Corporate Partners and Projects
PCA students gain real world experience and develop professional contacts through partnership projects with local industry and arts organizations.
Recent projects have challenged students to design jewelry for the woman of today, express the spirit of the Saut d’Hermès in window display, develop a signature fragrance, design and fabricate leather bags, analyze a town’s needs for a new community center and much more.
Professional Projects
Mauboussin
Organized to discover and to launch new talent in jewelry design, the Mauboussin Young Talent competition focused on the avant-garde and creative imagination of its participants, in relation to current trends. The students in the class Intro to Accessories Design developed designs in response to the Mauboussin challenge, each creating a unique piece of jewelry. A jury of five women, all leaders in their respective fields of fashion, sports, and journalism, selected the winning project — the most creative piece of jewelry, and the winner received a prize of 10,000 €.
Hermès
Hermès invited the students of Paris College of Art to use their imagination and creativity to design the fifteen windows of the Hermès store on avenue George V in Paris. The challenge for the students was to create a window display design to herald the opening of the Saut Hermès at the Grand Palais. Hermès worked closely with the students, briefing them on the brand identity and project specifics as well as organizing visits to the boutique on avenue Georges V, the Hermès headquarters and their atelier in Pantin. Professors of the “Window Imagination” class guided the students through the creative design process and the realization of this project.
Takasago
For three years running, PCA’s Fashion seniors have teamed up with global fragrance manufacturer Takasago to develop signature scents that express the essence of their senior collections. Through a series of workshops and briefings, students have worked closely with perfumers to learn the language of smell and fragrance and to match concepts, narratives, and emotions with specific fragrances. Takasago will select and produce one of the student’s signature scents, which will be featured at PCA’s End of Year Show.
EDF Energy
EDF, the international energy company launched its 2nd Sustainable Design Challenge with the motto “Encouraging responsible energy behavior for better living” for which PCA Communication Design and Design Management students developed the winning project A Step in the Right Direction that was displayed during major international events, such as the London Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 and the Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne.
FFDB (La Fédération Française des Dentelles et Broderies)
PCA Junior Fashion students participated in the annual I Designcontest, organized by La Fédération Française des Dentelles et Broderies, intended to explore innovations in graphics for lace and embroidery. Our participating students were invited for a visit to the Fédération where they participated in a presentation on the business of lace and embroidery in France, and received several art and history books on lace. Our students created new designs for lace around the theme Cosmos and applied these new patterns into garments.
Le Laboratoire
Le Laboratoire is a contemporary art and design center in Paris, where artists and designers experiment at the frontiers of science. An educational program of Le Laboratoire, the 3rd ArtScience Prize Paris held in 2012-2013 brought together engineering students from École Centrale Paris, Telecom Paris Tech, École des Ponts, design students from Strate Collège and Design Management students from PCA. The project that our students collaborated on, called E flore, won a grant of 2,500€ and was presented in Ars Electronica in summer 2013.
Tai Ping
Tai Ping works with world-class designers and decorators, transforming their most imaginative designs into custom-made, hand-tufted rugs. PCA students were invited to work on two specific projects for the Research & Development department at Tai Ping. PCA students researched carpet offerings on the international market and designed innovative carpet samples. As well, they based on analysis of in-store marketing and current trends they proposed new marketing tools for Tai Ping’s planned expansion into the B2C market.
Compagnons du Devoir
Compagnons du Devoir promotes the values of craftsmenship by passing down to young people artisanal skils and knowledge. Working in collaboration with Compagnons du Devoir apprentices, PCA students reflected on the materials, design and concept of this shared project, while the guild apprentices contributed their advanced techniques and leatherwork skills. The students designed innovative handbags and manufactured two prototypes of the leather bags.
Who’s Next
Who’s Next Prêt-à-Porter, the meeting place for fashion professionals that attracts more than 60,000 visitors and 1,000 journalists twice a year, invited PCA students to participate in their design contest around the theme Industrial Revolution. Foundation and fashion students worked on a Industrial revolution-installation during the four days of the fair.
PCA Professionals
Learn about some of our recent projects in our PCA Professional Brochure.