Located in the heart of Paris, close to the renowned Butte aux Cailles and the Latin Quarter, Hotel Mercure Paris Place d’Italie (from the Accor group) was recently refurbished and redesigned around the theme of fashion.

It is with this in mind, that the hotel management approached IFA Paris to set-up a permanent exhibition of students’ creations in the lobby and other public spaces of the hotel. This exhibition will be renewed every two months.

The first two collections exhibited in the hotel are from two of our Master of Arts Contemporary Fashion Design graduates.

Cynthia Arias, who just graduated has her collection called “Physical Fragmentation” on display at the hotel. The key inspiration for this collection comes from the masterpiece Pedro Paramo of the famous Mexican writer Juan Rulfo. The collection brings the realm of magic to our door front. The designs are means of experiencing the magic – redefining of our day to day silhouettes into visual pieces of art. The underlying principle for this collection is forming the bridge between the unconscious mind and the conventional form of the elements. Magic Realism is a way to showcase artistic distortion resulting in the creation of a unique alternate reality.

The collection of Ruktam Srinakarin, initially developed from the idea of deconstruction architecture and the coexistence of an unusual forms, and materials which develop into an unexpected result and form.

The development of this collection has been progressed subconsciously to bring about a certain message which symbolizes political and society satire.

The design heavily applies the notion of misplacement; which has come into play with garment construction, asymmetry and contrasting materials. Foil transfer technique has been applied to duplicate and emphasize the idea of architectural structure.

Elements such as dawn jacket and denim are constructed with delicate fabric such as lace and silk was introduced, which is the impression of an abstract form, the mixture of street and haute couture.

The collection also references back to one of the most memorable moments in fashion history. Erwin Blumenfeld and Ray Petri’s work were implied through decoration techniques to signify the hidden message that was interpreted into today’s world’s politics.

These exhibitions inside Hotel Mercure Paris Place d’Italie are a great opportunity to showcase IFA Paris’ students work.

To learn more about these programs: Bachelor Fashion Design & Technology and Master of Arts Contemporary Fashion Design