Night photograph of Lyon's Notre Dame
Cathedral which overlooks the city from its highest point.
Lyon Study
Tour - Summer 2005
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As part of UNI's Study Abroad Program, during the time span between June 20 and
July 29, several UNI students (9 total) participated in a grand study of the
French textile and apparel industry as well as the history of textiles.
Earning 6 hours of credit, the students studied with textile and apparel
professors from the Université
de la Mode of the
University of Lyon 2, as well as with UNI professors
Annette Lynch and Mitchell Strauss.
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Besides being France's second largest
city, Lyon is one of the great historic centers of the world textile
industry. Some of the most elegant, complicated and sumptuous woven fabrics
every produced were made in the famous silk district of Lyon. Lyon and its
surrounding environs have had a long history of producing the fabrics,
footwear and hats used in the Parisian couture enterprises. Without Lyon,
the Parisian couturiers could not have created the incredible designs that
they have over the past hundred years or more. As a result of its long and
storied involvement in textile manufacture, the region is clustered with
some of the finest textile museums in the world. Lyon is an incredible place
to study the fashion industry and the history of textiles.
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The UNI students arrived in Lyon on June 20-21,
2005, joining other students from around the world for the initial three
week program conducted by
the Université de la Mode. The students were housed in
attractive single rooms in a University of Lyon 2 dormitory. Classes, in
both the morning and afternoon included lectures on the fashion industry,
and other associated subjects such as designing a fashion collection, as well
as interesting related matters such as fashion and film. Included throughout the
three weeks were tours to industry sites, such as fabric formation and
fabric printing operations. Besides visits to industrial/business sites
there were several tours of textile museums in Lyon and surrounding
cities.
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The final two weeks of the program were
taught by Drs. Lynch and Strauss, where the focus was on the history of
textiles. Classes were held in a beautifully appointed conference room
within Lyon's Musees des Tissus (Textile Museum). Students spent the
mornings each day in a combination of lectures and field exercises within
the museum's extensive historical collection. Artifacts that students
interacted with included fabrics from the museum's ancient Coptic, Persian,
Byzantine, Ottoman, Italian, Spanish and French collections. Modern fabrics,
such as famous print designs by Sonia Delaunay were also examined. |
Checking in baggage at
the Cedar Rapids Airport |
The final bus ride from the Lyon
Airport to student housing |
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A tour of the Lyon
Musses des Tissus
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Opening night
reception with Director of Industry
Consortium that sponsors the Lyon 2
program |
The bus ride to
Avignon, famous French walled city and home of the Popes
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In an ancient French castle outside
Avignon,
Countess Alexandra, program director, speaks to students. |
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UNI students posing in a castle alcove
outside Avignon |
Modeling a new sun hat |
Sampling items in a French boutique at
the Village of Creators |
| The city of Lyon is fully committed to the
development of its textile and apparel industry. Small entrepreneurial shops
where designers create and sell their apparel products exist throughout the
city. Promising new design companies receive support from the city and
larger industry in the Village of Creators, which is an incubator for new
textile and apparel companies. Lyon also designated itself as a European
hi-tech textile center during the time we were there.
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The Village of
Creators at Passage Thiaffait in the old silk district
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UNI student on right, digging for more
information
about the functioning of the Village of Creators |
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Outside Sophie Guyot's shop,
Lyon
textile entrepreneur and guest lecturer |
On tour at a museum
specializing in the history of textile printing |
Eight of the nine UNI students pose on
the steps of a grand French
Châteaux. |
Luncheon in the yard
of Countess Alexandra's Châteaux
with Dr. Lynch and young Parker Strauss |
UNI students cool
their heels in one of
the many textile museum stores |
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Dr. Strauss poses with students at
Countess Alexandra's luncheon. |
Dr. Lynch lectures in
the Museum conference room.
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UNI students examine
Egyptian Coptic
artifacts for structural elements |
On a warm French
summer day, Dr. Lynch lectures outdoors
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In the Museum again,
sketching historic design
motifs created by Coptic and Persian weavers
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| In addition to their class work during the week, the
students had weekends to travel around France and Europe. Included in the
weekend destinations of some of the students were such locales as Paris,
Nice, and Cannes in France, as well as Geneva, Switzerland. Students were
excited to be on the Champs Elysees in Paris to witness American cyclist
Lance Armstrong compete his seventh Tour de France victory. Also seen in
Paris was director Ron Howard there to film The DaVinci Code. Rock
immortal Bono was also witnessed sauntering through Paris by some of our
students!
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An Indian Bollywood
version of Spiderman was
witnessed being filmed on streets of Lyon |
Outside the Opera
House, a rock and roll celebration
of Bastille Day, a major French national holiday |
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Posing outside the
Textile Museum,
the entire UNI 2005 Study Abroad Group on their last day
of class |
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