Working in Paris

[mynn_plastic]

Well. Actually I wanna go to Paris to get my postgraduate at Institut Français de la mode. I'm getting a intensive course of french right now and I think until I go, I'll have good connections.

But to find a good job, to be well paid and I don't know, maybe openning my own label. Where's better? NYC or Paris?

I really prefer Paris and believe, I've reasons to but I cant' be less rational about my future and my career. I've a long time until that but I'm worried about it. I know just work in a little brazilian label never will be enough to me, so I'd like to find sth that will help me to reach my purpose and what I can do from now on.

It's worth mentioning I'm brazilian and I think the bureocracy with documents it's the same in France or USA for me (even maybe less in france). I'm trying to make friends from Saint Martins and schools of Fashion in Paris because in future if them be my friends, maybe them will be able to help me to get a job.

I'd like to know from you what precautions I must have to at the future it'll be more easy.What I can do from now on?

 

[Anjo]

Hmm, you might be right about the comparable difficulty of immigrating to the US vs France as a foreigner. Obviously, US is easy for me since I have an American passport. But then I have French papers too.

Regardless, Paris is a great place to be a student! Go for it!! And if you have a degree from a French institution and have lived here for a matter of years, getting a job would become easier.

 

[mynn_plastic]

Really?

Actually the postgraduate at Institut Français de la mode is about 1 year. Could I make connections and get a job over that time?

 

[Anjo]

I don't know, that depends on you.

 

[Meg]

but what will you do after? You could make connections certainly, but you would still need to be sponsored for some type of working visa after, and I'm not familiar with the in's and out's of French immigration (and whether they have any sort of 'artist' designation) but a lot of small companies will not hire you. It's certainly not impossible, but it's not easy either.

 

[miaou]

*Bump*

I'm planning to get married this summer, and will be relocating to Paris this June to join my fiancé (he's French). I'm currently in NYC, working in the fashion industry (helping French fashion designers enter the US market), but would like to continue working in fashion when I relocate over there. No worries for the paperwork, I will be getting a carte de sejour and autorisation de travail after the marriage (taking place in July).

The nice thing is, I look at this opportunity to start my new life with a new career in the direction I'd like to go, only I didn't realize that it was so overwhelming! I was talking with my fiancé, and we think that I could probably get started in an assistante de direction position in an established fashion house, but I'd eventually like to do more than that. Basically, what I want to know is: What are my options? I have a background in international relations/communications, fluent in French and English, and have 1 year of fashion related experience at my current job (before I was an admin assistant at an investment bank). Some days I'm interested in becoming a buyer, or in working at a showroom, or maybe even being the Paris-based correspondant to an American fashion company's office in Paris. Are there any buyer training programs (like they have here in the US)?

Any advice or input greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[christrinity]

I think retail/buyer etc is probably one of the easier avenues to get into if you are moving to Paris with previous experience behind you and not going down the internship road (Which you need to be in university to do).
Go to the sites for Printemps, Galeries Lafayettes and Le Bon Marché (these are the big designer brand department stores, the equivalent of Barneys, Bergdorfs etc) and go tot their recruitment page, they offer a lot of entry level and training positions as far as I am aware, I am sure you could find something there for buying!

As far as getting into a Fashion house, it's going to be a lot more difficult, American company or not. Aside from internships and internal vacancies within LVMH which are advertised on their site, it is very hard to even hear of vacant positions in fashion houses, it's all about contacts. Maybe if you start off in buying etc, you can then gain these contacts! We often deal with galeries lafayettes for example in the PR office who take clothes for shoots etc, so you can definitely gain contacts even in the retail environment.

Hope that helps

 

[miaou]

I think retail/buyer etc is probably one of the easier avenues to get into if you are moving to Paris with previous experience behind you and not going down the internship road (Which you need to be in university to do).
Go to the sites for Printemps, Galeries Lafayettes and Le Bon Marché (these are the big designer brand department stores, the equivalent of Barneys, Bergdorfs etc) and go tot their recruitment page, they offer a lot of entry level and training positions as far as I am aware, I am sure you could find something there for buying!

As far as getting into a Fashion house, it's going to be a lot more difficult, American company or not. Aside from internships and internal vacancies within LVMH which are advertised on their site, it is very hard to even hear of vacant positions in fashion houses, it's all about contacts. Maybe if you start off in buying etc, you can then gain these contacts! We often deal with galeries lafayettes for example in the PR office who take clothes for shoots etc, so you can definitely gain contacts even in the retail environment.

Hope that helps

Thanks christrinity! Karma!!

Yeah, i was worried about the internship thing, I know that you need to be in a university in order to get one. I was also thinking of going back to school, so this may be another avenue I can explore.

 

[vavavinny]

I'm currently a junior in college majoring in English and Art History. I live in a small city in Ohio. I know, it's as terrible as it sounds ! Upon graduating, I have thought about applying to go to graduate school in London at Central St. Martin's with a focus in fashion journalism. I would eventually love to move to Paris, though. Someone had mentioned that one has to be 25 or older to work full-time in France. I am 19. Is there any way I could get an internship in Paris?

 

[miaou]

I'm currently a junior in college majoring in English and Art History. I live in a small city in Ohio. I know, it's as terrible as it sounds ! Upon graduating, I have thought about applying to go to graduate school in London at Central St. Martin's with a focus in fashion journalism. I would eventually love to move to Paris, though. Someone had mentioned that one has to be 25 or older to work full-time in France. I am 19. Is there any way I could get an internship in Paris?

There are definitely internship opportunities for Americans in France, I know for a fact that the French American Chamber of Commerce helps facilitate an internship program for Americans with private French companies in France...this includes fashion companies!!

I highly recommend that you learn French and get to the point where you're fluent. I learned to speak French fluently when I taught English there for 7 months to high school students through a program sponsored by the French government. They pay you a modest stipend, you get to live in France and get to know the culture and the language. Plus, you can use that time to make connections in the fashion industry. Since you're an English major, I think this might be interesting for you, only you should take some French classes so you have a better chance of being accepted. In my experience, once you have the language down, doors will open for you like you wouldn't expect.

 

[VogueParisLover]

Hey everybody,
I'm only 13 but my dream is to move to Paris, go to college, and have an internship at a magazine. I want to be a fashion editor/stylist when I grow up. After reading this thread I'm nervous... I don't know anybody in Paris or France for that matter, how do you get the proper paperwork to work and live in Paris, etc... The language/customs is not a problem because I've been studying for a while and I will keep studying until I'm out of high school.
Thanks in advance.

 

[BetteT]

Here's a starting place with the French government, who is the only real authority about this sort of thing ... it's in French. This page is the information that you need to immigrate to France as a student but there are other links there about Visas and working in France, etc.
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/espaces_dedies.php3?id_rubrique=12793

It will be very complicated ... and varies by the country you are coming from (normal for immigrating to any country) ... unless you already live in the EU ... then it's a bit simpler.

 

[miaou]

Here's a starting place with the French government, who is the only real authority about this sort of thing ... it's in French. This page is the information that you need to immigrate to France as a student but there are other links there about Visas and working in France, etc.
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/espaces_dedies.php3?id_rubrique=12793

It will be very complicated ... and varies by the country you are coming from (normal for immigrating to any country) ... unless you already live in the EU ... then it's a bit simpler.

You can also find pertinent information in your local language regarding student visas for France on your local French Consulate or embassy's website

 

[vavavinny]

There are definitely internship opportunities for Americans in France, I know for a fact that the French American Chamber of Commerce helps facilitate an internship program for Americans with private French companies in France...this includes fashion companies!!

I highly recommend that you learn French and get to the point where you're fluent. I learned to speak French fluently when I taught English there for 7 months to high school students through a program sponsored by the French government. They pay you a modest stipend, you get to live in France and get to know the culture and the language. Plus, you can use that time to make connections in the fashion industry. Since you're an English major, I think this might be interesting for you, only you should take some French classes so you have a better chance of being accepted. In my experience, once you have the language down, doors will open for you like you wouldn't expect.

Thank you so much! This sounds fascinating! I really appreciate this tidbit of information! I will definitely look into it !

 

[J'adore_Coco]

My dream has always been to work in Paris. I'm perfecting my French so that I will hopefully be fluent enough to work in a fashion house in Paris.

 

[misspepe]

Moving from London to Paris, and how to find stylist assisting work

I'm a 27 year old fashion stylist/writer who lives in London. I am moving to Paris in September (for my writing job) but wish to pick up some assisting styling work whilst I'm there- I think it would be a great way to meet people, and establish some contacts in the game...

I've assisted some of the top names in London over the last few years, but I was wondering if anyone has any personal stories on this subject, and if you could share the difficulties associated with the move? Also, does assisting pay in Paris?

Thank you in advance, I look forward to your feedback! xx

 

[BerlinRocks]

hello misspepe ...

all i can say is ... assisting barely pay a baguette in Paris ! it's a free job !
but if you work for someone enough nice you'll get some money sometimes and some gifts (from PR offices and your 'boss') !
but lunch is paid (in my case it was)

where are you gonna write ?
sometimes most newspaper and magazines have a style section and edit a season style booklet ... you could get a chance to work as a stylist in your magazine, too ...

good luck and welcome in France !

 

[Mathewthew]

It's really hard to work in Paris as a foriegners outside EU
It may be easier before, but now it's really hard.
I see how's all the foriegners work here with a lots of pressure and little money, lifes really hard

 

[gian-franco]

hey, if I'm not a student, do you think I have at least ANY (ir there's hope - that's enough for me) chances of getting a paid internship?

 

[Hot2GlobeTrot]

Seeking advice on working high-end retail in Paris...

I'm planning on one day heading to France to become fluent in French, study at the Sorbonne etc. The reality is i'll need to work there to pay for it all....I have EU citizenship so papers are no problem. Assume my french will be good enough to work in a French store, plus i speak a few other languages

So right now i'm working in a high-ish end store here in the US selling menswear-i'm a guy-and want to know if anyone can shed some light on working conditions in Paris? Top of my wish list would be Les Galeries Lafayette, Collette, Gucci, Dolce, John Richmond

First off, money, obviously. I assume they're mostly commission based? What can one presume to earn in Paris at a store such as the above mentioned? I'm thinking more than normal because of the higher traffic from tourists, plus from a 10 million person city with a penchant for fashion...(i've looked into taxes so any calculations i make take that into account)

Second, how to get hired? I'm going to assume my language skills will be a big plus...? And this being fashion, looks i'm sure matters to a point, yes?

I'd be arriving in Paris in August if i make it; good time to job hunt? When would be best? (i can teach english to tide me over if necessary)

anything else would be greatly appreciated....thanks in advance!