Polimoda and FIT renew 40-year collaboration agreement

All industry insiders know Polimoda, a Florentine institution of excellence in the fashion landscape. However, few are aware that the International Polytechnic of Fashion, now Polimoda, was founded in 1986. It was established through a collaboration between the city of Florence and New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The initiative was led by the municipalities of Florence and Prato and the Province of Florence, together with Fondazione CR Firenze; Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana; the Florence Chamber of Commerce; Confindustria Firenze; and local business associations.

The link between FIT and the Florence school has always existed. Today, the two institutions are celebrating 40 years of collaboration and announcing the renewal of the agreement that has united them since 1986.

Polimoda provides Fit students with design labs, leather goods spaces and textile research facilities

The agreement for the next three years was signed in recent weeks during the Polimoda Graduate Show 2026 in Florence, where FIT president, Jason S. Schupbach, was a special guest. The event marked the first meeting between Schupbach, a national expert in supporting creative systems, and Polimoda president, Niccolò Ricci. Ricci is the CEO of the international luxury group Stefano Ricci spa.

Both having taken office in 2026 at their respective institutions, the two presidents chose the fortieth anniversary of the collaboration to set a common direction: to consolidate a historic bond and project it towards new goals.

With its Manifattura Campus and Villa Campus, a training hub of over 15,000 square metres in the heart of Florence, Polimoda provides FIT students with design and garment-making labs; spaces dedicated to leather goods and textile research; and photography studios.

Renewal of agreement ensures continuity of Fit in Florence

The renewal of the agreement ensures the continuity of FIT in Florence, FIT's Florentine division, which welcomes American students each year to study Fashion Design and Fashion Business Management at Polimoda's campuses. The programme offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in Italian fashion culture and practice, developing the creative flexibility and adaptability required by an increasingly global and competitive market.

“To be called upon today to represent Polimoda, an institution of excellence that has promoted the prestige and name of our city on the international stage for forty years, is a source of deep pride and responsibility. In 1986, the Fashion Institute of Technology was instrumental in the birth of an ambitious vision: to establish a training centre in Florence capable of combining the know-how and craftsmanship of the Italian model with a global perspective. That vision has been consolidated over time, creating one of the most authoritative academic institutions in the fashion sector worldwide and strengthening a strategic link between Florence and New York,” emphasised Niccolò Ricci, president of Polimoda, in a note.

“FIT joins Polimoda in celebrating forty years of contribution to fashion education on a global level,” observed Jason S. Schupbach, president of FIT. “The partnership with Polimoda is one of our institution's most significant and long-standing. The programmes developed during this collaboration have contributed to the excellence of both institutions. Our shared history has strengthened the creative industries of Florence and New York. With the renewal of this agreement, I look forward to all that we can build together.”

40 years ago, the New York institute provided staff and expertise to build the new school's curriculum. It entrusted professor Alan Fishman, a twenty-year FIT administrator and lecturer, with the task of moving to Florence to launch the courses. Fishman served as the first director of Polimoda from 1986 to 1992, under the presidency of Alberto Amorosi, who was then a councillor for the Municipality of Florence. The school opened in October 1986 in Florence, initially at Villa Strozzi, provided by the Municipality of Florence, with 52 students from six countries selected from over 300 applicants.

The stated objective was to create what Fishman at the time called a “modern apprenticeship system”: immediate vocational training capable of preparing graduates to enter the industry directly. It is a model that in forty years has trained generations of fashion professionals and is now embodied in an institute with 2,000 students from 107 countries worldwide.