Duncan Chambers-Watson (23) will travel to Italy next month to study at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Milan.
The second-year fashion design student had his application for a scholarship accepted by the international institution and is the only Otago fashion student in the IED's next intake.
Mr Chambers-Watson will return to Dunedin in March to complete the final year of his degree, for which his time in Italy will be cross-credited.
He was excited about the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the world.
''A lot of their [IED] teachers are working designers, and just being in the heart of what is a fashion capital will be amazing.''
Third-year Otago fashion student Georgia Ferguson can vouch for that.
She spent from January to July studying at the Milan design school, having won the same scholarship late last year.
Miss Ferguson (21) is using the skills she gained overseas to create her final collection at the polytechnic.
She said Milan was ''incredible'' and well worth the extra effort.
''It is a more intense workload. I definitely got a lot out of it, but it's a lot more pressure.''