Heritage, Tourism and Fashion

The course is held at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris, France).

Based on research and literature on ‘Fashion cities', the course looks broadly at the place and status of Paris as a contemporary 'fashion capital of the world'. Although the course considers the historical context of Paris, it focuses primarily on the place fashion plays in the Parisian tourism landscape today. What does Paris have to offer fashion tourists? What is the urban geography of the fashion venues and sites?  How does it fit in with the French capital's overall tourism offering? And what is its relationship with heritage?  Who participates/contributes to this offer?  And who are the target audiences?

The course will analyse the interrelationship between cultural tourism, heritage tourism, creative tourism and shopping tourism. It will show that fashion is a cross-cutting phenomenon offered 'touristically' by the fashion sector itself (fashion weeks being a tourist phenomenon) as well as by the heritage, cultural and creative sectors (galleries, museums, associations, etc.).

Based on the fashion tourism on offer during the autumn-winter 2023-2024 semester, the course will offer as broad a view as possible of the places and players involved in fashion tourism in Paris. It will take a critical look, examining both the institutional offer (Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau, Ile-de-France Region, Ministry of Culture, etc.), the cultural offer in museums and galleries and the more alternative offer of associations.

The approach will be contemporary: although the city's history contributes to its status as a fashion capital, we will be more interested in the current production of a heritage and cultural offering based on fashion. Benchmarking will also be important: what are the other 'fashion capitals' and how does Paris stand out?

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In presence

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