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USC Marshall Students Travel to Paris for Firsthand Exploration of Fashion Industry

USC Marshall Students Travel to Paris for Firsthand Exploration of Fashion Industry

Organized by ExCEL, a Marshall international program, the trip included visits to major players in the fashion and luxury industry.

by: Alexander Bernard
06.25.26
ExCEL students posing with the Marshall flag at nicolas feuillatte

ExCEL students visited Nicolas Feuillatte to learn about the luxury industry.

[Photo courtesy of O’Connell]

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This May, USC Marshall traveled to the heart of the fashion and luxury industries: Paris, France. As part of the business school’s International Experiential Corporate Learning Program (ExCEL), students from across Marshall and USC visited Paris for a week and a half of company visits and industry leader panels at businesses like Chanel, McKinsey & Company, and Estée Lauder.

Julia Plotts, professor of clinical finance and business economics, joined the trip as a faculty advisor and worked closely with Sean O’Connell, director of undergraduate international programs, to arrange visits that dove deep into the heart of the fashion and luxury industries, a specific passion for most of the participants.

Plotts explained that international trips offer participants an opportunity to learn what they never could in the classroom.

“You’re just hiding behind a screen in a classroom versus you’re there in person and you’re shaking hands,” Plotts said. “You’re, in some cases, even having a meal with the host.”

From more than 100 applications, 38 students were selected to join the trip. Many of them were Marshall students, including some budding entrepreneurs who are already developing their brands. The group met with major players like L’Oreal and Louis Vuitton and explored unique innovators like Maison Sophie Hallette, a lace house founded in 1887, and SF Cacao Chocolate Factory.

Plotts pointed out that the exclusive access elevates the trip above “education tourism,” and instead offers participants practical tools to help their professional decisions and development.

“Let’s give you something really applied where you can build out your network, you can understand a little bit more about the industry, and where you want to focus,” Plotts said.

The all-star lineup didn’t come together overnight according to Plotts and O’Connell. It was the result of months of leveraging connections with Trojan alumni and even former international students who spent a semester or two studying at USC. As O’Connell explains, the trip would not have been as successful without these deep university ties.

“We’re really indebted to the alumni on all of this — and by alumni, also the exchange students. Without them, this really doesn’t work out,” O’Connell explained. “There’s an actual passion that we can see [in our alumni].”

Plotts and O’Connell said the program’s timing was fortuitous, given the current state of the fashion and luxury industries. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, pent-up demand increased global spending in the sector. In the last few years, however, consumer enthusiasm has diminished, as a result of factors such as declining Chinese demand, the aftermath of the Iran conflict, and rising prices.

Plotts and O’Connell viewed the recent downturn as a chance for the group to see how top companies tackle adversity.

I expected great company visits, but I didn’t expect executives from Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, and McKinsey and Company to be so candid about where the industry is headed.

— Arabella Jensen

Business Administration Major, Fashion Minor

“When companies are facing these challenges, it’s a much richer area to focus on,” O’Connell observed. “When there are challenges, you start to see company A is responding this way, company B is responding this way, etc. That’s a much richer environment for students to learn from — to see how each of the different entities is addressing these issues, what they perceive the issue to be, how they are focusing on either client acquisition or retention.”

Now in its 20th year, ExCEL has organized industry visits across the world, including in Manila, Hong Kong, and Barcelona. Although concentrated within a shorter period of time, O’Connell says the program offers what a casual trip abroad cannot: irreplaceable access and firsthand experience.

It’s one thing to read about how the fashion industry operates, O’Connell explained, but it’s another to hear it from the managing director of Chanel’s French market.

“It makes the learning very tangible — I can touch it, I can feel it.” O’Connell said. “I can have the students experience [lessons] firsthand and understand by seeing what those challenges are and how to best overcome them.”

Morgan Mims, a business administration major, reflected on the access she and her cohort enjoyed on the trip. According to Mims, the excursion far exceeded her expectations and allowed her to connect with executives she never would’ve encountered, otherwise.

“Meeting with Chanel’s managing director of France and president of Europe, Berndt Hauptkorn, was especially memorable,” Mims recalled. “They were much more candid and open with us than I expected, and it was incredible to be able to ask questions directly to people at such a high level.”

Arabella Jensen, who is earning her fashion minor in addition to her business administration major, was particularly impacted by executives’ candid responses. By meeting face-to-face, Jensen felt she gained more context for top-line decision-making than she ever could from a textbook.

“I expected great company visits, but I didn’t expect executives from Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, and McKinsey and Company to be so candid about where the industry is headed,” Jensen said. “What really surprised me was that these weren’t just one-sided presentations, but actual conversations we were having with executives who genuinely wanted to hear from us and took our questions seriously.”

Prisha Agarwal, a second-year business administration major, said her interactions with entrepreneurs and executives would stay with her beyond her undergraduate education. They opened her eyes to new career possibilities.

“I had the opportunity to ask questions to sharpen my direction and I was surprised at how many honest answers I got,” Agarwal said. “After speaking with professionals across strategy, retail, recruitment, operations, and analytics, I gained a much deeper appreciation for the range of career paths that exist within the industry. Most of all it showed me that to be a part of this industry you always have to be adaptable and curious to learn more.”

To learn more about USC Marshall’s international programs, please click here.

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