Fashion in Paris

Through strong personal, visual, communicative and sometimes funny stories the student takes a deep dive into the heart of “Storytelling” and explore how social and cultural transformations reshaped the way people look at fashion today.

Course content
1. Designers as Communicators
They were first: “Couturiers” then “Createurs” and now “Directeur Artistiques”, this course
delves deep into the evolution of the role of designers throughout the last decades.
We will look at how Karl Lagerfeld created his own myth, Tom Ford made “Porno Chic” the
new fashion language and excelled at controlling the narrative but we will also look at the new
generation and Virgil Abloh and how he broke free from preconceived boundaries and created
intercultural communication and became a youth culture community maker.

2. From Backstage to Front of House - a 360-degree communication and PR strategy
The fashion show is the first opportunity for brands and designers to tell their audiences about
who they are and reinforce the themes and stories behind their collections. This course breaks down and analyzes how they set the blueprint for the whole season and permeates throughout each department from the RTW, Shoes, Accessories, Perfumes, Window displays, In Store displays, Communication tools etc. Fittings, previews, front of house, step and repeat, backstage, frow, first looks, re-sees; we will delve deep into a PRs fashion lexicon.

3. The Best Fashion Shows – A Quick Look into the Evolution of Fashion Shows and Their Role
This course will decrypt how a fashion show is above all a societal tool and the best way for a
designer to communicate their creative vision. Delving into the very first Haute Couture
presentations, the roaring golden eighties, the more minimalistic approach of the Antwerp 6
and the Japanese designers and all the way up to the more recent digital experiences, we will
ask ourselves how, throughout the decades, fashion shows have brought new ways to the art
of communication. We will discover controversial, innovative, and pivotal shows and explain how they resonated in the fashion world.

4. A Post Covid Analysis
The upheaval of Covid19 presented an opportunity to chart a new course, obliging brands to
rethink their communication tools. This course dissects the effects of the pandemic on brand
identity, customer experience and digital interaction by presenting and analyzing the new
formats which helped to impose more social and engaging experiences, accelerating fashion’s
digital transformation.

5. The history fashion and digital interaction – how the internet changed the face of fashion
The arrival the internet, cell phones and finally 2.0 with the rise of social media literally
transformed communication practices and possibilities. Communication became a multi-
disciplinary tool which enabled to remove all barriers. We will look at how Social Media became
a means to help companies build their brand and how it accelerated the merchandization of
fashion.

6. An Introduction to Sustainability to how to reconceptualize the notion of value
We will address a synthetic overview of what sustainability really stands for and try to clarify
and raise the students’ awareness to the issues related to sustainability and fashion in order
to create a broader conversation and help bring a clear vision of sustainability in a conversation
full of disparate point of views.

7. Sustainability : The Good Players
Through specific case studies we will take a close look into the Pioneers, the Forerunners, the
Avant-garde and the Innovators in order to understand the evolution of sustainability throughout the last decades. We will also analyze how Alessandro Michele at Gucci is exploring new boundaries and pushing customers to change the way they embrace fashion.

Course leader

Li ZHENG
l.zheng@groupe-edh.com

Target group

Any student who is interested in fashion and communication

Course aim

Understand the cultural and historical significance of fashion
Explain the art of storytelling
Study the principles of branding
Explore the evolving communication tools
Understand the changing communication landscape
Understand the importance of sustainability in fashion
Develop analytical skills

Credits info

6 EC
- 6 ECTS for 3 US Credits or 2 weeks program
- 12 ECTS for 6 US Credits or 4 weeks program

Fee info

EUR 1200: - 1200 euros (2 weeks program / 6 ECTS)
- Optional Housing (single room) : 600 euros for 2 weeks
EUR 2000: - 2000 euros (4 weeks program / 12 ECTS)
- Optional Housing (single room) : 1200 euros for 4 weeks

Scholarships

Information about scholarship will be published around 15th April 2023