THECUBE ARCHIVE INDUSTRY PROJECT | BA IN COSTUME & FASHION

Our third-year BA in Costume & Fashion students have successfully completed their Industry Project in collaboration with TheCube Archive, an internationally recognised archive dedicated to vintage menswear and design research.

The project offered students the opportunity to respond to a real industry brief, exploring the archive as a powerful tool for research, experimentation and innovation in contemporary fashion design.

Following the Brief Launch and the development phase, the project concluded with the Final Presentation, during which students presented their collections to Marius Hordijk, Co-Founder of TheCube Archive, who joined us on campus, and Corinna Chiassai, Co-Founder & Art Director, who participated remotely. It was a valuable opportunity for students to present their creative process and receive professional feedback directly from industry experts.

The Industry Project encouraged students to explore sustainability through a hands-on design approach, investigating the creative potential of upcycling and recycling as research and development tools.

Drawing on garments from TheCube Archive, each student developed a complete proposal featuring upcycled knitwear transformed into new topwear, newly designed trousers, and accessories created by repurposing existing leather and textile materials.

Each project demonstrated the ability to reinterpret the archive through a contemporary lens, transforming existing garments and materials into original proposals that combined creative identity, experimentation and conscious design.

The Final Presentation provided an important opportunity to reflect on the relationship between research, sustainability and design, highlighting how direct dialogue with industry professionals strengthens students’ methodology, critical thinking and creative practice.

Through Industry Projects like this, Accademia Costume & Moda continues to reinforce its educational approach, built on close collaboration with companies, archives and fashion professionals, offering students hands-on experiences shaped by real design processes and the challenges of today’s creative industries.

For our students, working with TheCube Archive meant understanding that research is the starting point of every meaningful fashion project. It was an experience that strengthened their creative, technical and cultural skills, encouraging them to look to the past as a way of imagining new possibilities for the future of fashion.

Our sincere thanks to the entire team at TheCube Archive for their invaluable collaboration and continued support throughout the project.