NABA Summer Courses 2026: design and fashion in Milan
Meta description: NABA summer 2026 in Milan: two weeks of design and fashion in English, three sessions, plus tracks for teens aged 15 to 17 and for adults 18+.
Three two-week windows define NABA summer 2026 in Milan: 30 June to 10 July, 14 to 24 July and 28 July to 7 August. The courses run in English on the Navigli campus, with Fashion Design, Design, graphic communication, media and visual arts, 3 CFA credits on completion and hubs for ages 15 to 17 alongside the 18+ catalogue.
What are the NABA Summer Courses 2026?
The NABA Summer Courses 2026 are intensive two-week tracks at NABA, the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, on the Milan campus. Classes are in English, with a practical project and 3 CFA credits on completion.
CFA is the Italian academic training credit. 1 CFA equals 1 ECTS, transferable to the home university subject to approval.
- Duration: two weeks per session, with the option to chain 4 or 6 weeks • Language: fluent English required in class • Campus: the Navigli neighbourhood, in Milan • Method: atelier, critique and visits to museums, companies and studios
According to the official NABA brochure, the academy is Italy's largest fine arts school and one of the world's top 100 in Art and Design. What changes the family's decision is not the ranking. It is the track: 45 hours, briefing and delivery.
Anyone considering a career in design uses NABA summer as a short laboratory. Two weeks are enough to test fashion, product, interiors or image.
- Umbrella: the vocational career exchange for young people organises the design and fashion path with a supervised routine
The vocational design exchange in Milan already treats the city as an atelier, not as a postcard. This Milan fashion summer camp is the compact version, with a set date and a stated level.
Who can take NABA summer: ages 15 to 17 or 18+?
NABA summer in Milan serves two audiences on the same campus: ages 15 to 17 in the Young Creatives hubs and 18+ in the full catalogue. The general minimum age for regular courses is 18. At 16, NABA may consider Introductory or Experience with a written declaration from the guardians.
Fashion Design Hub for Young Creatives is the fashion track for ages 15 to 17, for those who do not yet have academic training in the field. Design Hub for Young Creatives is the equivalent in product design and project work.
- Ages 15 to 17: only the two Young Creatives hubs in Milan • Ages 16 to 17: possible review for Introductory or Experience, with a declaration from the guardians • Age 18 or over: every discipline and every level
That split takes the pressure off pushing the teenager into the adult group. The hub has a discovery pace. The 18+ catalogue assumes an axis already chosen and asks for more density.
Discovering a vocation in design in Italy becomes concrete when the young person spends two weeks in the atelier.
Which levels exist in the 18+ catalogue?
The 18+ catalogue levels are the second filter, after age:
- Introductory: no academic background in the discipline; first year of Art and Design
- Intermediate: some repertoire; 1 or 2 years of undergraduate study in the field
- Advanced: final stretch of the degree or the start of professional practice
- Experience: any age and skill level, to explore a creative passion
Which fashion and design courses open in each session?
In Milan, NABA summer 2026 splits Fashion Design, Design, Communication and Graphic Design, Media Design and New Technologies and Visual Arts across three sessions. The offer changes from one fortnight to the next. That is why the date defines the discipline, not only the trip.
Session 1: 30 June to 10 July
The first window mixes fashion foundations with illustration, product and interiors.
- Fashion Design: Fashion design 1, Fashion image and styling 1, Fashion marketing and communication • Design: Product design 1, Interior design 1 • Communication and Graphic Design: Digital illustration and AI, Graphic design, Illustration for advertising • Media Design: Sound design, AI in the creative industries • Visual Arts: Hand illustration, Curatorial studies and exhibition design • Young Creatives: Design hub and Fashion design hub
Session 2: 14 to 24 July
The second session is the most loaded with fashion. It also opens motion, game and interiors for hospitality.
- Fashion Design: Fashion and AI, Fashion design 1, Fashion design 2, Fashion image and styling 2, Accessories design, Visual merchandising • Design: Product design 2, Interior design 2, Interior design for hotels • Communication and Graphic Design: Motion graphics, Visual design • Media Design: Game development, Short video production, Concept art • Young Creatives: Design hub and Fashion design hub
Session 3: 28 July to 7 August
The third window tightens the focus: textile, lighting and 3D character enter the map.
- Fashion Design: Fashion design 1, Fashion image and styling 1, Textile design • Design: Product design 1, Interior design 1, Lighting design • Media Design: 3D character design • Young Creatives: Design hub and Fashion design hub
Anyone who wants fashion with artificial intelligence needs session 2. Anyone who wants fashion marketing or advertising illustration stays in session 1. Anyone who wants textile or lighting design waits for session 3.
Design with artificial intelligence while still in secondary school stops being a slogan when the discipline has a name on the calendar.
- Literal lines from the 2026 brochure: Digital illustration and AI, AI in the creative industries and Fashion and AI
Milan Fashion Week is the city's backdrop, not the course timetable. NABA summer sells atelier, briefing and delivery.
There is a format of about one month, with a stage in London at an arts academy and two weeks in Milan. That track is 18+ and does not replace the two weeks on the Milan campus.
What is the two-week campus routine like?
The NABA summer routine in Milan is a 45-hour immersion over two weeks, in English, with a guided project and visits to museums, companies and studios. The student enters an atelier timetable, with delivery at the end of the module.
On the Monday of the session, the group arrives at the campus in Navigli. The first days set the level, the briefing and the language of the room.
- Check-in and settling in on campus and in the accommodation
- Classes and atelier in English, with faculty and professionals
- Visits to museums, companies, production and design studios
- Project delivery and, if completion is successful, 3 CFA credits
Fluent English is a requirement, not decoration. Without it, in-class critique becomes a barrier. Families whose child is still at a school level of the language sort that out before departure.
What families need to know about a vocational design programme in Italy starts with supervision, language and what the young person brings home.
- Baseline: certificate of participation • Differentiator: project, portfolio and written feedback, not a leisure-only trip
Anyone already flirting with automotive design finds, in the Milanese ecosystem, product drawing and the visual culture of that path. NABA summer is not a car course. It is the ground where form and material are trained together.
The reasons to study design in Milan in the summer do not change because the calendar is short. The young person tests the axis now, with 45 hours and a project.
Which stay format fits each profile?
NABA summer 2026 in Milan offers four stay formats: Freestyle (16 to 17), Full-Inclusive (15 to 17), Adult Package (18+) and Family package. All cover the 45-hour course, insurance and local representation. What changes is supervision, meals and transport.
Full-Inclusive makes sense if it is your child's first international trip. Freestyle fits when the 16- or 17-year-old already moves around with autonomy. The Adult Package is for 18+ in a hotel or flat. The Family package exists when the family travels together.
- Young Adults Freestyle (16 to 17): 13 nights in a 4-star hotel in Milan, breakfast, airport transfers, minor documentation, parental authorisation for independent travel and a signed code of conduct • Young Learners Full-Inclusive (15 to 17): 13 nights at the same hotel standard, half board, daily hotel-campus transfers, unlimited public transport card, group leader (1 for every 15 students), tutor and city activities • Adult Package (18+): 13 nights in a 4-star hotel or flat, breakfast at the hotel or a private kitchen in the flat, arrival transfer and a representative on site • Family package: 13 nights in accommodation arranged with the family, NABA course for the student, insurance, arrival transfer and a representative on site
In Full-Inclusive, the extra timetable includes a walking tour of Milan, a rooftop aperitivo, Idroscalo, the Museum of Illusions and an escape room.
Freestyle calls for a frank conversation at home. There is a form authorising the minor to move around the city. If you are not comfortable with that, the supervised format is the right track.
- With a group leader: more network, less autonomy in the city • With parental authorisation: more independent travel, more responsibility
Helping your child discover a design career in Italy includes choosing the wrapping of the stay, not only the discipline.
Frequently asked questions about NABA summer in Milan
Does NABA summer accept under-18s? Yes, NABA summer in Milan has tracks for ages 15 to 17: the Fashion Design Hub for Young Creatives and the Design Hub for Young Creatives, designed for those who do not yet have academic training in the field. At 16, Introductory or Experience can be reviewed with a declaration from the guardians. The broad catalogue opens at 18.
Do the 3 CFA credits count at the home university? NABA can issue 3 CFA credits on successful completion of a two-week course in Milan, and 1 CFA equals 1 ECTS, transferable subject to approval by the home university. CFA is the Italian academic training credit. The transfer is not automatic: it depends on the institution that receives the student.
Do you need to speak Italian for NABA summer? No. All NABA summer classes are in English, and the brochure requires fluent comprehension of the language. Italian helps in the city, at the café and on transport. It does not replace the English of atelier, critique and briefing.
Can you take more than one session in the same summer? Yes. NABA allows combining modules from different periods and building 2, 4 or 6 weeks in the same summer, including mixing areas. Anyone who takes Fashion design 1 in session 1 can continue to Fashion design 2 or Fashion and AI in session 2.
What is the difference between the Young Creatives hub and the 18+ catalogue? The Young Creatives hub, in Milan, is the 15-to-17 track in Fashion Design or Design, for those still exploring the field without an academic background. The 18+ catalogue opens the five areas at Introductory, Intermediate, Advanced and Experience levels. The difference is density and autonomy, not only the date in the passport.
The 2026 session already has dates. Which track fits your family?
Three sessions, two audiences and four stay formats. The next step is to cross age, discipline and the degree of supervision that keeps the household at ease.
If you have already defined the axis as fashion, product, image or media, NABA summer 2026 in Milan already has a timetable. What remains is fitting the project into the school calendar.
Be Easy: boutique exchange consultancy
Be Easy supports families who want to give their child a real test of design or fashion before university, and also the 18+ adult who needs two dense weeks in Milan. If the interest is NABA summer, we have the right curation for age, session and stay format, with a dedicated senior consultant at every stage. Contact us to receive specialised senior consultancy!
