The largest institute in the Netherlands
AMFI is currently the largest institute in the Netherlands. More than 100 lecturers teach more than 1100 students about all aspects of the fashion world. AMFI is also the only fashion institute in the Netherlands that covers the entire fashion chain. This ensures our students to have a broad perspective of the fashion industry. They choose to specialise in either Fashion & Design, Fashion & Management or Fashion & Branding. AMFI offers all its programmes in Dutch as well as in English. Students graduate with a Bachelor Degree in Fashion Technology.
Reality School concept
AMFI has embraced the Reality School concept for students from all three programmes. We offer several programmes in which students develop professional products which are presented and sold in the market. For example in the Individuals or Independent Fashion Magazine programmes, in the Fashion & Visual Culture programme or by being a member of the creative team working in the by AMFI Statement Store.
Facilities
Since 1992 AMFI has been housed in its own building on the Mauritskade in Amsterdam. The building was originally the headquarters of the Amstel Brewery and many of the original historic features have been retained in this listed building. However, being a fashion institute, there are many modern features, including the multimedia library, screen-printing rooms, computer rooms, moulage rooms, fabric-testing laboratory and a sewing room with modern industrial equipment.
Mission Statement
AMFI chooses to see fashion in both industry and culture. This perspective extends the scope of fashion to the full process of design creating, production, distribution and communication. Our education considers the industrial practices of the fashion industry. This perspective covers all facets of fashion as idea, object and image and reconciles the paradox between commerce and culture.
AMFI was established in 1992 as a result of the merger between Meester Koetsier and Charles Montaigne, two institutes that had thrived since the early 1950s. HTS Meester Koetsier was founded 60 years ago as a technical and commercial school. Academy Charles Montaigne, founded in 1951, was a private school for couture and later also for styling.
Both institutes were founded to ensure a good number of highly educated, qualified professionals for the Dutch textile and apparel industry and to safeguard the future of the industry in the Netherlands. Meester Koetsier became part of the General Amsterdam School of Applied Sciences in 1987.
In 1992 when the merger took place, the newly formed institute became part of Amsterdam School of Applied Sciences. The new institute was named Fashion Management and Design (FMD) and moved to the current building on the Mauritskade in 1994. In that same year a new department was set up, now known as Fashion & Branding.
This development was a reaction to the fashion world in which brands, identities and innovative sales strategies were becoming increasingly important. The institute now had three departments covering the entire fashion chain. To bring this story up to date, in 2002 the institute was renamed Amsterdam Fashion Institute, in short AMFI.
