What happens when Paris becomes your classroom for an entire week?
For students of Ferrari Fashion School’s Master of Arts in Fashion Design & Creative Direction and Master of Arts in Fashion & Luxury Management, the annual Fashion Study Abroad in Paris offers the opportunity to explore one of the world’s fashion capitals from inside the industry.
An integral part of the MA experience, the programme combines exclusive meetings, workshops and visits to ateliers, showrooms, stores and cultural institutions.
From Hermès to Ateliers: Exploring the Fashion Industry in Paris
Guided by fashion designer and lecturer Varun Gupta, students explored the different levels that make up the Paris fashion industry.
The journey began at Hermès, on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, with a guided visit exploring how one of France’s iconic luxury Maisons translates heritage, savoir-faire and creative identity into its retail experience.
Students then met STYLEM, the historic Japanese textile company founded in Osaka in 1864, and visited Tissumarket, a textile space in the historic Le Sentier fashion district specialising in fabrics and deadstock from leading industry companies. At Orslane, they explored garment development and production, from pattern making and prototyping to small-scale production.
Fashion Retail and Buying: Behind the Scenes of Paris Stores
In Le Marais, students explored different approaches to contemporary fashion retail through Dover Street Market Paris, Courrèges, Officine Générale and AMI Paris, observing how architecture, merchandising and brand identity contribute to the customer experience.
At No Mad, the experience moved behind the scenes of an independent multi-brand store. The team shared its buying strategy, explaining how emerging designers are selected and how different brands are presented and positioned within the space.
For Fashion Design and Fashion & Luxury Management students, this was an opportunity to observe the store as a curatorial platform connecting designers, collections and communities.
Savoir-Faire and Circular Fashion: Nona Source and Lesage
At Nona Source in La Caserne, students visited the showroom and discovered its circular model, which gives designers access to high-quality deadstock fabrics and leathers sourced mainly from Maisons within the LVMH Group.
At Lesage, one of the most prestigious names in Parisian embroidery, a personalised guided visit introduced students to Haute Couture embroidery techniques, materials and the atelier’s savoir-faire.
The experience concluded with a Q&A and exclusive access to the archives, featuring work created for Maisons including Chanel and Schiaparelli.
Fashion Entrepreneurship: From Idea to Business with Beyond Form
The programme also renewed the collaboration between Ferrari Fashion School and Beyond Form, a platform dedicated to fashion entrepreneurship and innovation that supports founders in transforming their ideas into sustainable businesses.
During a dedicated workshop, students explored how to move from an idea to a business model, understand the market and build the foundations of a fashion venture.
This entrepreneurial perspective complemented a week dedicated to discovering how fashion is designed, developed, produced, bought and sold.
Fashion Archives in Paris: Understanding the Past to Design the Future
At Palais Galliera, the Fashion Museum of the City of Paris, students visited Fashion in the 18th Century. A Fantasized Legacy, exploring the enduring influence of 18th-century silhouettes, codes and imagery on contemporary fashion and culture.
The programme also included guided visits to Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, located in the designer’s former home and atelier in Le Marais, and La Galerie Dior on Avenue Montaigne.
These experiences offered an insight into how archives and exhibitions preserve and reinterpret the creative legacy of designers and brands.
Beyond Fashion: Experiencing Luxury Culture in Paris
A visit to Maison Albar Hotels introduced students to the world of contemporary five-star hospitality and the creation of customer experiences within the luxury sector.
At Nose Paris, an independent fragrance concept store known for its olfactory diagnosis and selection of niche fragrances, students explored personalisation and luxury retail through the world of perfume.
To experience Paris beyond the day’s scheduled activities, students were also invited to the opening and party of “Invited”, a duo show by Meyabe and Pascal Monfort at Ephemera, for an evening of art, conversations and new connections.
From Haute Couture ateliers to emerging fashion, from fashion entrepreneurship to art and luxury culture, the Fashion Study Abroad in Paris transforms the city into an extension of the Ferrari Fashion School Master’s classroom.
