Arts Of Fashion Foundation

I attended the Paris Master Class of 2017. Nathalie, the President, instantly disliked me. Her and Philipe, her husband and the Treasurer, constantly belittled me and another girl their. We were told we would work M-F 9-6, but instead worked every day, and at the end worked 7am to midnight with only a one hour lunch break for the whole day (we weren't allowed to bring it food or drinks and if we went for a second break we received very disapproving remarks). On the day of the exhibition, I finished both of my garments and moved them into the exhibition room. I went and got lunch and when I came back I got sick in the bathroom because of the stress and exhaustion my body had gone through. When I entered the room, they were yelling at the other girl and telling her that she couldn't exhibit her 2nd garment even if she finished it, because she had too much help from the teacher and still wasn't finished. There was another student (there on scholarship they provided) who was also finishing his garment, and when this was pointed out, Nathalie said, "he's different". Everyone received help from the teacher, and everyone was still working on their garments the last day. After they told her that, they pulled me into the exhibition room, where they had pulled my 2nd garment out of and told me that the teacher had decided that the remaining look was my strong look and I would only get to exhibit this one look. They wouldn't answer me as to why I was only allowed to shown one, because I had been told by the teacher it was up to the quality standards. After they finished talking to me I asked the teacher, and she told me that she didn't tell them to not exhibit the garment. She also had been told that day at 8am, even if I were to finish my garment, that they still wouldn't show it. I asked the teacher if I would still get my certificate, and in the middle of asking was when Philipe walked up and told us not to talk to her anymore (and then later threatened the teacher that they wouldn't pay her if she continued to talk to myself and the other student). Philipe told us we would get our certificate the next day during the photoshoot. I showed up the next day, despite being very ill because I was wanting to receive my certificate and was there the whole day for the photoshoot. I laid on the floor going in and out of sleeping because my body was physically not well and it hurt to move and stand, I had bruises on my body from dehydration and lack of food. When Philipe walked over and asked if I was alright, I told him that I was very ill and hurting, he told me "that's fashion" and walked away without any concern for me. I was pale and people noticed how sick I was that day, it was very noticeable. When it came to the certificate ceremony, they had the photographer, the videographer, and anyone who wasn't in the class leave. Then they made us sit in a circle with the teacher, Nathalie, and Philipe behind a table. That was when Philipe announced that they had two certificates this year, one for Completion and the other just for Attendance. They individually called our names and we had to walk to the center of the table where they then gave us feedback and our certificate. I was the first to go. Nathalie told me in front of the whole class that I was a weak designer and wasn't good. That one day I might learn to stand up for my designs and do something, but right now I was bad. They wouldn't let the teacher give me feedback, and gave me a certificate of Attendance. Myself and the other student, where the only students to receive a certificate of Attendance, everyone else received completion. The only person who decided if we completed the program or not was Nathalie and the teacher had no say. The teacher told me afterwards that I had made two spectacular garments and that I should take the 'anger' I feel towards this organization and put it to my upcoming collection and prove them wrong.

After I got back to the USA, I was suppose to receive my photos from the photoshoot. I have never received the photos. The photos are uploaded onto the website, but both mine and the other student were left off. They also took our names off the website and only put the Completion winners on the website (they have never done this in the past). However; they have used photos from myself and the other student for advertising purposes. I never gave them written or verbal consent to do this and have asked them to remove my picture from advertisements since I never signed a press release and do not endorse their foundation.

I also received an invoice from them for the pleating costs. We were told we would get a percentage off from pleating, but when I received my invoice it said 0. When I asked about it I was told that my mistrust in the foundation is unwarranted and that it's not shown because it was put in before hand. I was also told my 'attitude' during the final day was uncalled for (when I was physically ill and lying on the floor).

Nathalie is a fired professor from two separate colleges here in the USA (once for having very bad student reviews and not being a competent teacher). The foundation is her way to continue teaching and using her bias in fashion. Her husband is a professor who lied about his credentials to get a job and then made a fake website to bash the University he left after they told him that he needed to earn the degree he said he had. Nathalie has competitions for scholarship money throughout the year. She brings in a panel of judges and is also a judge herself. Her funding comes from mainly Asian countries, so her winners are usually from the asian countries.

This foundation is filled with bias. If Nathalie doesn't like you, then you fail the course, even if you complete 2 garments, constructed to their standards. They don't care about the health of their students. They also give promises that end up not being fulfilled.

I attended the winter masterclass program in 2014-2015. I was treated very poorly by Nathalie who is the president. I was told I could not be in the final exhibit and was not given a photo shoot which was clearly stated on the website as something each student would recieve as part of the program. I paid $4600 for this program plus over $1000 in fabric. This organization did not provide haute couture techniques as stated nor did we see and exhibits. This company is clearly FOR profit and I would not recommend this program to any future students nor would I invest any money in this misleading company. They took my money and did not follow through with promised services.