Foluwa Desalu is a fourth-year honors fellow from Shreveport, Louisiana, studying marketing as well as apparel merchandising and product development. Throughout a four-week summer intensive program in Paris, she had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in luxury fashion and gain valuable insight into her prospective field.
After the creation of our felt hats, we had to pitch a photoshoot idea to magazine editor Anna Barr. Here is my product pitch!
I chose this program because I was always determined to study abroad in France during my college career. With setbacks from COVID, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to study abroad my last summer as an undergraduate student. As someone who has always taken an extreme interest in fashion, I decided it would be best to study it in one of the world’s fashion capitals. This program helped advance my academic and professional goals by giving me different opportunities to discover what I love in the fashion industry.
Before this program, I was never exposed to what it was like to work in luxury fashion. Afterwards, I realized working in the industry is my ultimate end goal. While some of my classes were lecture-based, some classes were more hands-on. During my program, I learned how to make a felt hat, Shibori scarves and how to successfully execute a marketing pitch. My instructors had real-life experience in numerous parts of the fashion industry. One instructor worked for Yves Saint Laurent and Dior, another instructor is the global content editor for a well-known magazine, and another instructor was a hat maker for Jean Paul Gaultier. Being immersed in an environment with instructors who have real-life experiences made the classes intriguing. These classes differed from those at the U of A, as they were more focused on the modern form of working in the business side of the fashion industry. I learned how to make mood boards and pitches using applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Canvas. Using these programs makes me feel more confident applying for different internships and jobs, as I now believe I have received adequate exposure to the type of work that interests me.
Creating a mood board for class
I was also able to dive into Parisian culture outside of class. From a multitude of museums to learning the ways of the metro and bus system, it was not difficult to feel like I had been living in Paris for longer than a month. One weekend, my program took us to Versailles, and it was truly breathtaking. I still cannot wrap my head around how Versailles was built in the 1600s and how it is still properly maintained today. Another weekend, I took the train to London. I loved being able to quickly travel to another country just by train. My favorite part of the program was the first week, as we were given the opportunity to work backstage for Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week. This attracted celebrities such as Julia Fox, Bella Hadid and Kim Kardashian. At the shows, we helped dressed the models for the runway, met the designers, and we were able to watch the shows. I would have never thought that I would work during Fashion Week in Paris, and it is an experience I will never forget.
My program was an extremely intensive, four-week one. We only had one completely free weekend where optional excursions were not offered and there were no classes. Most times, classes would start at around 9 or 10 am, and we would get out anywhere between 4 and 6 in the afternoon. I would recommend this program to students who are extremely passionate about fashion. The curriculum you learn is something that you cannot learn anywhere else. If students wish to explore other parts of Europe while they are there, I recommend coming a week before the program or staying a week after. I wish I knew this beforehand, as it was way too expensive to change my flight dates while I was in Paris. I would recommend researching the culture of the city you will be studying abroad in as well. In France, it is considered rude to walk into an establishment without saying “bonjour.” In popular tourist destinations, a lot of people speak English, which is a common language for all tourists. Even though I am nowhere fluent in French, it was helpful to have a bit of background on the language in some situations.
Some fashion sketches I saw on my trip to the Schiaparelli Museum in Paris
When I return home, the first thing I will be doing is ordering an iced coffee. Ice is not common in Europe, along with air conditioning. Even places that have air conditioning do not use it like we do in the U.S. While I was abroad, I experienced an extreme heatwave. Temperatures reached up to 105º Fahrenheit, and it was definitely a challenge to endure while having no air conditioning. I will also be going to my favorite fast-food restaurant, Chick-fil-A. There were a few fast-food restaurants in Paris such as McDonald’s and Burger King, but there were no drive-thru options. While taking public transportation was part of the experience, I am excited to be able to drive my car again.