Summer Fashion / Arts & Design Courses in Paris, France

Paris American Academy:
Founded in 1965, Paris American Academy is an accredited arts & design school located less than a kilometer from Notre-Dame Cathedral in the famous Latin Quarter of Paris. We offer intensive summer programs in the subjects of fashion, interior design, fine arts and creative writing. Our summer courses last for four weeks and are all taught in English. A Survival French course is included in each program.

4-week Fashion Summer Workshop:
Each student will participate in the core program - Essentials of French Fashion. They will also choose one of the following specializations: Design Process, Couture Techniques or Fashion Merchandising & Communication.

Core Program : Essentials of French Fashion:
A core component of activities that provides an overview of the French Fashion Industry and lays the foundation for each specialization.

Subject areas: Haute Couture Fashion Shows, Haute Couture Sewing Techniques, Haute Couture Draping Techniques, Trend Forecasting, Historical presentation on the Evolution of Fashion, Who’s Who in European Fashion, Collection Development, Millinery overview, Textile Design.

SPECIALIZATION: Design Process:
Student Profile: Up to 2 years of study or experience in fashion design including pattern making, sewing and drawing. Students should have a basic knowledge of the fashion industry.

Subject areas:
Retail Product Development, Textile Design Project, Draping and Couture Sewing Project, Millinery workshop (hat making)

Focus Area Overview:
Design Process participants will interact with industry professionals in the Essentials of French Fashion core, exploring components of Fashion Design and retail product development.

By the end of the workshop, Design Process students will have a good understanding of the luxury retail industry, and will have developed a portfolio with a trend board, sketches of original designs, and a product development trend power point.

Textile design techniques included in this session are appliqué, shibori, and nuno felting, used in the creation of an original textile design on a silk scarf and an accessory with appliqué.


SPECIALIZATION: Couture Techniques:

Student Profile: At least 2 years of study or experience in fashion design including pattern-making, sewing and drawing.

Subject areas: Textile Design Project , Draping Workshop, Draping and Couture Sewing Workshop and Project, Millinery (hat making) development

Focus Area Overview:
Couture Techniques participants will build on the interaction with industry professionals in the Essentials of French Fashion core, focusing on couture fashion design techniques with an in-depth application.

At the end of the workshop, Couture technique students will have developed a portfolio of original designs. They will have learned textile design techniques: appliqué, shibori, and nuno felting.

Based on these techniques, participants create yardage of original textile design. In addition, they will create a draped bustier inspired by the Mme. Grès haute couture method.


SPECIALIZATION : Fashion Merchandising & Communication:

Student Profile: Basic English composition and fashion industry knowledge

Subject areas: Fashion Reporting, Styling, Boutique Design Project, Textile Design Project, Global Retailing & Marketing

Focus Area Overview:
Fashion Merchandising and Communication participants will build on the interaction with industry professionals in the Essentials of French Fashion core, focusing on the European fashion market.

At the end of the workshop, participants will have a portfolio of articles for publication, press releases, and power point presentations reflecting experiences gained through a series of lectures and on-site visits, guided by professors and guest lecturers who are practicing industry professionals.

They will have experienced a “hands on” textile design technique: shibori and or nuno felting which they will apply to create an original textile design on a silk scarf.


4-week Interior Design Summer Workshop:
The intensive Interior Design Summer Workshop provides all participants with hands-on studio participation in Interior Design and Design Techniques while preparing for an end of program presentation of works accomplished.

Interior Design:
This course presents a practical and “hands-on” approach to the interior design profession. The course introduces the student to space planning, furnishings, color development, and materials selection.

Lectures with slide, video and Power Point presentations are enhanced with visits to Parisian architecture, historical and contemporary sites, furniture, and fabric stores. Individual or special interest designs presented in interior design studio problems and solutions.

Teaching Methods: Lectures, visits, practical workshop classes with intensive, individual attention. Personal and group critiques.

Design Techniques:
This compact course deals with representational techniques including technical drawing, one-and two-point perspectives, rendering the elements of interior spaces, as a tool for the graphic representation of interior spaces.

This course teaches students to personalize their own methodology by experiencing different techniques of visualization and 3D models.

Through the Product Design students utilize presentation techniques with maquettes / scale models. A good designer should not only have new ideas but also be able to represent them in the most appropriate way.

Teaching Methods: Lectures, slides, practical examples and classes with individual attention to students projects.

4-week Fine Arts Summer Workshop:
The intensive Fine Arts Summer Workshop provides all participants with hands-on studio participation in Painting and Drawing - Paris Sketchbook while preparing for an end-of-program presentation of works accomplished.

Painting:
While exploring painting techniques, this course teaches students how to work on an individual project based on their experience in Paris, forming individual painting projects according to levels and complexities.

Paris Sketchbook:
This course consists of gathering research from Paris in the traditional form of sketching from the works in the museums, streets, and environments of Paris as artists have done for centuries.

This includes working from architecture, sculptures, paintings, formal gardens, as well as drawing from life in the streets and markets. In addition, studio sessions will draw from a life model.

4-week Creative Writing Summer Workshop:
Join select students and professional writers for a month-long creative writing workshop. College credit is available for this hands-on English-language writing program, with intensive workshops that include instruction in: Fiction; Poetry; Travel Writing; Memoir; Screenplays and dramatic writing; Literary journalism; Journal Writing; Presentation and Performance.

In addition to taking classes and amassing writing portfolios, students will participate in one-on-one critiques with professional writers, give readings in Parisian bookshops, and receive "survival" French lessons. Between classes and tutorials, there will be ample time to experience the city, attend cultural events, visit museums, learn history, take day-trips to the countryside, read books, hang out in cafes, dance by the Seine, and make friends from around the world.

Creative Writing Courses:

Creative Nonfiction Workshop:
Travel writer Rolf Potts will lend a professional touch to this workshop, which delves into the essence of nonfiction storytelling.

Since the Paris setting is ripe for place-based narrative, travel writing will be a central aspect of this workshop — but students will also be encouraged to explore the art of memoir, as well as the ins and outs of literary journalism.

Though this class primarily aims to sharpen and evolve writers' instincts for constructing narratives, it will also touch on the practical matters of working with agents and editors, and submitting stories for publication.

Potts will give one-on-one guidance for each student's work, and final portfolios will include one polished nonfiction story to be submitted for publication.

Literary Fictions Workshop:
Under the direction of novelist, short-story writer, poet and playwright John Biguenet, this workshop will offer students an opportunity to write short fiction and poetry, as well as dramatic scripts for the stage and screen.

Examining the student's own writing alongside published works, the workshop will present instruction in the essential elements of literary forms while providing each participant a community of readers to respond to his or her work.

In addition, each student will meet with Biguenet for individual conferences to develop a project for the final portfolio and for submission for publication. The fundamentals of publishing will also be addressed along with other aspects of succeeding as a professional writer.

Elective Classes:

Presentation And Performance:
The drama of the spoken word is the focal point of this one-time seminar, taught collectively by John Biguenet, Rolf Potts, and Lauren Grodstein. Regardless of the form they wish to explore, writers will learn how to enhance the dramatic potential of their work through readings in the workshop.

Writers will grasp how their presentation appears and sounds to others; and why it is essential for publication that a work possess its own voice once removed from the actual writer.

The Paris Notebook (Journal Writing):
Guided by novelist Lauren Grodstein, students will keep a notebook throughout the course, working in a variety of modes of journal writing.

This notebook will become a source for more finished pieces — poems, short travel, etc. — in the other courses. Writing assignments will be coordinated with readings and with excursions in and around Paris.

Each 4-week summer program includes:
• Welcome buffet lunch
• Introduction to the Latin Quarter
• Scheduled program of instruction
• Survival French language course
• Entrance fees to scheduled museum visits
• Paris city tour by motor-coach
• Farewell buffet dinner

Intensive English Language Course (4-weeks / 80 hours):
The English Language Institute at Paris American Academy (ELI PAA) offers a 4-week English course to international students and native French students at elementary English to advanced English levels.

The course is designed to help students to improve their English language skills and to prepare them for further studies at Paris American Academy, English-speaking universities, colleges or business schools in Paris, France and throughout Europe.

The course includes Academic English, TOEFL exam preparation, an introduction to everyday Business English vocabulary, and more. All textbooks and materials are provided. The course is available year-round with flexible start dates. You can study for just one 4-week term or stay longer.

Certification:
When you successfully complete the 4-week English course, you will receive a Certificate in English Language indicating the highest level you achieved. 

For further information on our intensive summer workshops in Paris, please contact us quickly via our Contact Page.