"This summer, I attended the Arts of Fashion Foundation Summer Masterclass in Paris, France (http://arts-of-fashion.org/). Our class was held in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs which is in the Louvre! Through this program, I had many AMAZING opportunities! I will put them in list form for easier reading.
1. I got to visit Les Ateliers Lognon (http://www.lesateliersgerardlognon.com/) which is one of the oldest pleating houses in the world. They do literally every pleat imaginable and work for many of the high end fashion designers as well as students and anyone else looking for intricately pleated fabrics. While we were at the atelier, we were able to see Monsieur Lognon pleat a fabric used in the Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall 2011 Show which took place 1 week after our visit (see photo)! Each student was also able to have fabrics pleated by him to use in our projects (see pleated fabric on my gray dress). It was amazing!
2. I was able to visit the actual work studio of Yves Saint Laurent and they had it set up almost exactly like he left it, with fabrics, sketches, and half-made garments on display! We got to look through the YSL archives as well (all of his sketches), which was incredible; they filled up an entire room! Oh, and we also got to see an exhibition of 70ish YSL looks!
3. I attended the pre-opening of the Hussein Chalayan (husseinchalayan.com) exhibit at the Louvre, and while we were there, the designer himself showed up! (Yes, I did stalk him around a bit...haha) On a side note, our final exhibition took place in a room that was overlooked by the Chalayan exhibit so it was almost like we were part of his show!
4. We went to the Jean-Charles de Castelbajac shop (http://jc-de-castelbajac.com/) where we got to actually speak to him. He gave us insider information to the future plans for his company and offered us some pretty great industry advice as well!
5. I got to go to a party hosted by Rick Owens (http://rickowens.eu/). It was the most amazing and crazy party I have ever been too! Models, designers, photographers, and hopefuls (like me!) were there! Oh, and Rick Owens was there (obviously)!!
6. On one weekend, we took a trip to nearby Arnhem, Netherlands and Antwerp, Belgium. In Arnhem, we went to the Mode Biennale which was basically a whole bunch of fashion exhibits all over the city! In Antwerp, we also saw a couple exhibitions and we also went to the shops of the Antwerp 6!
7. I saw the Madame Gres exhibit, where all of her amazing pleating was on display! If you are interested in pleated dresses, you should definitely look her up.
8. We took a trip to LeSage (http://www.lesage-paris.com/), which is a very old company that does the hand embroidery of all the biggest, most well-known couture designers! It was fantastic. I was able to handle fabrics that were embroidered over 100 years ago and we got to see the embroiderers at work, sewing things that will be coming out in couture collections very soon! We also got to see the stock rooms which contain over 80,000 kinds of bead and thread (every possible combination you can imagine!).
9. We learned how to use a real person to make a bust form! Our job was to go out on the street and each bring back a boy to wrap in plastic and tape! That was an adventure in itself! :) I found a nice Dutch boy (see picture).
10. We went to Versailles for a show which displayed modern couture garments influenced by the 18th century!
11. In class, I was able to work with upcoming designers Jasper Sinchai-Chaprajong, Lucille Puton, and Christine Phung. Through them, I also met many other people who are new to the industry and did some networking! I also met 11 other young designers like myself and created some lasting friendships!
12. We received two illustration lessons from illustrator Aurore de la Morinerie, who has illustrated for huge designers like Chanel!
13. My work was on display in the Musee in the Louvre in Paris, and will also be on display in San Francisco at the end of October.
14. And of course, I got to explore Paris!
I know there are more things we did that I can't even remember right now because I am too excited to even write anymore! I had a hard time choosing pictures to send so I didn't choose any from the trips (I took almost 2000)! It was an incredible summer. If anyone wants more information about the program, feel free to contact me at danielle_leja@fitnyc.edu. I know I probably sound really corny but the trip was really unbelievable and I would like to help anyone out who might be interested in going in the future!"
