Fashion Tech - From active to interactive fashion, sportswear and lifestyle design

Course

The Fashion Tech designer has a decisive role in Fashion and Lifestyle because he has the ability to unite worlds that have been far apart until now, such as ready-to-wear, sports and artificial intelligence.

To do this today, the Fashion Tech designer must be able to reflect on fashion design from the perspective of circular economy, in the sign of sustainability and traceability.

To go in this direction it is therefore necessary to think about the garment taking into account the origin and durability of materials so that they can be used as long as possible and then subjected to recycling. It is also essential to examine and apply the best way to construct the garment in order to facilitate the separation of materials and components.

Ecological transition

In terms of ecological transition, the basis of Fashion Tech designers’ responsibility is the choice of “smart fabrics”, their origin and their production methods in order to create garments specifically designed to be reused and reinvented for a long time, giving a green turn to the entire fashion industry.

Fashion, sport and technology

As the years go by, in fact, the relationship between fashion, sport and technology is getting closer and closer and fashion-tech is gaining more and more ground. If up to a decade ago it was still possible to imagine keeping the Fashion sector separate from the “Tech” one, today the commingling between these two worlds is getting stronger and stronger, so much so as to influence the development of the entire fashion industry.

Fashion, artificial intelligence and blockchain

The Master addresses the topic of artificial intelligence and blockchain as an unparalleled tool to ensure transparency, traceability and efficiency in the fashion world. This technology allows to uniquely identify every single element of the supply chain and reconstruct backwards the “path” made before turning into a garment.

For these reasons, the training course in Fashion Tech represents a training tool for an immediate professional placement.

Thanks to the Specializing Master, students have the opportunity to carry out internships in renowned companies in the fashion, sports and fabric sectors, some examples: in the fashion sector Loro Piana, Moncler, Missoni; in the sports sector Decathlon, Slam, Salewa, Champion, Colmar, Vibram, Santini, Alpina; in the fabric sector Radici Group, Taiana, Framis, Ripa.

The direct and concrete experience in the companies allows the future designers in Fashion Tech to put into practice the knowledge acquired during the training course and to design innovative products, respecting the circular economy and product traceability, and able to respond to the new needs that the textile market requires.

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Didactics

Attendance

The attendance to the activities foreseen by the Master is obligatory for at least 75% of the hours.

Training objectives

The Master’s provides skills relating to product planning for both active and interactive sportswear, for lifestyle
in terms of innovative contributions of materials and technologies, for wearable accessories which can integrate fashion aesthetics with new contents and new functions given by integration with wearable technologies.

It trains designers as capable of working in the field of sporty clothing, sportswear and competitive wear, as in those sectors where one must know how to combine technical materials, new technologies and performance.

Didactic Plan

The Fashion Tech designer has a decisive role in Fashion and Lifestyle because he/she has the ability to unite worlds that until now were far apart such as ready-to-wear fashion, sport, work, electronics and information technology.

In order to do this, he/she must know how to responsibly choose materials and design garments with the aim of giving a green turn to the fashion industry.

The Specializing Master in Fashion Tech is therefore a training tool for an immediate professional placement in line with the times and the demands of companies.

The training path is articulated in theoretical modules, workshops and internship.

Didactic Modules

The Master’s teaching consists of 9 modules divided into frontal theoretical lectures, project tools, and project workshops:

• Creativity and Innovation
• Fashion Design Modelling
• Fashion Design Graphics and Representation
• Fashion Tech Lifestyle
• Activewear
• Sportswear
• Performance Sportswear
• Interactive Fashion
• Fashion Design: Presentation and Portfolio

THEORETICAL LECTURES 

From active wear to interaction design, from sustainability to lifestyle design, the course provides an overview of innovative fashion products – with insights into sustainable production techniques, traditional and innovative materials and their applications through best practice case studies.

The topics covered in the theoretical insights concern the world of creativity and innovation for the fashion industry, in particular:

• Sportswear today
• Trend Forecasting
• Wearables Design
• Brand&Markets
• New Technologies and New Materials

DESIGN TOOLS

The tools lessons are dedicated to graphics and digital modelling through the use of dedicated software.

The Fashion Design Graphics and Representation module consists of 32 hours and is oriented towards conveying knowledge on the use of visual languages and related tools and techniques aimed at the representation of the project. The module will be divided into lessons dedicated to graphics, through the use of software such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign, and photography lessons. The module is aimed at transferring to the students the skills to develop and tell their ideas and projects effectively through visual language.

The Fashion Design Modelling module includes 40 hours dedicated to teaching 3D modelling tools (Clo 3D – license to be provided by the student). The teaching is aimed at fostering knowledge of 3D design software for fashion products with particular attention to aesthetics and the rules of photo-realistic representation.

DESIGN WORKSHOPS 

Workshops are educational activities oriented towards field experimentation and involve the development of projects by students, carried out under the supervision of professionals in the field, from the briefing phase to research, from conceptualisation to design and final presentation.

The workshops are

• FASHION TECH LIFESTYLE (2 weeks)
• ACTIVEWEAR (2 weeks)
• SPORTSWEAR (2 weeks)
• PERFORMANCE SPORTSWEAR (2 weeks)
• INTERACTIVE FASHION (3 weeks)

During the workshops the students will have the opportunity to develop both group and individual projects.

PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT

Knowing how to communicate one’s projects, what facilitates and improves understanding of them, is today fundamental for presenting oneself to the world of work. The 40-hour module aims to provide technical skills for the creation of professional portfolios and ways of self-promotion to students leaving the training course. The final output will be a collection of the work realised during the course. The students will be supported with theoretical lessons and revisions with the aim of selecting the most important works, editing them and presenting them in the most effective form.

INTERNSHIP

The internship represents one of the most qualifying experiences of the Master’s programme. The 425-hour curricular traineeship consists in experimenting, in a company context, the skills learnt during the theoretical lectures and design workshops, on the basis of a training project jointly agreed upon by POLI.design and the host company.

FINAL EXAMINATION 

The final examination will consist in the presentation and discussion of the projects developed during the entire Master course before the scientific commission.

Title Released

The Specializing Master grants 60 CFU, equivalent to 60 ECTS. Upon completion, students earn a Politecnico di Milano First level Specializing Master diploma in Fashion Tech: From active to interactive fashion, sportswear and lifestyle design.

Employment Opportunities

The professional outlets of the Master in Fashion Tech concern the areas of RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT such as:
– Materials researcher
– Technologies researcher
– Textile researcher
– Sustainable product development technician
– Fashion designer specialised in circular economy

and the areas of the STYLE OFFICE as:
– Sportswear designer
– Streetwear designer
– Workwear designer
– Interactive designer
– Accessory designer

and PRODUCTION areas such as:
– Product tracking technician

Admission

Requirements

The enrolment at the Specializing Master requires a Bachelor of Science degree, or a Master of Science degree in Industrial Design, Architecture, Engineering. Anyhow, the Academic board has the right to consider the enrolment of candidates holding the abovementioned titles in other disciplines. For those who graduated not in Italy, equivalent study titles will be considered if recognized in the respective course of studies.
The number of students admitted is 25.
The selection will be made by the Commission.

Applications can be accepted in chronological order but just until all the available places in classroom are sold out.

The formal evaluation of the study title eligibility is by Politecnico di Milano. As a consequence the formal application should be done on the website www.polimi.it (the steps are described in the following weblink).

In particular, the steps that you will have to follow are those mentioned from page 1 to page 8 (by clicking on the following link you will find yourself directly in the same page shown on guidelines).

Deadlines

To take part to the selection process, the application form must be completed online within the following deadlines:

• EU/ Non-EU who graduated in Italy / EU citizens with qualification gained abroad within August 27th, 2025;

• Non-EU citizens who graduated abroad within July 27th, 2025.

Price

The Specializing Master costs € 11.000 (€ 10.500 cost of the Master + € 500 registration fee at the Politecnico di Milano) EXEMPT VAT ART. 10 of Presidential Decree 633/72.

PROMO

EARLY BIRD: -10%

The promotion for those who have clear ideas, know which educational path can enrich their future, and can’t wait to get back to the classroom.

Deadline application: within March 31, 2025
Deadline for sending the signed contract and payment of the deposit of the participation fee: within April 11, 2025

FAMILY SUPPORT: -50%

A chance to gift your siblings the encouragement they need to invest in their future.

POLI.NETWORK: -50%

A promotion designed to strengthen the bond and identity among members of the Politecnico di Milano community.

PER MERITO

Intesa San Paolo supports talents and gives everyone access to training. Discover more details here

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