Refresh your wardrobe style with a focus on sustainable fashion, in collaboration with Nativa.
Short Course in Conscious Fashion (Sustainable Fashion) by Guenda Cermel, Sustainable Fashion Expert, Coordinator and Instructor of the BA in Sustainable Fashion Design.
The course aims to guide participants towards a more conscious approach to fashion consumption, in line with Goal 12 of the 2030 Agenda: Responsible Consumption and Production. At the same time, it provides foundational tools for:
– Creating an innovative personal style that best expresses individual identity.
– Upcycling clothes already present in the wardrobe.
– Approaching shopping sustainably, exploring vintage markets, learning how to read labels, and using sustainable marketplaces such as Vestiaire, to purchase pre-loved luxury brand items.
Course Objectives
Each lesson combines theoretical moments and practical activities to develop awareness and skills. By the end of the programme, participants will have gained an in-depth understanding of the fundamentals of sustainable fashion and conscious consumption. They will be able to develop an authentic and responsible personal style, applying practical skills for wardrobe management, upcycling, and sustainable shopping. The course is a true journey into the world of fashion, blending creativity, sustainability, and self-expression, with the goal of promoting a conscious and responsible lifestyle.
Upcycling: giving newlife to your wardrobe
Photo Credits: Elisa Tripepi
Unit 1: Introduction to Sustainable Fashion
Introduction to conscious consumption and its importance.
Analysis of the most common textile families and their environmental impact.
The “3 Rs” of sustainable fashion: Reuse, Repair, Recycle.
Group workshop on sustainability in fashion: meaning, reasons, and practical strategies to pursue it.
Unit 2: Fashion Between History and Contemporary Trends
Overview of fashion history and its value today.
Analysis of current fashion brands, with a focus on sustainable ones and their practices.
Group workshop on the functions and forms of fashion.
Unit 3: Visit to the Fashion and Costume Museum
A guided tour for inspiration and understanding the evolution and artistic expression of fashion.
Unit 4: Discovering Personal Style
Reflection on individual style.
Creation of personal mood boards to visualize and define one’s style.
Group activity to practice styling through role-playing games.
Unit 5: Understanding the Wardrobe
Analysis of wardrobe functions: balance between tops and bottoms, seasonality, essentials.
Group exercise to identify the essential pieces of a functional wardrobe.
Discussion on how to avoid waste by identifying what is truly necessary.
Unit 6: Personal Wardrobe Analysis
Participants bring a list of items in their wardrobe.
Emotional and functional approach to clothing.
Group workshop on “fashion decluttering” to reorganize the wardrobe.
Unit 7: The Art of Fashion Shopping
Deep dive into conscious shopping.
Workshop on the role of the fashion buyer, to learn how to shop thoughtfully and purposefully.
Unit 8: Practical Shopping Exercise
Direct experience of sustainable shopping in various locations around Rome.
Unit 9: Virtual Upcycling Workshop
Analysis and creative transformation of selected garments to be renewed: dyeing, mending, embroidery, reassembling, or repurposing.
Unit 10: Creating a New Sustainable Wardrobe
Final session to organize a renewed and sustainable wardrobe.
Integration of the personal mood board with the new wardrobe, aligning style with sustainability practices.
Course type: group – in person
Number of participants: Max 20
Frequency: weekly, Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Duration: 10 lessons of four hours – total 40 hours
Cost: € 590,00 in one payment or two installments of € 300,00
Materials: Tablet or laptop, fashion magazines for creating mood boards, scissors, paper, pencil
Language: Italian
Instructor: Guenda Cermel
Location: RUFA – Via Benaco, 2 – Rome
Registration opening: August 1, 2025
Registration deadline: October 3, 2025
JANUARY
24/01/2026
31/01/2026
FEBRUARY
07/02/2026
14/02/2026
21/02/2026
28/02/2026
MARCH
07/03/2026
14/03/2026
21/03/2026
28/03/2026
MAKE-UP DATES*:
11/04/2026
18/04/2026
*By “make-up dates” we refer to additional sessions proposed by RUFA in the event that a scheduled date is cancelled due to circumstances related to the instructor, the Academy, or force majeure.
Please note that make-up sessions are not provided for student absences.
GUENDA CERMEL
Head of Fashion and Brand Owner, a professional who has gained comprehensive expertise throughout her career, blending design and strategy. She has progressively taken on roles of increasing responsibility in leading Italian and international companies.
Entering the fashion world after studying Art History and an experience in New York in the contemporary art market, she began her career as a junior designer at Stefanel. Here, she learned to manage the entire fashion process, including:
Creative aspects: inspiration, collection design, and production.
Strategy: budget management, purchasing, and sales.
Negotiation: global sourcing and brand relations.
Operations: merchandising and visual.
Communication: marketing and product positioning.
She worked for 16 years at the Coin Group, progressively growing in the fashion sector. She held roles of increasing responsibility, from Assistant Buyer to Private Label Manager, eventually becoming Senior Fashion Buyer and later Category Merchandising Manager (still within fashion).
After her time at Coin, she worked for 5 years as Head of Fashion at HSE. Currently, she is an advisor in the sustainable fashion sector and strategic designer, with a particular focus on innovation and ecology.
In recent years, she expanded her education, earning a Master’s in Philosophy and a Specialized Degree in Integral Ecology. These paths have provided her with a revolutionary new perspective on the fashion supply chain, motivating her to adopt a conscious approach, considering social and environmental impacts, integrating sustainability at every stage of the creative and production process.
Since 2021, she has served as coordinator and instructor of the Bachelor’s Programme in Sustainable Fashion Design at RUFA, helping to train a new generation of fashion professionals focused on ethics and sustainability.
ALESSANDRA DE SANTI
Alessandra is Evolution Guide at NATIVA. She graduated in Industrial Chemistry at the University of Pisa in 2017, and she was awarded her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Groningen (NL) in 2021 specialising in the field of Sustainable Chemistry. In 2021-2022 she worked as R&D Project Manager at Mondi Group in Graz (AT), being responsible for developing interdisciplinary research projects in the sustainable packaging field from lab scale studies to actual realisation.
NATIVA
CAMPUS is NATIVA’s learning hub, where the future takes shape through knowledge and experience. Born from over 15 years of pioneering work in sustainability, it offers transformative learning journeys that combine theory and regenerative practice. Campus is for those who aspire to lead the transition towards new economic, social, and cultural paradigms — and become active protagonists of change.
NATIVA is the Regenerative Design Company that supports hundreds of companies in a radical business evolution, accelerating their transition towards regenerative economic models.
NATIVA is the first Benefit Corporation in Europe and B Corp in Italy, and co-founder of the Regenerative Society Foundation as well as a founding member of Fondazione per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile together with which NATIVA launched CO2alition, an initiative aimed at helping companies reach climate neutrality.
nativalab.com/
RUFA Students and Alumni: 50% discount
Former students of RUFA Short Courses and Summer Programs 2024–25: 10% discount
University students: 5% discount (upon presenting a valid university ID or transcript)
Course package/groups/family: contact corsibrevi@unirufa.it for tailored solutions
For all enrolled students, without the need for specific requirements, fee reductions are available based on the date of registration:
Very Early Bird: by August 21, 2025 → €501.50 (–15%)
Early Bird: from August 22 to September 4, 2025 → €531.00 (–10%)
All students holding certification pursuant to Law 104/92 are entitled to a 20% discount on the registration fee, regardless of the selected time frame.
To request it, documentation must be sent to the registrar’s office at corsibrevi@unirufa.it.
Enrolling in a short course entitles students, for the month in which the course takes place, to access special agreements with local businesses.
The benefits include discounts on creative materials and lunch breaks at venues near the campus locations.
Each year, the Short Courses Office will provide an updated list of participating businesses.
For course information, fill out the form and you will be contacted.