The word internship is something we, as LIM students, are very familiar with. I have been fortunate enough to land four internships here at LIM. As a senior, I’ve realized how extremely important it is to intern in the fashion industry, especially while you'tr still a college student.
They were a very small company, and had a showroom consisting of three other employees down in Soho. I was the only intern, which gave me a lot of hands on experience. I was able to take part in a lot of buying meetings, go to stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Barney’s to merchandise all of the denim we sell there, and even attended the trade show Coterie which was such a cool experience!
My next internship was that fall, another wholesale internship but this time with Zac Posen. I was so excited for this internship because I was always a big fan of Zac Posen, and a huge Project Runway fan. Interning in the showroom and being surrounded by all of these beautifully and exquisitely tailored gowns made this internship experience even better.
It was really cool gaining PR experience during my time there, and because Zac Posen is also a small sized company, I gained valuable exposure of the “bones” of the business. It was amazing to see the designs for one collection at the start of my internship, and by the end of my internship, assisting during market week for that finished collection!
My next internship came last spring, in the fashion closet at Oprah magazine. It was always my passion to intern for a magazine. I aspire to be an editor one day, so landing this internship was huge for me!
The whole team at Oprah was exceptionally nice and we all worked well together. I was chosen as the only intern to assist at one of the photo shoots, which was a remarkable experience! I was so excited when the issue came out and bought no less than 15 copies to give out to my closest family and friends! This internship was invaluable and opened my eyes to what it is like to work for a fashion magazine and I truly loved it.
Currently, I intern in the fashion closet at Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines. Although I only started in August, I have already had many cool experiences, such as attending the Project Runway Juniors finale runway show and sitting directly next to all of the judges!
Although I have two wholesale internships, and two fashion closet internships, each experience was completely different and taught me many valuable and exciting things. I truly never realized how important internships were until I actually started interning, and how your hard work at these internships will pay off and definitely be recognized within the fashion world. Going to a school like LIM where you are required to do so, is a blessing that I know I will be even more grateful for when I begin my career and my future after graduation!