IFA Paris student spotlight for MBA/Masters Luxury Brand Management: Elias Moussa

Our 2011 MBA/Masters Luxury Brand Management intake recently departed Shanghai to Florence to undertake the next part of this program.  Elias Moussa, the winner of the 2011 IFA Paris Graduation Fashion Show in Paris and recipient of the annual IFA Paris Masters/MBA scholarship awarded to graduating bachelor students, sat down with us to give his impression and experiences about studying in Shanghai.

 

 

IFA PARIS: Hi Elias, thank you for taking your time for this interview. Can you please first introduce yourself?

Elias Moussa: I am 24 years old. I am Lebanese but born and raised in Sweden. I originally studied graphic design in high school before moving to Paris in 2008 where I studied “Haute Couture” for two years.  In 2010, I decided to apply for a Bachelor at IFA Paris in order to pursue my studies in Fashion Design Fashion & Technology.

 

IFA PARIS: After studying in Paris, how did you make the choice to study a MBA/Masters in Luxury Brand Management?

Elias Moussa: Interestingly enough, during my year at IFA Paris in Paris, I worked diligently on creating an entire collection based on the year-end fashion show theme “Memory of the man in Movement.”   In June, IFA Paris flaunts an extravagant fashion show for its 3rd year fashion design students, where we get to work with models to display the collection we had been working on to jury members.  The winner was awarded a scholarship to one of IFA Paris’ postgraduate programs.  I was fortunate to be picked the winner of IFA’s fashion show and selected as scholarship, the Masters/MBA in Luxury Brand Management.

The opportunity to take me to 3 locations, Shanghai, Florence, and Paris, in about a year was absolutely a keen reason for me to choose this program.  Additionally, this course, which was only offered at the time starting in Shanghai, allowed me to understand the business side of fashion.  I think gaining exposure to this side and combining this new knowledge with my current skills in creative design will be a huge advantage for my career in the future. 

 

IFA PARIS: How have you liked Shanghai?

Elias Moussa: In the beginning, there was definitely a period I needed to adjust to this populous city, mainly because I have lived in Sweden and Paris for such a large part of my life.  Although I have visited a few Middle-Eastern countries in the past, China still presented me with a bit of culture shock but I’ve grown to accept the different cultures from all over the world.  I progressively found few places to hang out or eat like Citizen Café which serves great coffee and Elements Fresh which offers a nice mix of fusion and Mediterranean food for people who crave Western food. In the end I started to like Shanghai very much.

 

IFA PARIS: What has surprised you the most in Shanghai?

Elias Moussa: First of all, the people, the communication etiquette was very shocking in the beginning as well as the overall fast pace of life in Shanghai.  There were even times at supermarkets where people would not queue in a line to checkout! 

However, after just three short months, Shanghai is definitely a city that has great business potential and place I could see myself if the right opportunity presents itself in the future.

 

IFA PARIS: Were you happy with IFA Paris and its instructors?

Elias Moussa: I was very happy with the experience of our teachers.  For me, the majority of the courses were brand new.  I was a bit afraid and intimidated at the start; because the content was so foreign but as the program progressed I became increasingly comfortable with the course content and, of course, my new classmates.  Interestingly enough, when I did the application, the interview, the test to enter into the program, I thought to myself, if I was really ready for this program as I have never studied this before.  However, the knowledge I learned during my Bachelor’s studies at IFA Paris in Paris actually did help me, slightly, by laying a great foundation for a first look into the fashion industry.

 

Before ending our discussion, Elias told me how he had absolutely made a good decision in choosing the Luxury Brand Management program in Shanghai and that he would definitely recommend it to anyone interested by what is happening in China at the moment.