With schools in Paris and Berlin, the Atelier Chardon-Savard provides a great training ground for aspiring designers and other fashion professionals. Here, it's all about the technicalities, learning the tricks of the trade from beginner to expert level. You can start out not knowing a single thing about fashion, but at the end of your education here, you'll likely be equipped with al the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the business. Before long, you'll be at the top of your profession.
École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture is practically the most well-known and most prestigious fashion school in all of Paris. In fact, even beyond just the education part, this school plays a heavy role in the industry at large. The school and its association is the governing body of haute couture. Only they can determine if a brand is worthy enough to bear the title. And many French designers got their start here too. With such strict standards, the programs offered here teach everything one needs to know about the craft.
Fashion design is an art form where you really have to apply yourself to the craft. This is the core principle in École Nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art (ENSAAMA). The school will really get you to sketch, draw, illustrate, drape, cut, sew, stitch, and more. In order to succeed in the business, one has to know the real work put into each piece. Even if your path isn't in the design route, this school emphasizes the importance of understanding the craft first.
The École Nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (Ensad), on the other hand, puts as much emphasis on research as it does on application. In fact, the school is a well-known and much-used resource for research by industry professionals. Their core value is that one cannot simply learn the tricks of the trade, they have to also know where the tricks came from and how they came to be. Still, Ensad is acclaimed for its introspective program that covers many facets of the fashion industry, ranging from design and marketing to media and history too.
Generally speaking, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle is more so an art school than just devoted to fashion. However, once you see how well they train their students at their Les Atelier program, you'll sooner think that the entire institution was fashion-based. This is is how strong their courses related to the industry are. They practically drill everything that is needed to know about the business into their students' heads, encompassing both the creative and corporate sides alike.
Opened in 1841, Esmod is a proud fashion institution in the "City of Lights." for years, they have trained and equipped their students with all of the skills and knowledge they need to make it in this cut-throat industry. What sets them apart is ther breakdown of the business, allowing an individual student to focus on his/her specialty. In design, the courses range from womenswear and menswear to even costume design for film and theater. As for the business aspect, they get to choose between fashion, cosmetics, jewelry, and more.
Undoubtedly, Istituto Marangoni is one of Europe's finest fashion schools. They have campuses in many of the major fashion capitals in the "old continent," Paris included. And what makes their institution so respectable is that they tailor their courses and curriculum with the city they're set in. So in Istituto Marangoni Paris, the history, technicalities, and details of French fashion are from and center. Sure, they get into Italian, American and other countries' fashion from time to time, but since you're in Paris, it's all about the French style here.
At one point, the Institut Français de la Mode was regarded as Paris' finest fashion school. An institution devoted to French style. But it may have something to do with the fact that many of their esteemed graduates have gone unto hold powerful positions within the industry. Though even beyond that, this school recognizes that teaching fashion has to be compartmentalized in order for its students to truly grasp the business. And so their programs are divided into three main categories: clothing, accessories, and image (media). Each serves a purpose for good of the entire industry.
Let's face it, fashion is all about luxury. Even if you decide to open a simple and small homemade brand, luxury will surely be a selling point for you. And if you want to learn how to manage luxury, look no further than Paris' LISAA École de Mode. Here, it's all about the expensive stuff, how to make it, how to market it, and how to effectively sell it. Remember, the city is home to some of the biggest luxury conglomerates in the world, so you can expect that this school truly knows its stuff!
Fashion, like many other industries, is a complex business. There's no one way of learning it, no matter how many years you devote to your education. At least, if you enroll at the Paris Fashion Institute, you can get the chance to really study and understand the business at hand. From the craftsmanship in its design side to the strategies and techniques from its corporate side, there's no end to what you can discover in this institute. And before long, people will be purchasing your pieces when shopping in Paris!
Though their New York campus is the most famous, the Parsons School of Design in Paris is just as noteworthy. Here, it's practically all about the design. This school will train you on how to properly go about the fashion design process, from how you illustrate your sketch, choosing the fabric for your garment, how to properly cut it up, draping it, and sewing the finished product. The craft is so intricate and complex that this one institution is solely devoted to it.
Finally, this list won't be complete without Studio Bercot. Very quintessentially French, some of today's finest Parisian designers graduated from here. They include Isabel Marant, Martine Sitbon, and Sophie Theallet, among many others. The ace of this school is arguably its treasure trove of connections, some within the highest places of the fashion industry. The mentors you'll get here will likely be the cream of the crop, possibly even the designers previously mentioned!
Sometimes, in order to make it big in Paris, you have to study in Paris, particularly when it comes to fashion. The French capital is the capital of fashion too, so what better city to learn more about the clothing industry than it's most prominent home?