Student review [#86831] for Fashion Design
at IFA Paris – International Fashion Academy

Honest and insightful review of a fashion design & technology student who attended this academy.

Let me start by saying that if I could I would give 0 stars. This has been the worst three academic years of my life and I fully regret it. I would not recommend this place to anyone. The lack of responsibility and lack of respect towards the student is just unimaginable. As stated on the Website it says “…we aim to imprint within our students the values of rigor, elegance, precision and creativity”, this has not been the case at all during my three years course. Diversity is there but this is not necessarily a positive aspect. The age gap and difference between the students in the classroom is very high, I was 21 and placed with people who were ten years older than me, this does not create a positive dynamic ambience within the classroom. This academy is very far from the luxury sector, as wrongly stated on their website.(“teaching them the best methods and practices in the luxury sector in general, and particularly in the fashion sector”). I have not experienced anything near luxury, while attending this academy, quite the opposite.

At the start of my first year of Fashion Design & “Technology” there were four different classes, two in French and two in English, 25 people each. And by the end of the first academic year, the four classes had to be combined into one because most of the students had left, about a third of the student body. This reveals everything you need to know about this academy.

I specifically write “ Technology ” because throughout the whole program I have not experienced nor understood why this is integrated in the title of the Bachelor. We had a short term “technology” class which lasted three months, after that the teacher left and we never picked up that term again. This shows the unseriousness and the lack of responsibility from the school direction towards the students.

-teachers and the academical aspects-
First of all I would like to mention that the teachers are the same ones that you have throughout the three year program such as in Pattern Making (T.W), Sewing (J.G) and Fashion Design (L.P). This place has no pedagogical principles and this is clearly noticeable in the classroom, throughout the whole program, and especially between the student-teachers.

Throughout the whole Bachelor, my creativity was questioned, pulled down and made fun of. It got to the point that the Fashion Design teacher was bullying me in front of my classmates and nothing was done against that, she still works there, to “solve” my situation (caused by IFA) they simply changed the teacher for me but at that teacher was pregnant and not even present in school, this was little to no help at all. The whole Staff such as the Director and the Teachers are very unprofessional when it comes to solving a problem, especially when the problem involves a Bachelor student in her final year of studies. As a student I felt unheard and very unfairly treated with no one to turn to. Here at IFA, you as a Student are discouraged and discarded.

Most teachers in this Bachelor are very unmotivated, uneducated, rude and unhelpful. There is a lack of creativity, engagement and interaction with the students. The atmosphere in the school is also very discouraging and unpleasant. Most classes are very basic, as students we were told to copy the process and not shown how to do the “savoir-faire” nor how to develop our own strategy. If we asked “why” or “how” we were not given a detailed answer, this showed lack of motivation from the teachers towards the students.

In Fashion Design it is crucial to have a teacher to turn to when working on the projects but I can assure you that at IFA you have to teach yourself and work closely with youtube because there is no help from the teachers, and I am talking about personal experience.

There is no communication between the Teachers and the Directors, so teachers just do what they want, this is an inconvenience for the student body.
Poor english skills, no visible effort from the teachers. Several Projects get lost because they are either stolen or misplaced by the teachers. So all of the effort for nothing.

-organization-
It is safe to say that the organization inside the academy is very unprofessional, starting from the admissions process till the graduation process. I was under the impression that it was all over the place, teachers leaving and school “requirements” changing. For example, in the middle of the course, the school wanted 500 Euros from all of the Students to “finance the mannequins”. If these were new Stockman Mannequins it would have been a great investment but the reality was that the mannequins were broken and in very bad shape, also it was supposed to be school property so we would have not been allowed to take the mannequin with us after graduation. In conclusion, 500 Euros would have been lost for us. This made absolutely no sense for anyone in our class, and thankfully, after all the students came together this “idea” was quickly canceled. However, we were faced with these sorts of problems and changes, every now and then. I can assure you that this is not a reliable nor trustworthy aspect.
The evaluation process of absences for each class is very unorganized. During the three years I had an accident and I was walking to class with crutches. I had doctors appointments and certificates about my injury, nevertheless I was asked to come to Paris during the summer to “retake” the course. Me and my family were in utter shock, since I was missing class due to my accident and surgery. They said that there was no other option than traveling to Paris to resolve this problem. I spent 600 Euros for my trip to come to the school, just for them to tell me that they were not aware of my accident. I provided the doctor certificates and the validated absences. This, again, displays the extreme lack of organization and disinterest in the students well-being.

-school equipment-
As a paying fashion design student I assumed that I would have the equipment ready for the three years, which was not the case. First of all, the mannequin has to be shared with other students from other academic years. Second of all, most of them get stolen or are broken. If your work is placed on the mannequin it is not supposed to be tossed away by other students, this shows that there is a lack of material, hence the necessity of “sharing” the equipment.
Additionally, most of the sewing machines are broken and the ironing boards are burned and very used. Keep in mind that this was our “student working space”, and I have to say it was very disgusting to iron the freshly made garments on those ironing boards. Lockers are very tiny, taking into consideration the size of the material that is needed as a Fashion design student.

Apart from that, I can tell you that this school has broken chairs, -mannequins, -ceilings, -floors, and damaged and scratched tables and card boards (also seen on the photo) all over the school, which is impossible for a student to work on, especially for pattern making where you need a clean and neat table. Personal objects such as school material, mannequins or backpacks/personal belongings are very often stolen. You have to label every single pen in order to have your material under control, just like in Kindergarten.

-the place itself-
Do extensive research about this academy, visit the place before you apply.
Learn about the area and especially about the arrondissement because as a fashion design student you will be staying until 7-8pm and that’s when the area turns into a frightening area (not a “vibrant and artistic neighborhood” as mentioned on the website), especially as a female it can get scary leaving the school at night.

There is no security, that means anyone can come into the campus and steal your laptop and nobody would know because there are no cameras (this actually happened to a student in my class, she never found her laptop again) and the code at the entrance does nothing since once the door is open someone can come in and leave again just as easy as that.

-“the cafeteria”-
This is an open space with three microwaves where 100 students warm up their food around the same time, one after the other, the unpleasant smell that is left behind spreads all around the campus.

-hygiene-
The non-existent hygiene is seen throughout the whole campus. The photos that are attached are from the woman’s bathroom. From the Sink, underneath the sink and next to the toilet seat. The photos speak for themselves.

Also there are huge water issues around the whole school which makes the wallpapers loose (also visible on the photos) and it is filled with green fungal (which is toxic). Also water and electricity (sewing machines/irons) are not a favorable combination if you want to avoid a fire.

-additional information about the “foundry lab”-
Although the Foundry Lab is built inside the campus, it is not accessible for students. It’s only for projects from outside. Provides absolutely no benefit to the student body.

All in all, I had a really disappointing experience and I took the time to write this review in order to help other individuals like me when I first started, who are about to start their University years, to find a good place to study fashion and to develop their creativity, not demolish it. I wish I would have read such an honest and insightful review about IFA before applying and starting there. Hopefully, this reaches as many soon to be students. Don’t study at a place where your creativity is questioned and made fun of. It took me a few years to write this because of the immense trauma IFA has caused me especially with my Projects and Creations. Art is not possible to be evaluated by people who are placed as teachers. Art is versatile and some might like it, others not, but that doesn’t mean that the creations that are made by a student should be torn down. In my experience, I was bullied and accused of not being the one creating my garments/collections and then my pieces were chosen to be displayed in the campus. This was such controversial behavior from the Fashion Design student teacher, and sadly this behavior went on from the first till the third year.

As an International Baccalaureate Diploma Student I have felt discouraged and disrespected during the three years at IFA and that is why I would not recommend this place to anyone, I am ashamed of this academy. If I could go back I would choose a different place to study Fashion Design. Choose wisely folks.