Digital Fashion and New Media (Half Day Course)
With the advent of the internet, there has been a shift in the ways fashion, its objects and its images are produced and consumed. Online fashion shows, live shopping events, fashion talks sponsored by luxury brands, fashion virtual games and the increasing attention of brands towards Big data are transforming the fashion system and its hierarchies. This course explores this shift focusing on contemporary fashion and its unique relation with the new media. Via workshops, visits and discussions with guest speakers, the course opens up multiple perspectives on the fashion media industry, the emergence of new figures and its wider social and cultural dimensions. A particular attention we will be given to the proliferation of fashion in media platforms like Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter and the increasing popularization - via social media - of politics and discourse on the social role of fashion. The course will investigate key-topics such as the shift from print to digital media, online consumption and identity formation; technological innovation and VR gaming, the emergence of IG fashion influencers in neo-liberal economies, the role of social media in fostering the emergence of discourses on inclusivity, equity and race.
Explorations in Painting (All Day Course)
This course introduces students to painting as both a fundamental part of the design process and an integral tool for media arts of all kinds. Students will learn basic concepts of painting such as color theory, composition, and techniques for using water based paints. Drawing will also be taught as a means for observation and representation. Traditional and nontraditional methods, media, and theories of painting are all explored. Time will be dedicated for students to develop a personal project.
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Explorations in Drawing (All Day Course)
This is an intensive drawing course in Paris. The goal is to develop eye, hand and mind coordination, plus an understanding and enjoyment of methods and materials. There will be short lessons, discussions on classical and contemporary artists, still life drawing, figure drawing and composition exercises in the studio. Numerous visits to museums, exhibitions and public places around Paris will support the learning process and allow students to work outside the studio.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Fashion Communication (Half Day Course)
This course is an immersive introduction to communication strategies in fashion and luxury companies. Students learn how to create and foster dialogue between a fashion brand and consumers. The seminars and workshops cover a range of topics such as semiotic resources for brand identity, advertising and event management, experiential marketing, digital and interactive marketing, fashion journalism, and fashion public relations in the digital age. In addition, the course offers a Parisian perspective of luxury company strategies and investigates heritage management strategies from a communication perspective.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Fashion Design Process (All Day Course)
This course introduces students to various approaches and techniques involved in the design process for fashion products. Working on projects individually and in groups, students develop fashion concepts for which they draw on the unique resources of Paris and explore how fabrication methods and color affect collections. Students are also introduced to branding and merchandising basics used to identify and create work for targeted markets and consumers.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Fashion Illustration (All Day Course)
Fashion Illustration is an intense drawing course where students explore fashion through drawing as an investigative tool within the context of Paris. The course introduces students to fundamental drawing techniques related to the body proportions through life model drawing sessions and studio assignments, in conjunction to museum field trips and guest
lecture. Students will gain understanding of visual and perceptual literacy related to principles of textile, volume and garment translation in order to develop a personal visual vocabulary.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Fashion, Luxury, and Brand Heritage (Half Day Course)
Today the discourse about cultural heritage and local patrimony is at the centre of a variety of public and private activities about design and fashion. While the organization of events such as “Le Journées Européenne du Patrimoine” are including fashion houses and ateliers, the concept of ‘heritage’ has been recently employed in new and sometimes controversial manner by private and public institutions. This course explores this field looking at the intersections between the current discourse on heritage, patrimony and memory – with a particular attention on its relation with design and fashion. Through visits to major Parisian fashion archives and talks by experts from private and public museums, the course will interrogate what is fashion heritage in Paris and its multiple forms. Starting from UNESCO’s definition and activities on cultural heritage, students will investigate the tensions between: the idea of heritage and patrimony; hierarchies and power in the identification of heritage; and the use of national, regional and city identity in the construction of personal and collective memories.
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Fashion Photography: History and Practice (All Day Course)
Students will learn how to analyze fashion photography using interdisciplinary tools, from history to sociology and semiotics. In parallel, students will experiment practical photography techniques at a professional level in order to be able to produce a fashion shoot, from the preliminary research to the final realization in collaboration with a model. Workshops, field trips, and exhibitions are also proposed during the course.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Graphic Design Workshop (All Day Course)
Graphic design is everywhere around you—websites, advertising, clothing, packaging and publications. It is a medium in which words and images merge to communicate powerful messages. In this hands-on course, students learn to expand their creative problem-solving techniques using dynamic layout, form, typography, and content. Through projects, students learn to employ narrative and storytelling methods and engage in design research, analysis, documentation, and implementation. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between creative and critical thinking skills and the designer’s role within the professional arena. Topics covered include creation of the elements of brand identity programs, such as logos, publications (including zines), advertisements, and websites. This is an intermediate level course open to college students. Basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator is required.
Language of Instruction: English
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Introduction to Design and Management (All Day Course)
Students learn to approach management as a strategic process that combines design innovation and business knowledge. Emphasis is placed on understanding a European setting and perspective and the way entrepreneurs, business innovators, and designers operate at the intersection of design and management.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Picturing Stories (All Day Course)
How do you tell a story through images, or accompany a written text visually? This course explores many forms of visual storytelling using a mixed media approach: drawing, painting, collage, digital renderings and more. Paris serves as the backdrop for exploration of French artists, illustrators and cartoonists through history. Course field trips to various Parisian neighborhoods provide points of departure for individual exploration. Visits to exhibitions and museum collections cover different stylistic, conceptual and material approaches.
