Polimoda is gearing up to open its new Manifattura Campus at Manifattura Tabacchi for the start of the 2024-25 academic year.
Spread over more than 10,000 square metres, the campus will include laboratories for clothing design and packaging, a new wing for making footwear, accessories and leather working, an entire floor dedicated to knitwear and textile research, as well as six photographic studios of varying sizes. Spaces for drawing, theoretical classrooms and computer labs with software and technologies for design and publishing are set to define the campus, while two shops selling tailoring and leather goods supplies and an archive of fabrics and leathers complete the headquarters. Students will be able to explore every aspect of fashion: design, accessory design, pattern making, prototyping, fashion styling, art direction, fashion photography, communication and much more. Meanwhile, a multifunctional lecture hall will host traditional lessons as well as hosting events such as conferences, talks and cultural meetings open to the city.
All photos by Marco Badiani
The restyling of the 1924 cigar factory, which was built by engineers Nebbiosi and Nervi, was overseen by Concrete Architectural Associates in collaboration with Q-bic, as part of the broader urban regeneration project of the Manifattura Tabacchi complex. Polimoda’s project, which includes buildings B4 and B6, has succeeded in preserving and accentuating the original architecture, keeping alive the industrial aesthetic and historical soul. The tall heights and generous natural light fill the spaces with a brightness and airiness that make them welcoming.
“Since its foundation in 1986, Polimoda has established itself as a centre of excellence for fashion education. The inauguration of this renovated and expanded campus is a fundamental step towards the future…Polimoda is the only fashion school in Italy and among the first in Europe to have a structure of this level,” explains president of Polimoda, Ferruccio Ferragamo.
With the new opening, Polimoda exceeds 15,000 square meters of spaces for fashion training, accommodating over 2,000 students as the two campuses at Manifattura Tabacchi and Villa Favard form a single hub for fashion education.