Build your future
Since 1964, ACM has brought together culture, design and industry. A place where talent meets expertise, tools and relationships to find a personal voice and turn it into a profession.
“To educate and support the cultural heritage of the Italian fashion and costume industries.”
The vision from which Accademia Costume & Moda was born.
A vision turned into reality.
In 1964, Rosana Pistolese - fashion historian, journalist, costume designer and designer - founded a school in Rome capable of bringing together what had previously remained separate: fashion and costume, culture and design, thought and craft. Around this vision, a community of artists, intellectuals and professionals began to take shape. An open dialogue between different disciplines that would become one of ACM’s defining characteristics.
Discover our historyExplore the space
One Academy
an entire ecosystem
What distinguishes ACM is not a single course, collaboration or placement figure. It is the system that connects them all.
An educational and professional ecosystem developed over more than sixty years, bringing together faculty, alumni, fashion houses, manufacturers, suppliers, cultural institutions, media, archives and professionals.
Culture gives depth to research. Practice transforms ideas into projects. Engagement with materials builds real expertise. Industry brings processes, technologies and professional objectives into the educational journey. The community continues to generate relationships long after graduation.
A model developed over time and difficult to replicate, because it is built not only on collaborations, but on the continuity of relationships and shared work.
A family story
Think. Make.
Engage.
At ACM, theory and practice develop together. Students research, design, experiment and make. A garment, a costume, an image or a strategy takes shape through dialogue, tools and daily practice.
Laboratories, interdisciplinary projects and industry collaborations turn every programme into a practical experience. Because knowledge also means knowing how to make - and finding your own way of doing so.
Discover our CampusFaculty
Professionals,
in the classroom
ACM faculty brings together designers, costume designers, art directors, photographers, stylists, managers, product developers, researchers, communication professionals and practitioners active across the fashion, costume and creative industries.
Their contribution goes beyond passing on expertise. They bring current practices, real-world case studies, different perspectives and first-hand knowledge of the changes shaping the industry into the educational experience.
Dialogue with faculty supports project development at every stage: from initial research to reviews, from technical definition to the ability to present and articulate one’s work.
Industry does not come afterwards. It is part of the journey
Industry Projects bring real briefs, materials, processes and objectives into the classroom. Students work with teams from partner companies, take part in professional reviews and present their results directly. These are not simulations, but tangible opportunities to test skills and vision, build a portfolio and understand from within the system they are preparing to enter.
Talent
takes the stage
Every year, final projects meet audiences and industry professionals through fashion shows, presentations, performances, fashion films and exhibitions.
ACM Talents is not simply a celebration marking the end of a course of study. It is the outcome of a process involving research, faculty, companies and the production supply chain.
During the development of their final collections, students gain access to materials, manufacturing expertise and technical processes made available by partners. Each project is developed through stages and collaborations that closely reflect professional practice.
A network built
over time
For more than sixty years, ACM has developed relationships with fashion houses, ateliers, companies, production supply chains, creative studios, cultural institutions and audiovisual productions. A network that becomes part of the educational experience through Industry Projects, meetings, reviews, internships and recruitment activities. Authentic connections born from shared work and developed alongside the ACM community.
of graduates work in the industry within a few months of completing their studies.
partner companies across fashion, costume, communication and business.
the year ACM began educating professionals and building relationships with the industry.
An Italian Vision
A global outlook
ACM’s identity was born in Rome, developed within the Made in Italy system and is constantly tested against the international landscape.
Academic collaborations, mobility programmes, competitions, juries, museums, festivals and global platforms allow students to test their work in different contexts.
In 2019, The Business of Fashion ranking included ACM among the leading international institutions for Fashion Design education. ACM is also the only Italian institution involved in TRANSMISSIONS, the international programme promoted by the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum together with some of the world’s leading fashion schools.
participations in national and international competitions
finalist or shortlisted projects
awards and recognitions
Platforms include the LVMH Graduate Prize, Louis Vuitton Accessories Design Graduates Initiative, Milano Moda Graduate, Mittelmoda, Loro Piana Knit Design Award, ITS Contest, Arts Thread, Real Leather. Real Impact., Lineapelle, BIAAF and Roger Hatchuel Student Academy.
ALUMNI · AFTER GRADUATION
From education
to profession
Designers, stylists, art directors, costume designers, product managers and communication professionals: different paths, all originating from a shared education and developed within the international fashion and creative industries.
From here
far beyond
ACM alumni who have taken their vision into some of the most important fashion houses, ateliers, companies and productions on the international stage.
Everything that happens while you study
Experiences that take students beyond the classroom and connect them with the languages, places and leading figures of contemporary culture. Because education also happens through what we observe, share and experience together.
You can read about it here or experience it
Attend an Open Day, visit our campuses, meet the faculty and talk to those who study at ACM.