Learn more about the School of Fashion Design’s opportunities to continue your fashion education.
Meet faculty the School of Fashion Design, tour their studio classrooms, and see sketching, pattern making, sewing, and draping in action! This open house can serve as a guided journey through the fashion design learning process from concept to finished garment!
Please note that the program begins promptly.
10 a.m. Welcome | 10:20 a.m. Tour and demos
French Cultural Center’s French Innovation series looks at French fashion innovations.
Fashion plays a significant cultural, societal, and economic role in France. The second program in the French Cultural Center’s French Innovation series will explore this French staple, from the fashion of its royal courts to the country’s indefatigable status as a pioneer in fashion and luxury innovation today.
Gwen van den Eijnde, of RISD, will enlighten us on French contributions to the world of fashion, from the first mentions of style in the fifteenth century to the liberation of women by Chanel and Dior.
For a peek into new innovations in the fashion world, Christophe Guberan will introduce us to his Active Shoes research project, which explores the future of shoe production and performance with self-transforming textiles.
Event in English. A reception with refreshments will be provided after the discussion.
Guests are welcome to explore our eye-opening French Innovation exhibition in our gallery, featuring sketches, models, and more related to this series’ programs.
About the Panelists
Christophe Guberan is a Swiss industrial designer who teaches product design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The buzzing and innovative ecosystem of the Greater Boston Area allows him to augment his practice while experimenting with new research and technological development.
In 2014, Guberan began collaborating with the MIT Self-Assembly Lab and Founder & Director Skylar Tibbits, a pioneer in 4D printing, to create “active shoes” under the Minimal Shoe project for Design London Museum. Guberan has continued his exploration of material interactions, digital manufacturing, and self-assembly processes. His projects include Hydro-Fold, Liquid to Air, and his most recent collaboration with Tibbits, Rapid Liquid Printing, which tackles speed, scale, and quality challenges in 3D printing technology by printing objects suspended in a gel-like medium.
Gwen van den Eijnde is a Dutch-French designer working in the disciplines of fashion, fine art, and theatre. Through his expressive, avant-garde clothing and costume designs, he creates captivating characters and tells enthralling stories that stretch the imagination. A professor at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), van den Eijnde’s multi-layered approach is informed by his deep knowledge of fashion history and theory; his work is a commentary on the peculiarities of life, often finding subversive humor and fantasy rooted in fact. Van den Eijnde has studied and worked with some of the most esteemed practitioners in his field, including artist Edith Dekyndt in the Atelier Textile of the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg, costume designer Olivier Bériot, choreographer Robyn Orlin, and the revered Hermès atelier, Petit h. Before joining the faculty at RISD, he was visiting professor at the Fashion department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and Head of Textile Design at the Haute École des Arts du Rhin in Mulhouse.
In this illustrated lecture, landscape scholar Judith B. Tankard surveys the inspiration, characteristics, and development of garden design during the Arts & Crafts Movement.
Tankard presents a selection of houses and gardens of the era from Britain and the United States, with an emphasis on the diversity of designers who helped forge a truly distinct approach to garden design. Her lecture is the first event in a series of exhibition programming for The Gardens of Rose Standish Nichols, 1890-1935 opening May 16, 2019 at the Nichols House Museum.
Judith B. Tankard is a landscape historian, award-winning author, and preservation consultant. She taught at the Landscape Institute of Harvard University for more than twenty years. She is the author or coauthor of ten books on landscape history, including Gardens of the Arts & Crafts Movement, Ellen Shipman and the American Garden and Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes. A popular lecturer in the United States and Britain, Judith is a speaker at symposia and conferences devoted to the preservation of historic landscapes.
Image: the garden at Snowshill Manor, Gloucestershire; © National Trust Images Nick Meers
Learn about France’s contributions to aerospace.
It has been 50 years since the supersonic Concorde took flight, and France’s significance in the aerospace industry continues today. In fact, last year the French aerospace industry was ranked second in the world.
For the culmination of our French Innovation series, we invite you to learn more about this top-ranking industry. Specifically, we will focus on French on aeronautic advancements, from hot air balloons and a plane shaped like a bat to current efforts to reduce aircraft emissions.
Aaron Lewis of Arianespace, the world’s leading commercial satellite launch provider, will tell us what it takes to reach for the stars. Vik Kachoria of Spike Aerospace will uncover the secrets of the next generation of supersonic commercial jets.
Event in English. A reception with refreshments will follow the discussion.
Guests are welcome to explore our eye-opening French Innovation exhibition in our gallery, featuring sketches, models, and more related to this series’ programs.
About the Panelists
Aaron Lewis is Vice President Corporate Communications & Government Relations at Arianespace, a leading satellite launch company. Aaron is also Associate Director of Future Space Leaders, a foundation aiming to advance learning and professional enrichment of young space professionals and future leaders pursuing careers in the fields of space and satellites.
Prior to joining Arianespace, Inc., Aaron was a press secretary and legislative assistant for U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher – who is Chairman of the Space and Aeronautics subcommittee. Aaron graduated from St. John’s College Annapolis, Maryland where he studied the History of Math and Science, and Philosophy.
Vik Kachoria, CEO of Spike Aerospace, Inc., is a seasoned aerospace executive with 30 years of industry experience. Vik’s career has included management of, and consulting for, high-growth ventures including supersonic jets, VLJs, air taxis, charter flights, sub-orbital rockets, and solar-powered satellites.
The French Cultural Center is proud to host the Boston regional competition of the French Founders Worldwide Startup Tour.
The French Founders Worldwide Startup Tour, a global competition for entrepreneurs wanting to expand globally. Join the French Cultural Center to hear pitches from five local startups looking to advance to the final competition in New York.
Selected Boston startups will pitch to a jury comprised of Consul General, Arnaud Mentré; Laurent Audoly, President & Founding CEO of Kymera Therapeutics; Yannick Ouvrard, Chief Financial Officer at Keolis Commuter Services; and Damien Balsan, General Partner at Conexo Ventures.
Event in English, followed by a cocktail reception with complimentary refreshments.
About The Startup Tour
The Startup Tour is a unique opportunity for startups to connect and pitch in 12 cities in front of a powerful audience of business leaders based in Europe, the Americas, and APAC. The three regional competitions are supported by the strong network of the French Founders community with its 3500+ members and leaders.
In the Americas, a French Prize will be awarded to a Francophone entrepreneur willing to expand in the Americas and an Americas Prize is awarded to an Anglophone entrepreneur willing to expand in France.
About French Founders
Founded in 2014, French Founders is a next generation business club that connects global Francophone leaders with one another through a digital platform enhanced by a team of more than 20 relationship managers. Their mission is to facilitate business exchanges within their exceptional community of CEOs, top executives, and entrepreneurs. French Founders is headquartered in New York, New York but exists in San Francisco, London, Paris, Shanghai, Montréal, and São Paulo.
An Ephemeral Exhibit with the Lasell Fashion Collection and Boston Fashion Week
Join the French Cultural Center in celebrating Boston Fashion Week with a unique look at curated French pieces from the Lasell Fashion Collection. This unique exhibit and separate private tour of the collection are for one evening only!
Free and open to the public, the general reception will start at 7:00 PM and run through 9:00 PM, with light refreshments.
Ephemeral Exhibit: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
The Fashion Collection team at Lasell University have curated an exceptional intimate fashion retrospective spanning two centuries and multiple designers. On display will be 17 pieces from the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Sonia Rykiel, Jeanne Lanvin, and Comme des Garçons among others. These select pieces, including an original 1880 Parisian opera costume, will face each other in an exhibition that tells the story of their eras through their designs and the techniques used in their creation.
Jill M. Carey, Professor and Curator at Lasell University, Stephanie Hebert, Collections Manager, and their team of passionate students will be available to guide guests in this exceptional journey enriched by interactive components.
This event will mark the launching of the website and digital catalog of the University’s own permanent fashion collection.
Private Tour: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Limited tickets to a private tour and presentation of historic French hand fans with fan historian and collector Shelly Goncalves, former president of the Fan Association of North America, are available for purchase.
About the Lasell Fashion Collection
Established in 1996, the Lasell Fashion Collection (LFC) contains approximately 3,000 objects and currently resides in the Donahue Center for Creative and Applied Arts. While the collection spans 200 years of fashion history, the LFC is notable for its 20th century designer fashions, with an emphasis on couture. In 2018, over 1,200 artifacts were transferred to the LFC upon the closure of the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, MA. This important acquisition enriched the breadth and depth of the LFC’s holdings, specifically in 19th and early 20th century everyday wear, undergarments, and accessories.
About Boston Fashion Week
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Boston Week! Boston Fashion Week was founded as a civic initiative in 1995. The force behind the week has been dedicated to creating opportunities that increase the viability and visibility of the local industry. The series of fashion related events throughout Greater Boston and beyond serves as a platform for both established industry professionals and aspiring newcomers to showcase their work as well as network with peers and the public.
Join the French Cultural Center and the Boston / Strasbourg Sister City Association for a gallery opening.
“In the fields of science and art, new paradigms emerge only when we dare to go beyond what is established.” – Irene Georgakoudi, Tufts University, Biomedical Engineering
The French Cultural Center is exploring science as the catalyst for artistic expression and art as the catalyst for scientific observation! Join them for the launch of their fall cultural programs with an intriguing gallery opening presented in partnership with the Boston/Strasbourg Sister City Association. The gallery opening will include a reception with light refreshments.
Free and open to the public, registration required.
Event in English with French transcripts.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Art on Science: 26 études (AS26) is a collaborative international art project sponsored by the Boston/Strasbourg Sister City Association (BSSCA) that crosses the lines between art, science, and culture. Thirteen artists from Boston and Strasbourg each were paired with scientists from their home city to explore a scientific theme. The result? A testament to the power of curiosity and creativity and 52 incredible works of art accompanied by written scientific commentaries.
Artists took tours of laboratories. Scientists made studio visits. Some pairs worked shoulder-to-shoulder with live specimens, while others communicated virtually to share ideas and resources. Come explore the fields of art and science with us as we unveil these intriguing works!
Celebrate National Beer Day at Back Bay Social’s Back Bay Beer Festival!
Your ticket includes:
- Admission to the event
- Food truck inspired snacks
- Tasting with 12 different beers — including Down Eat Cider
- “Back Bay Brew Card” to you can keep track of everything you tried
- Giveaways & swag from all of our beer sponsors!
Ex’s and Ohhh’s they haunt us… So off to the Valentine’s Day themed Drag Brunch…
Hosted by Robyn Edges and Neon Calypso-OH-OH-OH
Whether you’re trying to find your squeeze or forget them, join Back Bay Social at our Valentine’s edition Ex’s and Ohhh’s Drag Brunch on Saturday, February 15th. Doors at 11am, Show at 1pm.
One, two, three they’re going to bring the mimosas to me.
We always want to come but we never want to leave!
Performances by Mizery Mcrae and Teasha.
Check out the brunch menu here
**** AN EVENTBRITE TICKET DOES NOT GUARANTEE A TABLE OR SEATING. PLEASE VISIT BACK BAY SOCIAL’S WEBSITE HERE TO MAKE A RESERVATION ****
The north remembers, TRIVIA IS COMING!
Trivia kicks off at at 7 pm and all teams are welcome
During the event, Back Bay Social will be offering a $10 build-your-own-burger.
The winning team will take home a $100 gift card.
This event is 21+. There is no cover.
If you have a larger group and would like to reserve space for your party, please email info@backbaysocial.com
