The National Academy of Tailors inaugurates the new Academic Year of its Three-Year School of Men’s and Women’s Tailoring

The National Academy of Tailors, the oldest professional institution in the world, founded in 1575, inaugurates the new 2025–2026 Academic Year of its Three-Year School of Men’s and Women’s Tailoring, reaffirming its role as a benchmark for Italian and international sartorial education.

The inaugural ceremony, held at the Academy’s institutional headquarters in Rome, brought together students, teachers, and master tailors, alongside the newly elected Presidency, appointed on June 28, 2025.

At the heart of the Academy’s educational mission, the Three-Year School of Men’s and Women’s Tailoring has long been a model of excellence in the transmission of artisanal craftsmanship.

Its curriculum blends theory, practice, and cultural heritage, offering students a complete training experience — from cutting and pattern-making to the creation and finishing of bespoke garments.

In the 2025–2026 Academic Year, the School further consolidates and expands its network of partnerships with some of the most prestigious Italian textile and fashion companies, strengthening the connection between education and the production world.

Throughout the year, students will attend special lectures and educational visits to Italy’s leading wool mills, gaining direct insight into the country’s high-end textile supply chain. Carnet, a division of the Ratti Group, serves as the official sponsor of the Women’s School, offering students an opportunity to explore the use of fine fabrics in bespoke tailoring and haute couture. Students will also visit Carnet’s headquarters for a full day dedicated to fabric innovation.
Brunello, which has strengthened its collaboration with the School this year, will host students at its headquarters and production site, contribute to the training program with workshops on lining, the company’s core expertise, and make its exclusive materials available to students.
The Ermenegildo Zegna Wool Mill will act as the official sponsor of the Men’s School, supporting the development of educational programs and deepening students’ understanding of luxury fabrics.

Through these collaborations, students will gain first-hand experience of the Italian textile industry — appreciating the quality, complexity, and mastery that make Italian tailoring an internationally recognized excellence.

Once again, the School will receive support from Vitale Barberis Canonico, which, for the third consecutive year, renews its sponsorship by offering five scholarships to outstanding students or those meeting specific income requirements, promoting inclusion and talent.

The Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte ETS, a long-standing partner of the Academy, also renews its collaboration by assigning a scholarship within the project “Una Scuola, un Lavoro. Borse di studio” (A School, a Job. Scholarships), aimed at facilitating the professional integration of young artisans.

Complementing this network of partnerships, Piccioni Merceria provided first-year students with a welcome kit containing materials and tools for their first hands-on approach to tailoring, while Confartigianato Roma — following last year’s successful collaboration — will once again lead training modules on entrepreneurship, offering students key skills to transform artisanal passion into a sustainable professional path.

The Men’s School, directed by Master Tailor Giuseppe Carbone, combines classical cutting traditions with contemporary sensibility, also offering specialized courses — tailored to individual needs — in buttonhole-making and cutting techniques.

The Women’s School, led by Master Doriano Pergolari, couturier and lecturer, trains new generations of tailors through creativity, fabric knowledge, and attention to detail, with the art of frame embroidery as its distinctive hallmark.

A New Presidency to Enhance Training and Tradition

The Academy opens its new academic year under the leadership of President Daniele Piscioneri, owner of Sartoria Ilario, founded by his father, Ilario Piscioneri, in the 1980s.

Since the late 1990s, Daniele has worked alongside his father, learning the techniques and philosophy of bespoke tailoring.

He joined the Academy in 2018, succeeding his late father, who served as President, sharing his vision of craftsmanship rooted in both transmission and renewal.
From 2019 to 2025, Piscioneri served as Second Vice President under Gaetano Aloisio, focusing in particular on the “Made in Rebibbia – Ricuciamolo insieme” social project — a tailoring school within Rome’s Rebibbia prison, giving inmates the opportunity to learn a trade and rebuild their lives.

Since June 28, 2025, Daniele Piscioneri has been President of the National Academy of Tailors, continuing his father’s legacy of a tailoring tradition grounded in excellence, craftsmanship, and social responsibility.

Alongside him, the new Executive Board includes leading figures from the sartorial and business worlds. For the first time in the Academy’s history, women hold the majority of positions — notably with Nelly Marika, stylist and entrepreneur promoting women’s tailoring and sustainable fashion, serving as First Vice President.

Emilio Sasso, Second Vice President, President of Confartigianato Moda Basilicata, is a master tailor and trainer with extensive experience in traditional tailoring education;

Beniamina Neris Zecchin, National Secretary, former President of Confartigianato Veneto and owner of Sartoria Neris in Padua; and Alessandro Siniscalchi, Treasurer, a renowned Milanese shirtmaker internationally recognized for his refined bespoke creations and lecturer in the Bespoke Shirtmaking Course sponsored by Alumo.

During the ceremony, Honorary President Sebastiano Di Rienzo, a historic figure and cornerstone of the Academy — multiple-time President and current instructor of the “Made in Rebibbia” tailoring course — reminded students that “the Academy is a school of doing: teachers will give their utmost, but it is up to the students to learn everything they can from this experience.”

Tradition and future

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Founded in 1575, the National Academy of Tailors continues to promote high-level sartorial education, the enhancement of Made in Italy, and the preservation of artisanal heritage through schools, exhibitions, competitions, and collaborations with leading fashion and textile institutions.