Mod’Art International: Let’s hear from the teachers (II)

Now that the prestigious Parsons School from New York has just opened its doors in Paris, there are more fashion schools than ever in the capital. It’s time to hear from the teachers, who are mainly designers and professionals working in the

fashion industry. Here are five original portraits of five establishments.

After visiting Esmod Paris, small-scale school Mod’Art International was next on the list. There, the teaching intensively tracks developments in the sector and technical aspects rub shoulders with management. We look at the course run by Christian Poulot who talks about communication in all its forms. At a time when the image predominates, he is looking at expanding the horizons. A specialist in stage costume, Christian Poulot created the blog “Le Modalogue”, and with his “Fashion Portraits” is also a well-known illustrator. Let’s meet him.

FashionUnited: How did you become involved in teaching and what is your role at Mod’Art Paris?
Christian Poulot: With this term, I am in the eighth year of teaching at Mod’Art. When I first started, I taught a cross-disciplinary course in communication. At the time, the subject was in its infancy. My aim was to widen the scope of fashion creation. The course is entitled “Digital creation and visual communication”, spread over the three years of teaching. It involves giving tools to the students concerning brand image and visual aspects in their field of creation and becoming conversant with social networks. I also teach the same subjects at the Institut Français de la Mode [French Fashion Institute]. Overall, I teach roughly twenty hours a week.

Is it a new thing to discuss communication in fashion teaching?
Eight years ago, the term “communication” was not really used in fashion schools. Contrary to Anglo-Saxon countries, where schools have been using pagination software for over ten years to create their newsletters, in France the field of the fashion creator has only been extended to include communication in the last few years. There is the same gap nowadays between Fashion Week in New York and in Paris, where the former has a gigantic amount of media coverage on the Internet, in contrary to the latter. We still have some ways to go in communication technology.

What is the student intake? What are your thoughts on this?
My aim is to make communication an integral part of the curriculum at Mod’Art. Nowadays, you can’t get away from it. We live in a world that is swimming in a hysterical sea of photos. We have to learn how to deal with it. Also, I introduce my course by talking about Hedi Slimane, who exercises control over the entire visual impact of a brand in order to control it more effectively, just as Tom Ford did before him! In a major industry like the fashion industry, we must be aware of the power of communication and the highly competitive nature of the sector. We have to know how to promote dialogue that can differentiate, that covers the brand logo, the choice of model and the Facebook-page. Students like this course and the exchanges it engenders. Also, the creation of my blog Le Modalogue came from this. It’s a medium that enhances my interaction with them. The name is a portmanteau word made up of the words “mode” [fashion] and “dialogue”. I use it to weave my professional work into my work at Mod’Art.

Is it important to have links with the fashion industry when teaching?
Absolutely! The link between the two is inseparable. At Mod’Art, it is even an essential condition of the teaching. We are professionals first and foremost and we are there to share our experience. The students must become immersed in reality, day in day out. I am even sometimes a wet blanket, because I am continually telling them that there is not only style in fashion and want them to discover other professions.

Do you think the curricula of fashion schools still have some way to go?
I think it would be good to get rid of the pyramid organisation that goes from the teacher down to the student. We are there to teach, but the students also contribute a great deal. They have an enormous window onto the wide world and access to a continuous stream of information and I think it's good to have some humility towards them. I also think there is too much linear teaching. It should be more modular and there should be a greater choice of modules. More things should be made communal. Don’t forget that we are now in the Sharing economy!

What do you think about fashion schools nowadays; did you attend one?
I’m a graduate of Esmod Paris in Stage Costume Designing and Modeling and I was trained in model casting [i.e. making casts, moulds] at the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. I find that nowadays fashion schools are a long way from doing everything. At Mod’Art, our organisation is diverse and on a human scale and wants to remain so. There is a family atmosphere. This is important as many schools forget that fashion is primarily about passion and the majority of them seem to put business before passion.

Céline Vautard

Photos: Self portrait of Christian Poulot
Mod’Art International course work and working rooms