ITALY: Florence

ITALY ACADEMICS

The semester and academic year curriculum offer courses, apprenticeships, and internships. Courses are taught at Accademia Italiana. Apprenticeships are organized by Schola Academy Firenze in cooperation with major brands and workshops in Florence. Internships are with Zerolab, a company that focuses on sustainability in the fashion industry.

KEI offers two academic tracks. The Academic Track allows students to enroll in up to 5 courses (15 credits) per semester. The Experiential Track consists of an apprenticeship (6 credits) combined with up to 3 courses (9 credits), or an internship (3 credits) combined with up to 4 courses (12 credits).

COURSES

Download and use the Course Offerings file to view and select courses offered during the Fall and Spring semesters. After selecting your courses, review course descriptions under each department (below). Click on course titles to download syllabi. If a title is not hyperlinked, email KEI to request syllabi for the course(s).

APPRENTICESHIP

Apprenticeships are organized by Schola Academy Firenze in collaboration with exclusive brands such as Stefano Bemer, Scuola del Cuoio, Superduper, and Cibrèo. Apprenticeships are hands-on experiences that are supervised by Master Artisans from the partner brands. Fashion apprenticeships integrate design, technical skills (pattern-making, construction, etc.), branding, and marketing.  Culinary apprenticeships integrate the knowledge of ingredients, cooking skills, and restaurant management. The aim is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to realize their ideas and creativity into an actual finalized product.

Students enroll in one apprenticeship (3-6 credits) plus up to 4 courses (12 credits). Note that apprenticeships require a minimum enrolment of 6 students to run. An additional fee of $1500 will be added to the program fee. Click on the title to download the syllabus.

Leather Experience in Bagmaking


This apprenticeship carries on the great tradition and incomparable, unrivaled knowledge of Scuola del Cuoio, merging tradition and contemporaneity. Students will learn all the major leather bag-making techniques, alongside design, branding, and management elements that are crucial to developing a personal path in the fashion industry.

The apprenticeship features professional training in pattern making and prototyping of basic constructions, such as:

  • Clutch bags
  • Bucket bags
  • Classic bags with compartments
  • Saddle Bags

The final project of each student is the common thread of the apprenticeship, leading students to acquire the skills and the knowledge to put their ideas into practice. Students will be encouraged to think and develop the essential elements of their own design identity. Students will conceive, design, and create their own capsule collection, starting to define their personal aesthetic vision while thinking about brand-building strategies.

The skills and vision acquired during the apprenticeship give students the opportunity to start or enrich a professional career as:

  • Pattern Makers
  • Prototypers
  • Product Developers
  • Accessory Designers
  • Fashion Entrepreneurs

The Scuola del Cuoio was founded in 1949 through the collaborative efforts of the Franciscan Friars of the Monastery of Santa Croce and the Gori and Casini families, Florentine leather artisans since the 1930s. Scuola del Cuoio is the leading workshop in Italy for bag making and leather working.

Bespoke Shoemaking (Stefano Bremer)

Students will learn skills of luxury shoemaking, design their own collection and obtain a professional skill level. The final project of each student will be the common thread of the course and will lead the students to acquire the skills and the knowledge to put their ideas into practice.  Students will be encouraged to think and develop the essential elements of their own design identity. Students will conceive, design, and create their own capsule collection, starting to define their personal aesthetic vision while commencing to think about possible brand-building strategies.

The skills and vision acquired during the apprenticeship give students the opportunity to start or enrich a professional career as:

  • Bespoke Shoemakers
  • Shoe Designers
  • Shoe Prototypers
  • Technical Consultants
  • Fashion Entrepreneurs

Stefano Bemer committed his career to master his unique blend of shoemaking techniques to become the perfect Italian men’s shoe. This quest to develop his own idea of perfection has led to accomplishments that have been recognized and acclaimed by connoisseurs all around the world. This would have been enough for most people. However, great people in history understand that it is not just about themselves, in the here and now, but also about their legacy and the impact they have on others. With this in mind, Stefano Bemer is committed to training artisans and transmitting its own legacy of quality and style.

Womens Shoemaking (Stefano Bemer)

This apprenticeship focuses on designing and prototyping women’s shoes by blending the traditional with the contemporary.  Students will learn classic artisanal manufacturing techniques, design, and branding strategies, to become a modern craftsperson able to join the fashion industry or develop a personal business.

The final project of each student will be the common thread of the course and will lead students to acquire the skills and the knowledge to put their ideas into practice.  Students will be encouraged to think and develop the essential elements of their own design identity. Students will conceive, design, and create their own capsule collection, starting to define their personal aesthetic vision while commencing to think about possible brand-building strategies.

The skills and vision acquired during the course give students the opportunity to start or enrich a professional career in the fields of women’s footwear as:

  • Pattern Makers
  • Prototypers
  • Product Developers
  • Technical Consultants
  • Master Cobblers
  • Fashion Entrepreneurs

Stefano Bemer committed his career to master his unique blend of shoemaking techniques to become the perfect Italian men’s shoe. This quest to develop his own idea of perfection has led to accomplishments that have been recognized and acclaimed by connoisseurs all around the world. This would have been enough for most people. However, great people in history understand that it is not just about themselves, in the here and now, but also about their legacy and the impact they have on others. With this in mind, Stefano Bemer is committed to training artisans and transmitting its own legacy of quality and style.

Handmade Hats (Superduper)

This apprenticeship will take students into the world of fashion ateliers. Students will acquire master craft skills while learning how to launch their own brand through on-field lectures about branding and design. The apprenticeship consists of two modules. The first features an intensive introduction to Hat Making, with notions on design and branding too. In the second module, students decide their favorite path to attend, choosing between Design, Branding, and Making. Each path has its own artisan from SUPERDUPER, in order to provide the best training and learning method.

The apprenticeship delivers the widest and deepest training in Hat making and Design, featuring:

  • Blocked Hats: Making and Design
  • Blocking Hats by hands and machine
  • Hand stitching and use of a plain sewing machine
  • Use of: Hand and Machine brim cutter, Arm sewing machine, Chain sewing machine
  • Design and Branding labs
  • Final Project

The final project will be the common thread of the course and will lead students to acquire the skills and the knowledge to put ideas into practice. Students will be encouraged to think and develop the essential elements of their design identity. Students will conceive, design, and create their own capsule collection, starting to define their personal aesthetic vision while commencing to think about possible brand-building strategies.

The skills and vision acquired during the apprenticeship give students the opportunity to start or enrich a professional career as:

  • Hatmakers
  • Product Developers
  • Accessory Designers
  • Technical Consultants
  • Fashion Entrepreneurs

Superduper, founded in Florence in 2011, grew out of a period of creative experimentation and a strong desire to make. This opened us up to a new territory waiting to be rediscovered – the world of hats. Within two years, the company was gaining industry recognition for its fresh take on an artisanal heritage. In 2013, the brand won the Who is on Next? Award in the Men’s category, with a special mention in the Women’s category. Today, Superduper has matured into a global brand that can be found around the world.

From their creative studio and workshop at Manifattura Tabacchi, Superduper challenges the standard operating model of fashion e-commerce. The signature method allows them to make all online purchases to order, reducing waste and excess inventory while maintaining the highest quality. Internal production means that they can make a hat in 72 hours, transforming the finest raw materials into the hands of a team of young artisans.

Food Artisan

Students will train at one or more Cibreo venues, considered one of the most renowned culinary businesses in Florence and Italy, allowing students to learn the entire process of a professional kitchen by working in direct contact with its staff. Students will have a 360° technical, practical, and theoretical approach to everything that concerns food production, preparation, consumption, and business.

The apprenticeship is designed with a focus on the knowledge of local, seasonal, and artisanal ingredients, cooking skills, and restaurant management. Students will learn how to develop a new concept for culinary projects and artisan food businesses and fundamental cooking techniques and how to source and select the best quality ingredients. The apprenticeship features professional training on:

  • Homemade Pasta, gnocchi, Italian classics
  • Fish and seafood
  • Baking: bread, pizza
  • Introduction to pastry

Students will be required to complete and present their Final Project – including a business plan, logo, and a defined brand strategy. The final project will be an original concept for a new format in the culinary business, anywhere in the world.

Cibrèo was founded on September 8th, 1979 following an intuition by Fabio Picchi, who chose this name in full harmony with its family tradition and with a real passion for the alchemy of Florentine cuisine. In a constant shift between past and present, the city, the neighborhood, and the whole world,  Cibrèo has become the ideal setting for cultural discussion and social promotion. Cibrèo is not only a restaurant it is also an eatery – Cibrèo Trattoria (the so-called Cibrèino), a coffee shop – Caffè Cibrèo, a cultural association – Teatro del Sale,  a Tuscan Oriental restaurant – Ciblèo and a grocery store, C.Bio.

Ceremic Crafts (Niccolo Poggi Firenze)

This apprenticeship blends classic elements of pottery with digital design. Students will learn the skills of ceramic making, including fundamental pottery and glazing techniques combined with 3D Design (Rhinoceros suite). Specifically, students will gain knowledge and skills in:

  • Basic 3D Design shapes
  • Wheel-thrown, hand-built pottery
  • Glazing, embossing, decoration
  • Basic firing notions

The final project of each student will be the common thread of the course and will lead the students to acquire the skills and the knowledge to put their ideas into practice.  Students will be encouraged to think and develop the essential elements of their own design identity. Students will conceive, design, and create their own capsule collection, starting to define their personal aesthetic vision while commencing to think about possible brand-building strategies.

The skills and vision acquired during the apprenticeship give students the opportunity to start or enrich a professional career in the fields of Ceramic Crafts and Design as:

  • Product Designers
  • Visual Artists
  • Entrepreneurs and contemporary Artisans

Niccolo’ Poggi is the grandson of Ugo Poggi, who founded the company Ugo Poggi in Florence in 1900 as a furniture factory.  In 1922, Ugo Poggi opened a shop on Florence’s premier shopping street, Via Strozzi, producing and selling pottery, silverware, china, Murano glass, crystal, and furnishings. Niccolo’ Poggi is now an award-winning designer based in Florence. After graduating with a degree in architecture from The University of Florence, Niccolò started work as an architect and interior designer. While working as an architect, Niccolò was commissioned to design products for international brands, which inspired him to create and produce his own designs.

INTERNSHIP @ ZEROLAB

The fashion sector represents the backbone of the Tuscan and Italian industry, counting almost 22,000 companies that employ over 120,000 employees and impacting over 28% of total exports. A fundamental part of the fashion sector is leather goods, where the high quality of products makes it possible to achieve an international reputation for the most important luxury brands. The economic scope of the sector has an equally strong impact on the environment and on the disposal chain: the leather goods sector creates an enormous quantity of waste, the main part of which are scraps of leather.

Zerolab’s mission is to reduce waste by exploiting artisan skills to transform waste into new products. Zerolab created the first hub for the creative recovery of leather scraps and serves as an incubator and training center for emerging designers, artisans, and craftspeople. The waste represents an opportunity to give new life not only to materials but to new ideas and projects.

Internships at Zerolab focus on one or multiple aspects of the company’s operation, including but not limited to:

  1. Develop promotional plans for circulating leather, both digitally and physically.
  2. Create social media campaigns to capture Zerolab’s mission, track engagement, and evaluate the effectiveness of marketing ideas in real time across social channels.
  3. Research and develop partnerships and promotional opportunities across digital channels to raise awareness of Zerolab’s mission.
  4. Research, outreach, and follow-up for the international press, collaborators, and business opportunities.
  5. Preparing rescued leather inventory for reuse and resale, learning Amazon and other online channels for reselling leather excess.
  6. Working within a team to get leather inventory online, and represented in a way that can drive interest.

Students must commit to a minimum of 120 hours, maintain a daily journal of activities and learning outcomes, and submit a term paper. Students will earn 3 credits for INT 499 Professional Internship.

Internship spaces are limited and will be filled on a rolling basis. KEi encourages students to complete their KEI enrollment process early. There is no additional fee for an internship.

CREDIT & TRANSCRIPTS

Credit and transcripts for courses and apprenticeships are awarded by Accademia Italiana (accredited in Italy) and Lincoln University (accredited in USA). Credit and transcripts for internships are awarded by Lincoln University.

HOST UNIVERSITY

Accademia Italiana, founded in 1984, is one of the top design schools in Italy. The Florence campus is located in the heart of the historic district and has state-of-the-art facilities. Academia’s faculty consists of prominent designers, artists, and scholars who are working professionals in their chosen fields. Accademia is accredited by Italy’s Ministry of Education.