OpérApprentis Project: Brevet Professionnel Vêtement sur Mesure

A season devoted to dance and haute couture

For several years now, first-year students in the Brevet Professionnel Vêtement sur Mesure have taken part in OpérApprentis, a partnership between the Paris Opera and the Île-de-France region. The program opens up access to culture for apprentices from vocational training centers across the region, spanning every trade, through encounters with industry professionals, live performances, and hands-on artistic practice guided by working artists.

This year, IFM students worked alongside Donatienne Michel-Dansac, an artist associated with the program, in creative workshops that began in November. The goal was to bring their artistic practice into direct conversation with their training in couture. Working in pairs across the Savoir-Faire BP program's draping and applied arts courses, students sharpened their creativity and artistic voice, learned to collaborate as a team, and built confidence, body awareness and stage presence along the way.

The project began with a visit to the Palais Garnier to see two new works: Empreintes, a collaboration between British choreographers Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple and composer Mikael Karlsson, and Étude, by Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau.

From there, each student designed a garment inspired by a character from one of the two productions, with movement as the driving force behind every design choice. The brief: create something genuinely original, steering clear of safe or conventional solutions; build a garment that moves with the body; take full creative license with volume, line and proportion; and choose fabrics and colors that stay true to the piece's artistic intent. Students were guided through the entire process, from initial sketch to finished garment, including draping and construction.

Work continued through a finishing day on June 17, followed by guided garment assembly on June 18. The project closed on June 25 with a final presentation and photoshoot showcasing the students' creations.

The result is a genuine learning experience — one that brings together technical craft, artistic creation and teamwork, closely mirroring the demands of the fashion and couture industry.