Design summer camp in Milan 2026: four creative trails in the heart of the design capital
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Milan has the largest creative ecosystem in Europe and, each year, confirms this position during the Milano Design Week, an event that in 2026 brought together more than 1,900 exhibitors from 32 countries and around 300,000 visitors. It is within this context that the “Design in Motion” program, developed in partnership with the Raffles Milano International Design Institute, emerged: a design summer camp in Milan that places young students in the same environment frequented by professionals who build the most relevant brands in the world.
Why is Milan the ideal destination to study design?
Milan isn't just a city with design museums. It is the environment where design takes place as an active economic and cultural practice. The European design sector comprised 295,000 companies in 2024, with total revenues of 31 billion euros and growth of 3.2% per year. Italy, and Milan in particular, is the heart of this market.
Brands such as CUPRA, Moncler, Cassina, Flou and ADI (Industrial Design Association) have a permanent presence in the city, and the Compasso d'Oro Award, awarded by ADI since 1954, is the most prestigious recognition of industrial design in the world. For a young person who wants to understand how design works in practice, a week in Milan during this summer program provides more context than a semester of reading.
The partnership with Raffles Milano reinforces this inclusion. Raffles is an internationally recognized institution with campuses in Milan, Singapore, Sydney and other global cities, and operates with specific tracks in fashion design, interior design and product design, exactly the axes of the program.
How is the “Design in Motion” program structured?
The program is organized into four independent tracks, each with specific brand partnerships and a focus on an area of contemporary design. The participant chooses a track and delves into it throughout the program.
Track 1: Industrial Design
In partnership with the ADI Design Museum and the Compasso d'Oro Award, this trail brings students into contact with one of the most influential stages in global design. The Compasso d'Oro is the oldest design award in the world still in operation, and the ADI Museum in Milan houses the permanent collection of the objects awarded since 1954.
The focus is on vision, historical culture of industrial design and innovation, with projects that start from real problems and arrive at conceptual prototypes.
Track 2: Automotive Design
With CUPRA as a strategic partner, this track explores the cutting-edge automotive design process, with forward-thinking projects developed by students in contact with emerging designers in the sector.
The integration between education and the automotive industry is the differential. CUPRA, the high-performance arm of SEAT (Volkswagen Group), represents one of the most discussed automotive rebranding and design processes in recent Europe, making its involvement in the program especially relevant for those who want to understand how design and brand identity are built together. The trail is particularly valuable for young people who are already researching Career in automotive design and they want a first contact with the real creative process before choosing a college.
Track 3: Fashion Design
With Moncler as a brand reference, this track works on the transformation of identity, material and storytelling into fashion products. Moncler is one of the most studied cases in global fashion schools for combining technical heritage (mountaineering jackets) with contemporary luxury positioning.
The projects are hands-on: from concept to development with real materials, sketches, and collection structure. Angle is not a sewing technique, but design thinking as a brand language.
Track 4: Interior Design
In partnership with Cassina and Flou, this trail explores the dialogue between heritage and innovation in space design. Cassina, founded in 1927 and a historic partner of Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, represents the tradition of reference Italian furniture design. Flou, for its part, is the brand that reinvented the bedroom as a design space.
The program works on interior design as a response to contemporary needs: how the spaces we inhabit communicate values, how materials and proportions affect experience, and how a brand's heritage can coexist with functional innovation.
What is the program's methodology?
“Design in Motion” operates with four methodological pillars that complement each other over the weeks:
- Industry Exposure: direct access to leading brands, showrooms, and real work environments. The student does not visit companies as a tourist, but as a participant in projects.
- Creative Thinking: workshops and design challenges with real briefings, a defined deadline and presentation to a jury.
- Hands-on Projects: from concept to creation with materials, sketches and prototypes. The result is a concrete deliverable, not just a theoretical exercise.
- Cultural Context: immersion in Milan as the world capital of design, with visits to exhibitions, museums and events aligned with Milano Design Week.
The philosophy of the program is inspired by the “Made in Italy” approach: technical mastery combined with creative conditioning and mental resilience. The premise is that the best Italian designers have not only learned “how” to do it, but “why” certain choices have a cultural and economic impact.
What does a design student gain by participating in this program?
Participation in “Design in Motion” provides three categories of value that a traditional school hardly combines in the same period:
Portfolio with brand credibility:Projects developed in partnership with CUPRA, Moncler, Cassina, Flou or ADI have a different weight in a university application or internship selection. It's not the same as a school project: it's a deliverable with real context.
Network in an international environment:The program brings together young people from multiple countries in the same room, in the heart of the world's design capital, during the most active period of the Italian creative calendar. This exchange environment is difficult to replicate outside Milan.
Specific cultural reference:Understanding what Italian design means within the history of global design, live and with access to the brands that built that history, is a formation of perspective that accelerates any trajectory in the creative area.
O exchange in automotive design brings together young people who combine technical interest with creative sensitivity and want to build a portfolio before applying for university. The program in Milan is one of the most recognized entry points for this profile.
Milan beyond the program: the city's cultural context
“Design in Motion” takes place in Via Pietrasanta, 14, on the Raffles Milano campus, located in the center of a city that combines industrial precision with aesthetic sensitivity in a unique way.
During the program, participants have access to the Milan that global designers know:
- ADI Design Museum: permanent collection of the winners of the Compasso d'Oro since 1954, with more than 3,000 objects
- Milan Triennale: museum of design, art and contemporary architecture with permanent international exhibitions
- Tortona and Fuorisalone District: the unofficial heart of Milano Design Week, with installations and events from brands that don't fit in the Salone
FAQ — Frequently asked questions about the design summer camp in Milan
1. Is it necessary to have previous design experience to participate?No. The program is designed for students in the discovery and development phase and does not require a previous portfolio.
2. What language is the program conducted in?In English, which allows young people of any nationality to participate.
3. Does the participant receive a Raffles Milano certificate at the end of the program?The program is developed in partnership with Raffles Milano. The specific certification must be confirmed with the program team prior to enrollment.
4. Is it possible to participate in more than one trail in the same summer?The program is structured by track, with an in-depth focus on one area. The combination of tracks depends on the entry format available in the 2026 edition.
5. How does this program relate to applying to design universities?Projects with the context of real brands, developed in Milan and guided by industry professionals, build the type of portfolio and personal narrative that high-level design universities value in the selection.
Be Easy: Boutique exchange consultancy
Be Easy is curated by specialized summer programs for young people with an interest in design, fashion, interior architecture, and international creative careers. If you want to understand how the design summer camp in Milan fits your child's project, contact us and our team will guide you to the next step with precision.
