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SOUL OF FASHION SALON EXPERIENCES 

OBJECTIVES

 

  • Begin the conversation with other participants at the welcome dinner as we cruise the Seine to celebrate Bastille Day, July 14.

  • Explore fashion’s past, present, and future.

  • Visit museums to consider what made fashion resonate in the past.

  • Participate in hands-on workshops to experience why artisanal skills are worth preserving and how they can make fashion soar.

  • Discuss how the fashion environment is changing and how to be part of fashion’s new direction during round tables with fashion industry professionals.

  • Observe and discuss industry responses to new consumer demands and behaviors.

  • Imagine how to marry the best of the current fashion system with the technological possibilities already available and on the horizon.

  • Ideate, process, reflect, and share how new ways of forecasting, designing, making, distributing, and marketing will impact your role in the fashion industry.

VISITS AND ACTIVITIES

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These activities will provide a rich foundation for contemplating the Soul of Fashion. Some will be scheduled into the program and others are available to explore on your own. Additional opportunities for professional activities may be included as they arise.​

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Suggested activities to be organized on your own or in small groups:

Porte de Clignancourt Metro

15 different markets featuring vintage apparel, trims, jewelry, furniture, artwork, carpets, etc. Restaurants and quick eateries.

  • Retail areas

    • Golden Triangle

    • les Grand Magasins

    • Palais Royale,

    • le Marais

    • St. Germain

    • le Sentier

    • Fabric/trim shopping

  • Other Museums and cultural sites that may be visited as desired; not included in the program specifically

    • Musée Rodin: Rodin et Dance

    • Atelier des Lumières: Gustav Klimt - immersive exhibition devoted to the Viennese art scene

    • Musée National du Moyen Âge (was Musée Cluny)

    • Musée d’Orsay

    • Musée du Louvre

    • La Fondation Louis Vuitton

    • Institut du Monde Arabe

    • Centre Georges Pompidou

    • Musée des Arts et Métiers

    • Musée National des Arts Asiatiques –Guimet

    • Musée de l'Homme

    • Grand Musée du Parfum

    • Fragonard's Musée du Parfum

    • Palais de Tokyo

    • Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

    • Chateau de Versailles

    • Monet’s gardens in Giverny

​OUTCOMES

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  • ​Shape a foundation for the development of a personal and/or professional plan for action to enhance the Soul of Fashion.

  • Develop methods/pedagogy/assignments that will build on the discoveries and discussions during the Salon.

  • Outline a concept for research or theory that can be developed into an article for peer reviewed journals.

 

PRE-TRIP PREPARATION​

  • Complete readings

 

TENTATIVE PROGRAM

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Each day there will be one or two shared group experiences, plus time for personal reflection and processing as well as shared dialogue and discussion. The format and options of these three types of activities will vary as will their order in the day. It is our goal to meet the expectations of the group, and with the extensive network of the Paris American Academy, will plan these experiences as closely to the group's expressed wishes.

 

EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE SHARED EXPERIENCES 

  • Spend time at the Trend Union offices with Philip Fimmano, Trend Analyst for Trend Union.

  • Workshops with and/or visits to artisans that work for the haute couture: hats, gloves; umbrellas; handbags or shoes; feather embellishments; embroidery; and/or perfumes. Selection will be scheduled based on participants’ interests and artisan availability.

  • Meet with luxury level designers and industry executives.

  • Experience the Parisian fast fashion district, the Sentier.

  • Experience advanced technology in both the retail and design settings.

  • Blogging/creative writing prompts and exercises

  • Examine fashion sustainability from a European perspective

  • Explore retail resources for fashion, fabrics and notions, and fashion publications

 

PERSONAL REFLECTION

  • Time for personal reflection, processing and exploration might consist of participation in an optional sunrise or sunset yoga class; time to read, write or sketch in Luxembourg Gardens, the Botanical Garden, or Schola Cantorum de Paris; walking the area neighborhoods and next to the Seine or tracing the homes and haunts of historic Paris salon participants.

 

DIALOGUE AND DISCUSSION

  • Dialogue and discussion will help participants access the knowledge and wisdom of others while enhancing personal growth and learning. This pluralistic approach to idea development may take place over a shared meal or with an invited guest. Readings or current events may spark the topic or the group itself may generate a topic of mutual interest.

 

 

 

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