Bachelor Visual Merchandising
Course Summary School: IFA Paris International Fashion Academy, Paris & Shangai
Location: France, Paris
Education: Diploma
Have you ever passed by the window displays of Selfridges, Bloomingdales or Printemps and stopped on your track as you admired their design? At the opposite of the spectrum, have you ever wondered what is this instinct that urges you to push the opaque fiber glass doors of the Comme des Garcons flagship store in Rue du Faubourg St. Honore in Paris? Whether we are astounded by their complexity or our curiosity or intrigued by their apparent simplicity, stores that achieve to make customers « pop in » to take a look are the ones that have mastered the art of visual merchandising.
Visual merchandising is a highly ultilized platform applied by brands to promote a visual concept to its customers. Visual merchandisers are highly sought after, as they develop visual strategies and promote products, services in store and in catalogs, to excite and engage. This first point of contact is also known as silent selling.
Too often reduced to window dressing, visual merchandising is a much more complex function of retail as it entails not only props or external decor in general but also interior architecture. The specific path that we follow within a store without even realizing it, the light intensity that varies according to the day or the impulse buying products strategically placed right next to the cashier are as many elements that participate to the achievement of the visual merchandiser’s ultimate goal: maximize the sales volume per available retailing square meter.
As part of its philosophy to provide students that the most up to date and industry relevant academic programs, IFA Paris has crafted a unique Bachelor in Visual Merchandising in collaboration with its Florentine academic partner: Accademia Italiana.
Following the principle of campus rotations that IFA Paris has pioneered, students enrolled in the Bachelor in Visual Merchandising will have the possibility to follow their course in 2 locations: Florence and Paris. Being three important centers for the fashion industry those three cities will provide our students different but complementary perspectives that will allow them to think outside the box.
The 3 years structuring the course correspond to the 3 levels identified within the Higher Education Framework. The course is constructed in compliance with the Bologna Convention principles and grants participants, upon completion, a total of 180 ECTS (60 ECTS per year).
Admission requirements:
- 18 years old minimum
- High school graduate or equivalence
- IELTS 5.5 or TOEFL IBT 65 (or equivalence) or proof of study in English, for non-native English speakers
- Strong motivation in Fashion
- Interview (on campus or Skype)
Documents to provide:
- Fill in the online application form
- Latest high school transcript
- Copy of High school diploma or its equivalence
- Motivation letter
- Resume/CV
- Passport photo
- Copy of passport
First Year:
Under the framework of Higher Education the first year corresponds to a HE Level 4. Students are following core modules in order to discover the universe of fashion business. They will acquire basic skills in marketing, communication, market research, human resources and accounting in order to lay the pedagogical foundation of their learning curve.
The first year is also common with the Bachelor of Fashion Marketing and the Bachelor of Fashion Distribution Management Programs.
The module groupings are built in order to provide a logical progression in the acquisition of core competencies in Marketing, Fashion Design as well as CAD softwares.
Students will have the possibility to elect to start their studies in the IFA Paris campus in Shanghai or Paris.
Second year:
Under the framework of Higher Education the second year corresponds to a HE Level 5. In this stage of their learning experience students are invited to specialize in Visual Merchandising. The focus is put on retail architecture with a perfect blend between business and creative modules.
The second year will be done in Florence in the campus of our academic partner Accademia Italiana. This level has been specifically designed to introduce our students to the principles of interior design as applied to a retail space. The modules offered will cover design principles of architecture before progressing to practical projects related to the creation of shop mock-ups.
Third year:
Under the framework of Higher Education the third year corresponds to a HE Level 6. In the final process of their learning experience students will mobilize all the transferrable skills previously acquired in order to overcome challenges posed by the development of their own personal project. Students electing the Visual Merchandising specialization will be required to produce a Visual Retail Project based on a real life client brief.
The modules composing this level are workshops that are structured in order to provide support to the students in building their integrated project. Concurrently they will also need to complete an internship period so as to apply their theoretical knowledge in a practical context.
The 3rd year will be done in our campus in Paris.
Throughout their learning experience our students will be exposed to the latest industry practices thanks to our Career and Alumni Center (CAC) activities. From guest lectures to field trips and exhibitions, all these extra-curricular activities are organized in order to broaden our students’ perspectives and connect them with the realities of the industry they have chosen to work in.
