Program Overview
The goal of this course is to explore fashion from both historic and contemporary perspectives: Travel to London and Paris will facilitate direct understanding of the globalized fashion industry through observation, analysis, and synthesis of the roles of these cities within the fashion system. London continues to be an incubator of innovative apparel design and in retail. Paris, the historic home of couture, is the crucible of luxury trades and consumption. The course will focus on the characteristics of environments fostering fashion change, the relationship between fashion and the arts on an historical arc, and the relevance of cultural projects (architectural spaces, art exhibitions, and events) to the fashion system.

Highlights
Field visits to museums, studios, retail establishments, historic sites, and design incubation sectors of London and Paris.
Urban districts and retail environments to be visited include: Paris: Colette, Champs Elysée, Bon Marché, Galeries Lafayette, Printemps, and the Arcades. London: Shoreditch, Oxford Street, Dover St Market, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Liberty of London, the Burlington Arcades, and the Petticoat Lane and Camden Markets.
Museums: London: Tate Modern, V&A, British Museum. Paris: The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay (art nouveau exhibition), Musée Petit Palais (Yves Saint Laurent exhibition)
Studios: London: CA4LA (Japanese hat makers), Black Truffle (shoe makers), Zhandra Rhodes’ museum and studio.

Faculty
Dr. Abby Lillethun, Associate Professor in the Art & Design Department at Montclair State University, will be the faculty for this course. She has taken students to London and Paris twice before. Her research interests include the geography of fashion, or the process of fashion change in relation to localized culture.

Academic Requirements
All students register for the following:
ARGS 260-07: Fashion Studies Abroad
The course will meet for seminars prior to the trip as preparation for the site visits. Students will read texts providing background on the characteristics of environments fostering fashion change, scholarship on retail and environments, on the relationship between fashion and art on a historical arc, and in preparation for the museum exhibitions. Quizzes on the urban districts and fashionable spaces, key architectural settings, and the fashion process in these cities will take place before travel during the seminar classroom periods.  After travel each student is required to write a 5–8 page paper a fashion exhibition experienced during the travel portion. The paper will include background research on the exhibition topic, analysis of the topic in relation to the retail process, and both a critical response and a personal response to the exhibition. Prerequisites for the course are ARTX 122 and ARTX 220.

Accommodations and Meals
Participants will stay in a centrally located London and Paris hotels in double occupancy rooms with private bath. Breakfasts are included throughout.

Estimated Program Cost: $2,600
The program cost includes:

• Roundtrip airfare
• 3 star hostel hotel with continental breakfast
• Transfers in England and France
• Chunnel train fare                 
• All lectures, workshops, and tours
• International student i.d. card
• Local cell phone with virtual US and local numbers

Application Procedure and Payment Schedule:
The minimum GPA considered will be 2.75. All participants are required to have an interview with the faculty leader, Prof. Lillethun. Applications should include one reference form completed by a faculty member other than Prof. Lillethun, plus the $100 non-refundable deposit.
Once accepted into the program, the payment schedule for program costs is as follows:
Non-Refundable Deposit:         $ 100
Deposit by Nov. 16:                 $ 900
Deposit by Dec. 15:                 $ 800
Final Payment by Feb.1:          $ 800 (final amount to be confirmed)
Make checks payable to “Montclair State University.”

For further information:
Contact the Global Education Center at 973-655-4185 or email simonW@mail.montclair.edu.
Contact Abby Lillethun at 973-763-5713, or lillethunA@mail.montclair.edu.