Paris Fashion Institute hosts three separate seminars, each consisting of an intensive four-week program. These seminars are held during January, June and September. All classes are taught in English.

Qualified candidates are chosen from all corners of the globe. Many students come to us who are currently enrolled in fashion design or merchandising/marketing programs.  Others come after having entered the marketplace in totally different career paths only to realize their true passion is in the field of fashion.

The Paris Fashion Institute acts as a hands-on guide for a professional living textbook of fashion creation, history and marketing, it utilizes the enormous range of assets available in Paris, the fashion capital of the world.

Students are taken beyond the surface glamour and exposed to the day-to-day workings of the industry.  From an honest, generous and open vantage point the doors into this exciting and intoxicating world are thrown open to the student, with field trips to venues which reveal a multitude of possibilities pertinent to the fashion industry amongst the studios, couture houses, designer showrooms, textile mills and press offices.

Haute couture was born in Paris, but surprisingly its founder was an Englishman, Charles Frederick Worth. Paris is, and always has been, a magnet for talent. Exciting examples of foreigners working in both couture and ready-to-wear include the Englishman, John Galliano for the House of Dior, and Israeli, Alber Elbaz for the House of Lanvin. Other notable foreign designers show their collections in Paris as a unique showcase for their clothing and products.

The Paris Fashion Institute was established in l976, utilizing the special opportunities to fully explore the creative process that only Paris offers.  It is the only school offering both fashion design and marketing/merchandising disciplines as a joint entity.

Above left: the gardens of Versailles; above: Hermès; left: a couture ensemble from Yves Saint Laurent.