I go to Paris American Academy which is a small design school in Paris that specializes in Haute Couture Fashion. They keep me very busy with about 6 hours of classes each day. Here is a breakdown of my classes and what I've been learning while in Paris!
Monday
I start my Mondays at 9am with History of Haute Couture until 10:30. In this class we learn about all the designers that influence Haute Couture throughout Paris history. After this class we have Draping until 6 with a lunch break from 1-2. In Draping we have been learning some basic draping techniques. We started by draping a jacket with a basic collar and are now onto another jacket with a side panel. My draping teacher only speaks French so we have a translator that comes on Mondays to help us out. I have no idea what we would do without her. Along with draping we also have a class dedicated to Design Process. Throughout the semester we are working on a project to create a design line. For this design line we will be illustrating a full line and physically creating one look. Along with this we will present our work (inspiration, illustrations, fabric swatches etc.) in a physical portfolio. Our inspiration for the line is the artist Simone Pheulpin. We do work mainly outside of class throughout the week and show our teacher and get his feedback on Mondays. Later, we will work on draping and creating a piece from this collection during class. Not only does this day drag on a little because it's Monday, but it's also my longest class.
Tuesday
Tuesdays are our relaxed day. I only have French in the morning from 9-11. I took French in high school so right now it's a great refresher of what I learned before and totally forgot. We have the afternoons off which is a great time to explore Paris, get some homework done, or go grocery shopping.
Wednesday
On Wednesday I have class from 9-4. I have Costume Making/Patternmaking/Textiles today. Confusing right? There is one teacher who teaches all of these classes so she kinda picks what she wants to focus on. So far we have been focusing on Costume Making. We are making dresses for the 1950s. To make these dresses we use patternmaking techniques so those classes are sort of blended. Every now and then she will have us do some work with textiles. This means creating different textiles on fabrics. So far we have been learning different embroidery stitches. This has been very fun for me because I have always wanted to teach myself embroidery but have never gotten around to it. The dress I'm making for the 50s is a pink dress inspired by one worn by Audrey Hepburn.
Thursday
Thursdays are very similar to Wednesday. We have the same teacher and we work on our costume dresses most of the day. Pretty much every week however, we have Illustrations for half of the day on Thursday. It changes every week if I have it in the morning or the afternoon which again shows (as stated in my previous post) how I need to go with the flow while in Paris. For Illustrations we have a project to create a modern line inspired by a time period in Paris. I chose the baroque style from the 1600s. I have always loved baroque music, architecture, and art so I'm very excited to bring these elements into my designs. Also many of the buildings in Paris (Versailles, Luxembourg Palace, Val-de-Grace etc.) were made during this period.
Friday
Today we get to start class a little later at 10. The downside is that we get out an hour later too :( Our focus in class is on Haute Couture techniques. We are currently working on creating a Balenciaga blouse. In order for this to be haute couture there are certain methods and techniques used to mark, cut and sew the garment. The biggest thing is that everything is done by hand. This takes a lot of precision and a LOT time. This class (like Monday) is taught in all French so we have a translator again. After we are done with the blouse (I'm almost done Yay!) we are going to make smaller samples to learn various couture techniques. I really enjoy this class because it is teaching me techniques that I can't really learn in the United States since Haute Couture is only in Paris. I have definitely already improved my hand sewing skills a ton!
With school we also have trips to various museums and can get in some major Paris museums for free. We have class trips to Versailles, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, and the Museum of Decorative Arts. I love being super busy while in Paris and I'm learning a ton of amazing techniques that I can bring back and use in my work at Iowa State!