Incubator program

This 6-month program, offered in French, is aimed at young entrepreneurs and start-ups in the creative industries. It offers you a complete support on all the dimensions of your project.

Two sessions to choose from:

• September-March
• January - June

Program

The Incubator is a place of exchange and sharing, which gives you all the keys to develop your project, while building your network.

#KeyTools

Weekly two-hour sessions are offered to help you master the fundamentals of creating a brand or a business in fashion. Some examples of these key resources for entrepreneurship and understanding the challenges of the industry:

• Management of an entrepreneurial project from ideation to launch
• Building a brand from scratch
• New business models and launching strategies
• Key issues to create a sustainable fashion brand
• How to identify your target and your market
• Introduction to digital marketing (SEO, SEA, social media, growth hacking...)
• Legal issues
• How to pitch a project
• Business plan (introduction)
• Financing issues
• [...]

#KeyWorkshops

The Incubator offers 10 thematic workshops that allow you to build on one another's strengths through collective workshops, as well as individual coaching sessions focused on the progress of your personal project. Organized by Institut Français de la Mode and conducted by professionals recognized in their area of expertise, these sessions, reserved for participants of the Incubator program, address the following topics:

• Challenge and formalization of the project
• Branding / storytelling
• Image / brand content
• Digital marketing
• Market research
• Product strategy / collection building
• Knowledge of textiles / materials
• Sourcing / production
• Distribution / sales
• Business plan (advanced)

The sessions alternate between:

• Concepts and tools
• Group workshops
• Individual coaching for each project

#KeyTalks

Throughout the program, talks allow you to meet key players in the fashion and entrepreneurship ecosystem. You will be able to exchange with personalities who have successfully undertaken fashion projects (brand designers, digital entrepreneurs, etc.) or meet with key professional organizations (Federations, financing/investment structures, prize and trade show organizers, creation promotion structures, etc.).

The campus

Institut Français de la Mode has an open, creative and innovative campus located at the Cité de la Mode et du Design, quai d'Austerlitz in Paris. Open to the city, IFM's brand new campus is a place of exhibition, experimentation, exchange, and creative effervescence.

You will be able to benefit, by appointment, from various facilities such as

• the Fablab, equipped with a laser cutter, two 3D printing machines, fabric printing equipment, two professional digitally assisted embroidery machines, a cornely machine, a smoking pleater, a calender for textile sublimation and a sublimation printer. This equipment will enable you to carry out your prototyping, supervised by the two Fabmanagers who run the place
• the photo studio which allows you to do your professional shootings
• the leather workshop for those who have shoe or leather goods projects.

The network

Institut Français de la Mode, which offers design, management and craftsmanship programs, is deeply rooted in the fashion ecosystem. The proximity of the Institute to all the players in the sector, whether companies or professional networks, gives you access to the best specialists in the sector.

In addition, IFM's Economic Observatory brings together experts who decipher all the changes in the sector on a daily basis and gives you access to economic or market studies that could be useful for your business.

Finally, during the #KeyTools and #KeyTalks, you will meet the entire community of IFM entrepreneurs enrolled in the Fashion Entrepreneurship Center: students of the Fashion Entrepreneurship Certificate and entrepreneurs from the Accelerator.

The program has a two-step admissions process :

1. Fill in and send out the application form.
2. Selected applicants will be invited to interview with a jury of faculty and professionals.