Hi All,

I am Akshita with 7 years of experience in fashion and e-commerce companies in India and I am planning to take up a MSc/Master course in Fashion & Luxury Management and/or Luxury Brand Management in France. My top two options that I am preparing to apply for are:

1. SKEMA Business School - Msc Fashion & Luxury Management
2. INSEEC - MSc Luxury Brand Management

I have also looked at other colleges like NEOMA, Emlyon but have shortlisted the above considering that I want to target Spring intake Jan/Feb 2020. Based on some online reading, I am having second thoughts if its a good idea to join the course in January from an internship and job prospect, as I have read that the hiring cycle in Europe is linked to the September intake. Will appreciate any feedback on this.

Assuming you don't speak and write French to a professional level, I suggest you arrive in January to take an intensive French course and then start in September.

Hi Duncan,

Thanks for your response.
Any reason why you recommend so ?
I really want to start the course in January (if that does not have any issues) and am currently enrolled in French A1 level certification training. I am hoping to complete A1 level french and start A2 level before I come to France.

Thanks,
Akshita

Generally you will rise up one level in French after a year studying in English so with B1 French the internships, project openings and professional roles available are very limited for you, and many of your classmates will speak French better. Since you seem to be interested in those things, and focussed on France, maximizing your knowledge of French will be ideal.

Indeed, you might consider a one year intensive French course and then a one year MS taught in French.

Of course another advantage of delaying a semester is that it makes better schools available to you, which would propel your career further.

[Edited by Duncan on Jul 28, 2019]

Take a look at the MSc in marketing French excellent, as well.

Luxury and brand management is very customer oriented. Combined with France, the country where people will actively refuse to speak English, and you will have very hard time and very limited options available.

I'd say get french to C1 before arriving in France, and then choose an MSc that is in french language, to improve way above C1 level.

Better follow Duncan's advice and wait a bit to have better command of the language and more schools available to you:
HEC, Essec, ESCP (les trois parisiennes) and outside paris Emlyon and Edhec are the top5 in all France rankings. And INSEAD of course!

But A2 in french will not cut it.

[Edited by George Patsoulis on Jul 29, 2019]

It's good to keep in mind that perhaps a good full-time MBA might give you a wider set of career options after you finish. You'll be quite limited to a very niche field with the degrees you're looking at. That's not necessarily a bad thing but the luxury field in particular can be hard to break into.

Hello again everyone,

Taking all your advice into consideration, I spent the past few months rethinking my decision, taking into account the need to study French (and gain considerable fluency in the language) and the restriction the luxury management course might put on my career options, I changed my route. So finally I've applied to MSc Marketing courses in UK. For now I have applied to only 2 colleges - Aston Business School & Nottingham Trent business school. I've got offers from both the colleges but am confused about which one to go ahead with. One main criteria for me is the fees. I've capped the fees at 20,000 Pounds and do not intend to go beyond it. Please let me know what's your opinion of both the colleges and given my profile, which one would be a better fit. NTU is giving me an option of an additional work placement year which is a plus for me I think.

I agree with your approach but these two business schools are not very highlight ranked in terms of international mobility. In fact, if that's your goal neither of these schools will be better than the other.

Any opportunity you have to get hands-on experience during the program would be an asset. Internships, work projects, consulting projects, etc. If NTU has a work placement on the table that would help.

A language course and a less costly MSc in mainland Europe could be better

Luxury is such a difficult field, especially if you don't already have experience in a well-known luxury brand. Why not instead look at specialized degree in marketing or brand management?

At least with that kind of degree you wouldn't be so limited to an extremely difficult industry.

Hi Akshita,

I came across this thread while I was looking for a solution to the same issue that you have. I am looking forward to apply for a Fashion & Luxury Management and/or Luxury Brand Management course in Europe. Wanted to know which course did you opt finally and were you able to decide to successfully get into Feb intake?

Hope it turned out good for you!

Hello to all the contributors. As I am not dominantly inclined to a France based school, however looking for a well-ranked school in Europe to persue a Fashion and/ or Luxury Management course, what would be your suggestions.

-I aim to breakthrough into this industry and looking forward to a brand management opportunity in Europe.
-I have a relevant experience of 4 years in Advertising/Brand Management/Marcom at reputed Indian companies however I am inclined towards working in this sector now
-I have elementary knowledge of French language. So, can you suggest good education opportunities where I don't have a language barrier. (I am already learning though)

Thanks in Advance!

This might help you: https://find-mba.com/board/general-forum/luxury-luxury-brand-management-20998

In general the luxury and fashion industries don't hire many MBAs. And the firms that do look tend to look for MBAs who already have experience in the luxury sector.

Your range of career opportunities would probably be better if you did a ranked MBA program and land an internship in a luxury firm during the program. That, combined with your previous work experience, would put you in a good position, and would give you many options after the program.

I'd say that if you want to work in France, though, your lack of professional fluency in France will put you at a disadvantage. There are English-language MBAs in the country, but the country's business is effectively done in French.