Q&A: Mégane Simon, Ecole Internationale de Mode et Luxe (EIDM)

EIDM, the fashion and luxury business school based in Paris, has been on an upward growth trajectory in recent years, supported by a new location, new courses in English, and a new visual brand identity to highlight its integration into the ACE group.

FashionUnited spoke to Mégane Simon, director at EIDM to find out more about the type of courses the university offers, more details about the new location, what it means to be part of the ACE group, as well its future plans.

Can you give me an overview of EIDM – what kind of courses do you offer?

The International Fashion & Luxury business School offers Bachelor’s and Master’s courses, especially in the fields of image, styling, artistic direction, communication, marketing and fashion and luxury business.

EIDM was acquired by ACE Education – who is ACE and what does that mean for the school going forward?

ACE Education is one of the important actors in higher education in France whose schools train future professionals in “passionate professions”: fashion and luxury, sport, art and design, hospitality, etc. Joining ACE Education group means for us, being part of a group of international stature with 32 campuses in France and abroad and 7,000 students, with many opportunities for collaboration between the schools.

EIDM relocated – can you share more information on the new location? What will the bigger location offer for students?

With our new premises, EIDM remains in the 13th arrondissement of Paris but quadruples its surface area. Our students can now have access to a comfortable lunch area, a meeting room and collaborative workspaces for group projects.

The school is on a growth trajectory – what is it about EIDM that appeals to students?

Pioneer and visionary, EIDM has been able to face the new challenges of the fashion and luxury industry by offering a personalised, international and learning-by-doing-oriented approach. Through this growth trajectory, we aim to increase our course catalogue, and our network in Europe and abroad and above all, our students will be involved in many practical projects.

How would you describe EIDM’s student community?

Our students are involved each year in concrete projects: organisation of a fashion show in the first year, publication of a fashion magazine in the second year, management of a pop-up store in the third year, creation of a company or a brand in collaboration with Station F incubator in the fourth year and management of an event in the fifth and final year.

In addition to these large-scale projects, there are collaborations that reinforce the practical experiences of our students. For example, they have a styling project for a brand, a merchandising workshop at Printemps, a market study to be developed, an international marketing study to be carried out in direct connection with students from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, etc.

In recent year’s you’ve been targeting international success – with courses in English – is this something you are looking to increase? How were the courses received?

EIDM already used to welcome French-speaking foreign students for several years. In 2021, we opened our first courses entirely taught in English: a 3rd year of Bachelor and a 2nd year of Master (MSc.). The reception has been very positive. At the start of the 2023 academic year, 20 percent of our students are of foreign nationality. This multiculturalism promotes exchanges and develops the creativity and adaptability of our students.

EIDM also has a number of Erasmus exchange agreements – can you share with who, and why they are important partnerships for the school?

EIDM has, for now, 16 international partners, which makes it possible to welcome foreign students in Paris but also to arrange exchanges for French students in our partner universities. This year, the most successful destinations among our students are New York (LIM Fashion Business School) and Milan (European School of Economics). We also have students currently on mobility in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Spain, Slovenia and Germany.

What are the next steps/challenges moving forward for EIDM?

We want to further strengthen the internationalisation of our programmes by opening a 2-year Masters that will be taught entirely in English. With this Master’s in Fashion and Luxury Management resolutely international with seminars abroad planned each semester, we aim to promote the French “savoir-faire” and the fashion and luxury industry in Paris, but also worldwide.

When students graduate from EIDM – what kind of jobs do they go on to secure?

80 percent of our former graduates are now on permanent contracts. The missions vary significantly according to the type of diploma obtained: brand manager, communication, and marketing manager, press officer, stylist, visual merchandiser, sales manager, social media manager, luxury client advisor, artistic director, and entrepreneur in the fashion and luxury field. They work for luxury and fashion brands like Jean Paul Gaultier, Alaïa, Dolce & Gabbana, L'Oréal, etc.