Atelier Chardon Savard（沙东萨瓦尔工作室）European Study Guide: Programs, Entry Requirements, Costs and Student Planning

This guide covers the programmes, entry requirements, costs and practical planning points for studying at Atelier Chardon Savard (沙东萨瓦尔工作室), a private French fashion school founded in 1988 by Cyrille Chardon and Dominique Savard. The school runs campuses in Paris and Nantes and awards state-recognised certifications at levels 6 and 7 of the French RNCP framework. All facts below are taken from the official website (atelier-chardon-savard.com) as accessed on 7 August 2026; figures are the rates published at that time and should be re-checked on the website when you apply.

The school: Paris and Nantes since 1988

Atelier Chardon Savard (沙东萨瓦尔工作室) describes itself as a creative fashion school since 1988. It is an independent private higher-education institution — it does not take part in the Parcoursup central application system, and its students are not eligible for CROUS state scholarships. The Paris campus sits in the 11th arrondissement at 15 rue Gambey (with a second site at 1 cité Griset), housed in a former printing works; students work in two fully equipped sewing studios with industrial machines, pressing equipment, overlockers, mannequins and cutting tables, plus a dedicated knitwear studio with double-bed electronic machines. The Nantes campus at 31-33 rue Saint-Léonard is a deliberately human-scale school in the historic city centre, two hours from Paris, with bright studios, a knitting workshop, pattern-making studios and multi-purpose rooms. The school trains students for careers in fashion design, fashion communication, brand creation and personal styling, and most programmes include internships from the first year.

Programmes: from bachelor to postgraduate

Atelier Chardon Savard (沙东萨瓦尔工作室) organises its courses by direction and level. In design: the Bachelor Designer de Mode, taught in French or English and available in both Paris and Nantes, and the Bachelor Fashion Designer, taught 100% in English by Anglo-Saxon lecturers at the Paris campus. In fashion communication: the Bachelor Communication de Mode and the Mastère Manager en Communication de Mode. Further up the ladder sit the Mastère Créateur de Mode (brand creation), the Conseil en Style short course for personal shoppers, and the Postgraduate Fashion Creator for Bac+3 holders. The design bachelor leads to the level-6 RNCP professional certification “Styliste - Designer de Mode”, listed on the website under registration number 42512, valid for three years. The school publishes two self-reported indicators for this title: a 90% certification pass rate for the 2025 cohort and an 87% employment rate six months after graduation for the 2024 cohort.

Entry requirements: an interview-based process

Admission to Atelier Chardon Savard (沙东萨瓦尔工作室) runs outside Parcoursup: every application starts with an admission interview, whichever course you are applying for. Interview sessions begin in October, a committee reviews applications weekly, and candidates are told within 15 days whether they have been accepted; enrolment is confirmed once the registration file arrives on time, and places are limited. Entry levels follow a parallel-entry model: the Bac qualifies for year one, Bac+1 for year two, a fashion-school Bac+2 for year three of the design bachelor, a Bac+2 in communication, graphic design, architecture or applied arts for the communication bachelor, and a Bac+3 for the Créateur de Mode and Communication de Mode masters. Year one of the design bachelor has no drawing or sewing prerequisites — motivation is the criterion. The English-taught Fashion Designer asks for at least B2 English (IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL or Cambridge all accepted), a high-school diploma for year one, 60 ECTS in fashion or design for year two and 120 ECTS for year three, plus diplomas, transcripts, a CV and a motivation letter.

Costs: published tuition by campus and status

Tuition at Atelier Chardon Savard (沙东萨瓦尔工作室) varies by campus, course and nationality, under the rates published for 2025-2026 and revisable each year. At the Paris campus, the Designer de Mode bachelor costs €10,990, €11,090 and €11,190 for years one to three, with €1,990 for the professionalisation year, plus a one-off €590 application fee. The same course at Nantes costs €8,990, €9,190 and €9,190 for years one to three, €1,990 for year four, plus a €520 application fee. The English-taught Fashion Designer at Paris costs EU students €12,090, €12,190 and €12,290 for years one to three and non-EU students €13,190, €13,290 and €13,390, with €1,990 in year four for both groups, plus the €590 application fee. Published master’s rates include €11,290 (year one) and €2,950 (year two) for the Créateur de Mode and €11,000 per year for the Communication de Mode master; the Fashion Creator postgraduate is €11,290 for EU nationals and €13,390 for non-EU nationals. Tuition excludes personal materials, tools, books, software and study trips. Because the school is private, no CROUS scholarship applies; the financing page lists regional and local aid schemes, company-based support and a banking partnership with Caisse d’Épargne.

Student planning: housing, social security and careers

Practical planning for Atelier Chardon Savard (沙东萨瓦尔工作室) starts with housing: the school partners with the Studapart platform, which lists hundreds of studios, flat-shares and rooms in private homes, digitises the whole rental file and can act as guarantor for the full tenancy when you have no guarantor in France — a real advantage for international students. Student social security is mandatory and the school is an approved institution under the French student social security scheme; the contribution is set annually by ministerial decree. On campus, benefits include the ISIC student card with access to more than 150,000 discounts across travel, tech, fashion, sport and entertainment, and an Apple partnership giving roughly 16% off Mac products. Internships run from year one; year four of the design bachelor is a professionalisation year with at least six months of placements, and the school supports students with CV, cover-letter, portfolio and career-planning workshops while maintaining an alumni and employer network.

Application timeline and final notes

A sensible sequence for Atelier Chardon Savard (沙东萨瓦尔工作室) is: choose your direction and campus (the French track for the Designer de Mode, the English track for the Fashion Designer; Nantes if you prefer a smaller, cheaper city), prepare language certificates where required and your documents, book an interview from October onwards, then handle enrolment paperwork and housing once admitted. Budget for annual tuition of roughly €9,000 to €13,400 depending on course and campus — the fourth-year rate drops to €1,990 — plus the one-off application fee and living costs; the school does not publish a unified living-cost estimate, so price housing and daily expenses against current market rates in your chosen city. Because every applicant’s background, language level and budget differ, it is worth discussing your specific situation with a counsellor at this site, who can map the programmes, requirements, costs and timeline onto your own plan.