( who we are )

ABOUT

Five Italian Universities collaborate on a fashion research project exploring sustainable and digital innovation in fashion. Rooted in a design-driven approach, RHITA addresses environmental and cultural challenges in the Made in Italy fashion industry.

( the PROJECT )

RHITA is a design-driven research project that explores the transformation of the Italian fashion system through circular, digital, and inclusive innovation. Bringing together five major public universities dedicated to fashion from four Italian regions, RHITA focuses on strengthening the connection between human capital, manufacturing excellence, and cultural heritage. The project creates a collaborative ecosystem that connects fashion education, local supply chains, and new technologies to promote a sustainable, conscious, and digital transition. RHITA positions itself as a platform to reconfigure the Italian fashion landscape by empowering SMEs, enhancing territorial specificities, and fostering interregional knowledge exchange.

( the objectives )

RHITA supports the Made in Italy fashion system through sustainable innovation, digital inclusivity, and cultural awareness. Its main goals include:

1) enhancing human capital and local fashion heritage;

2) promoting digital transformation through an open and collaborative platform;

3) co-designing circular and inclusive production models; and

4) strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs through capacity building and stakeholder engagement.

The project also seeks to redefine the Italian fashion value chain by mapping territorial specificities and implementing pilot projects in selected regions.

( the methodology and the impacts )

RHITA adopts a design-driven, multidisciplinary, and collaborative research methodology structured in three phases: gathering and analysis, modelling and codifying, piloting and assessing. RHITA embraces a participatory and co-design approach across its pilot initiatives to ensure that local ecosystems are actively involved in shaping and testing inclusive, sustainable, and technologically advanced fashion practices. This allows the project to be embedded in real territorial contexts and to support bottom-up innovation.

( UNIVERSITIES )