During Paris Fashion Week, experience an exclusive look at the art of style in the French capital with Parsons School of Design lecturer Jessica Glasscock, a fashion historian and author whose research shaped exhibitions at The Met’s Costume Institute.
From Sketchbook to Runway: Tracing Fashion’s Cultural Story
In Paris’s storied ateliers, designers translate artistic visions into modern identity. Silk and wool, embroidery and beading, feathers and stones capture our contemporary moment, just as Renaissance painters captured biblical scenes in oils and sculptors rendered Greek myths in marble. Join Jessica, a fashion historian whose research shaped exhibitions at The Met’s Costume Institute—from Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty to Camp: Notes on Fashion—as she guides you through museums, workshops, and fashion presentations during Paris Fashion Week.
Highlights
- Join fashion historian Jessica Glasscock for a behind-the-scenes Paris fashion experience that delves into centuries of artistry underpinning the world’s style capital
- Attend an exclusive Paris Fashion Week runway presentation, where the future of design takes center stage at one of the world’s premier fashion events
- Tour the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa with its chief curator, exploring works by the Tunisian-born sculptor-turned-fashion designer whose form-fitting garments have adorned figures from Michelle Obama to Lady Gaga
- Enjoy a private morning visit to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, where curators will reveal how religious imagery and classical design have shaped French fashion over four centuries
- Discover the world’s finest Impressionist collection at the Musée d’Orsay during a curator-led tour, uncovering how painters like Monet and Degas captured the evolution of 19th-century fashion
- Go behind the scenes at the costume workshops of the Palais Garnier Opera House, meeting artisans who craft spectacular theatrical garments using centuries-old techniques
- Marvel at the Palais Galliera’s extensive collection of historic garments—featuring rare pieces worn by figures such as Marie Antoinette and Audrey Hepburn—on an exclusive curator-led tour
- Witness haute couture craftsmanship firsthand at Le 19M, Chanel’s state-of-the-art center housing 11 master ateliers where artisans preserve traditional techniques integral to high fashion
