TCD Students and Faculty enjoy successful European Study Tour

11 Jun 2009    

Twenty-eight TCD majors along with faculty members Dr. Barbara Trout and Dr. Diane Vigna recently returned from a two-week study tour to Prague, Czech Republic and Paris, France. Although they returned very tired, the students now know their way around both of these historic European cities. While they caught the tourist highlights for which these cities are widely known, they experienced many things beyond the usual tourist haunts. Dr.Trout points out that they now know not only Prague but also Bohemia, that they enjoyed a performance of Puccini's La Bohème, and that they could claim Paris’ Montparnasse as their French home base. The group experienced a heavy dose of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the Baroque art and design, including an exhibit on Baroque costume at the Chateau de Versailles, which they described as, in a word, brilliant! At the Yves St. Laurent archives they got a close-up look at an exhibition of native regional Russian dress.

Czech designer Jaroslava Procheslova (in sunglasses) and a university colleague discuss apparel design design particulars at the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design in Prague

Czech fashion designers Jaroslava Procheslova and Tatiana Kovarikova, who exhibited their work last winter in the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery and visited numerous TCD classes at the time, proved to be amazing reciprocal hosts in Prague where they took the group into their showrooms and ateliers and shared their business and design models. Visits to major Czech design schools including the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design expanded the students’ and faculty’s thinking about textile and apparel education. In summary, the trip was exciting and enlightening on many levels. While this trip will be a tough act to follow, the May 2010 Study Tour to China promises to be as culturally expansive and eye-opening as any study tour can be. Look for opportunities to learn more about next year’s trip in the coming months.

Students debriefing on the steps of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague with designer Jaroslava Procheslova (center)