over the three years, you develop skills in pattern cutting, tailoring, prototyping, textile culture and costume design, progressing to 3D modelling and professional tools such as CLO 3D, Lectra Modaris and CAD. In ACM’s workshops, you work with sewing machines and professional equipment, experimenting with processes and techniques that you will encounter in the professional world.
In your third year, you put your skills to the test through Industry Projects and projects connected with companies, working directly with designers, brands and professionals across the supply chain.
The programme prepares you to become a technical professional capable of translating creativity into product: someone who can interpret an idea, give it structure and take it through to realisation, working with brands, fashion houses, companies, ateliers and organisations across film, theatre and the performing arts.
Your work can sit precisely at the point where a creative idea becomes a product. The skills you develop can enable you to work closely with designers, design teams, companies, fashion houses, ateliers and costume departments, focusing on the technical development and construction of garments and prototypes.
Potential career paths include:
The skills developed can also lead to further roles across pattern cutting, prototyping, product development, tailoring and costume, including: Pattern Maker, 3D Fashion Designer, Pattern Cutting Technician, Garment Construction Technician, Product Development Technician, Sampling Manager, Costume Technician, Assistant Costume Designer, Theatrical Tailor, Period Costume Cutter, Product Development Assistant, Design Studio Assistant.
Have you finished secondary school and want to understand how a garment takes shape before it reaches the runway, an atelier, a film set or production?
This programme is designed for you if you are interested in the most hands-on side of fashion and costume: pattern cutting, tailoring, materials, prototyping and new technologies. If you want to learn how to turn a drawing into a real garment and are curious about the dialogue between creativity, technique and production, you will find the tools to do so here.
You do not need to know how to sew or have previous knowledge of pattern cutting: you start with the fundamentals and progressively build more advanced skills.
Discover what you’ll be studying.
Secondary school diploma or equivalent qualification obtained abroad after at least 12 years of schooling;
Minimum B2 level of language proficiency.
The Orientation Office can help you find out about entry requirements, deadlines, scholarships and the admissions process.
In the absence of an ISEE certificate, Accademia automatically assigns the highest bracket.
Deferred payments: the tuition fee can be paid in 2, 5 or 8 instalments without a loan, or in a greater number of instalments with an interest-free loan.
Discover our scholarships →Ask the ACM AI assistant anything you want to know about tuition fees, admissions, career paths and scholarships. It will reply in real time.
No. You can come from a range of educational backgrounds. What matters is your motivation, curiosity and desire to learn how to transform an idea into a garment.
No. The programme starts with the fundamentals and progressively develops your tailoring and technical skills. If you have already had the opportunity to use a sewing machine, however, you will already have some useful practical experience.
No. You will learn how to create and develop patterns throughout the programme, starting with the fundamentals and progressing towards more advanced techniques and digital modelling.
Yes. Throughout the three-year programme, you learn to use professional tools for design and digital modelling, including CAD, Lectra Modaris and CLO 3D, alongside traditional manual and tailoring techniques.
Yes. The programme integrates Fashion and Costume and includes modules dedicated to costume tailoring techniques, costume history and costume design for theatre, film and the performing arts.
At the end of the programme, you will receive a Bachelor of Arts Diploma, recognised by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) and equivalent to a three-year university degree in Italy.
