Ecole de la Maille de Paris

What Ecole de la Maille de Paris does

Ecole de la Maille de Paris is a private higher education establishment and training organism founded in 2011 in Paris, operating as an association (nonprofit structure) with approximately nine employees. It positions itself as the only French fashion school entirely specialized in knitwear (maille), offering a 3-year post-baccalaureate formation in styliste-modéliste maille, professional certification tracks (150 hours over 10 weekends), and a portfolio of short-format workshops (Summer School, Holiday School, evening courses, weekend stages). Curricula cover both hand and machine knitting — including a Shima Seiki industrial knitting machine acquired in September 2025 — and emphasize sustainable, zero-waste fully fashion techniques that shape garments during knitting.

The school serves four primary customer segments: post-baccalaureate students seeking specialized knitwear training, working professionals upskilling in knitwear, hobbyists and enthusiasts attending short workshops, and fashion houses / textile companies contracting bespoke corporate training. Tuition is €8,500 per year for the initial formation (2025/26) plus €150 in registration fees; professional training is €5,900 (self-funded) or €9,800 (company-funded); and intensive workshops such as the Holiday School are priced at €1,190 per week. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the Paris campus (75 rue Armand Carrel, 75019 Paris), with marketing through Instagram, newsletters, open days, alumni referrals, and earned press coverage in outlets such as TF1, France 2, Le Parisien, and Grazia.

The school generates revenue from tuition fees, professional training contracts, short workshops, and custom corporate programs, with Qualiopi certification enabling OPCO/AFDAS/France Travail financing. It has cultivated an industry ecosystem — partnerships with Shima Seiki (industrial machinery), Peclers Paris (trend agency), Filature Fonty (French yarn manufacturer), La Ferme d'Amalthée, and the Grand Palais — and reports an 80% graduate employment rate within six months, with alumni placed at names such as Kenzo and Fusalp. Leadership comprises a three-woman directing trio (Marine Peutat, Léna Lélu, Nelly Manoukian) supported by co-founder Bernard Pellegrin as treasurer and secretary-general. The institution is pursuing RNCP Level 6 certification to unlock CPF financing eligibility.

Name

Ecole de la Maille de Paris

Legal name

Ecole de la Maille de Paris

Website

https://lecoledelamailledeparis.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ecole de la Maille de Paris is a Paris-based private knitwear school founded in 2011, offering a 3-year post-bac formation, professional certifications, and short machine-knitting workshops to students, industry professionals, hobbyists, and fashion houses. It is the only French fashion school entirely dedicated to knitwear.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Initial Training Tuition: Annual tuition fees for the 3-year post-bac formation: 8,500 € per year plus 150 € registration fees for 2025/26 academic year.
2. Professional Training: Weekend-based professional training programs (150 hours over 10 weekends) for industry professionals. Pricing varies: 5,900 € for individual funding, 9,800 € for company funding.
3. Machine Knitting Workshops: Short intensive courses including Summer School, Holiday School, evening courses, and weekend workshops for hobbyists and professionals wanting to learn or improve knitting machine skills.
4. Custom Corporate Training: Tailor-made training programs for fashion and textile companies, offered in intra or inter-company formats based on specific needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ecole de la Maille de Paris is a French fashion school entirely specialized in knitwear (maille) education. It delivers a 3-year post-baccalaureate stylist-modéliste program, weekend-based professional certification tracks, and short-format machine knitting workshops covering the full knitwear creation process from creative design and material sourcing through machine knitting, prototype development, and collection production.

Product overview

Ecole de la Maille de Paris offers a portfolio of knitwear-focused educational programs centered around its core Formation Post-Bac (3-year degree program) and Formation Professionnelle (professional certification courses). Supporting offerings include short-format workshops: Summer School and Holidays School for intensive seasonal courses, Cours du Soir for evening learners, and Stages Week-end for weekend instruction. All programs specialize in machine knitting (maille/tricot), fabric creation, and knitwear design—making it the only French fashion school entirely dedicated to knitwear. The institution operates from Paris and maintains partnerships with industry partners including Shima Seiki (industrial machinery), Peclers (trend agency), and Fonty (yarn manufacturer).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Formation Post-Bac Styliste-Modéliste Maille A 3-year post-baccalaureate program training students to become knitwear stylists and pattern makers. The curriculum covers creative research, sketching, material sourcing, knitting techniques, prototype development, technical specification sheets, and collection management. Targets post-baccalaureate students passionate about fashion and textile creation.
• Formation Professionnelle (Professional Training) Professional certification training (150 hours over 10 weekends) offering three tracks: Styliste-Modéliste Maille, Styliste Maille, and Technicien Maille. Also includes bespoke intra-company and inter-company training for fashion and textile companies. Targets working professionals and fashion industry employers.
• Summer School An intensive one-week summer course teaching basic pullover knitting techniques (round neck and set-in sleeves) using fully fashioned methods. Targets intermediate knitters seeking to create their own designs, limited to 7 participants per session.
• Holidays School Holiday week intensive courses offered in April and September for advanced knitters to master fully fashioned sweater construction. Limited to 7 participants per session, with all equipment and materials provided.
• Cours du Soir (Evening Courses) Part-time evening courses at two levels (Niveau I and Niveau II) teaching machine knitting techniques. Designed for hobbyists and aspiring professionals who need flexible scheduling outside of work hours.
• Stages Week-end (Weekend Workshops) Weekend intensive workshops teaching knitting machine skills for beginners and intermediate users. Designed for learners seeking flexible learning schedules without weekday time commitments.
• Custom Corporate Training (Intra/Inter-Company) Tailor-made training programs for fashion and textile companies, offered in intra-company or inter-company formats based on specific corporate needs. Adapts the school's knitwear curriculum to address the operational and skill-development requirements of fashion industry employers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% of graduates find employment within 6 months of graduation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Shima SeikicoreTechnology or Integration · 1 September 2025Shima Seiki, a leading industrial knitting machine manufacturer, provided a new industrial machine to the school. An alumni of the school (Camille) works at Shima Seiki as a professional and assists with training and integration of the technology. The partnership includes collaboration on industrial visits and technical expertise.
• Grand PalaisflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024The school collaborated with the Grand Palais and artist Chiharu Shiota on the exhibition 'The Soul Trembles' (December 2024 - March 2025). The entire school community including students, continuing education learners, and alumni participated in a 12-day installation project. This partnership was described as 'monumental' for the small school structure.
• La Ferme d'AmalthéeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership involving a design competition where students created prototypes using mohair and silk yarn supplied by the farm. Winners developed kits with photos and instructions for selling designs. The school participated at the 'Aiguille en Fête' trade show.
• Peclers ParisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual collaboration with the trend agency where 2nd and 1st year students work on the knitwear trend book, providing knitted samples for animation pages of the publication.
• Filature FontyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with French yarn manufacturer involving design challenges. Students created prototypes inspired by designer bags using Fonty's Scarlett cotton yarn, with winning designs published as step-by-step tutorials on Fonty's website.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LISAA (L'Institut Supérieur des Arts Appliqués): Multi-campus French applied-arts and fashion school headquartered in Paris with programs in fashion design, pattern-making, and textile design. Comparable as a French private fashion/applied-arts institution with similar continuing-education and short-workshop offerings.
• Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne: Historic Parisian fashion school under the Fédération de la Haute Couture, focused on couture and ready-to-wear craftsmanship. Comparable as a Paris-based private fashion school training stylists and modélistes, with similar small-batch craftsmanship emphasis.
• Atelier Chardon Savard: Paris fashion school offering a three-year program in fashion design and styling, with strong technical pattern-making curriculum. Comparable as a Paris-based post-bac fashion school targeting a similar student profile and relying on similar craft-based pedagogy.
• Studio Berçot: Paris-based fashion school known for small class sizes and a couture-led pedagogy under Marie Rucki. Comparable to Ecole de la Maille as a boutique French fashion school that maintains an artisanal, studio-style teaching model.
• ESMOD Paris: One of the oldest French fashion schools, headquartered in Paris, offering multi-year post-bac and continuing programs in design, pattern-making, and fashion business. Comparable as a French private fashion school with similar program lengths, tuition structure, and direct-to-consumer recruitment model.

Broad incumbents

• Institut Français de la Mode (IFM): Paris-based private fashion school offering postgraduate and continuing education across the full fashion value chain. Comparable as a French private higher-education fashion institution, though significantly larger and broader in scope than Ecole de la Maille's knitwear specialty.
• Royal College of Art: London-based postgraduate university for art and design with a prominent Fashion program. Comparable as a higher-education institution specializing in fashion and design with strong industry placement.
• Central Saint Martins (UAL): London-based globally recognized fashion and design college. Comparable as a high-reputation specialist fashion school whose alumni define industry prestige, though materially larger and broader than Ecole de la Maille.
• Parsons Paris (The New School): Paris campus of The New School's Parsons School of Design, offering fashion-focused graduate and continuing-education programs in Paris. Comparable as a Paris-based fashion education provider targeting a similar international student base, though at materially larger scale.

Others

• Shima Seiki (partner): Japanese manufacturer of industrial flat knitting machines and leading provider of knittech equipment. Comparable as an ecosystem participant and technology partner rather than a competitor; Shima Seiki supplied the school's industrial machine in September 2025 and supports curriculum integration.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/lecoledelamailledeparis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/ecole-de-la-maille-de-paris

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ecole de la Maille de Paris