What to Expect at Your Summer Fashion Internship

Finals are over and many students are looking forward to the next challenge: a summer internship. Internships are a great way for students to learn if a job or professional field is right for them. A job in the tough and competitive fashion world is no different: Some students realize they are on the right track. Others learn that this isn't the industry for them.

Hilary McCanse, a senior journalism major at the University of Wisconsin, realized she was going in the right direction after her internships. McCanse spent her 2007 summer as an accessories intern at Glamour magazine. It was her second internship in the fashion industry. She worked at Chanel in London in 2006.

McCanse’s job as an accessories intern involved returning purses, shoes, and jewelry to the designer after the magazine had used them. She also organized the fashion closet, a room where the magazine holds all their samples, delivered accessories to photo shoots, and did many Starbucks’ runs.

McCanse got the Glamour internship by asking a friend of her dad’s for an editor’s contact information. Several e-mails and one phone interview later, McCanse got the job. She didn’t even have to interview.

“Honestly I think I slipped through the cracks,” she said.

The application process starts early for students who don’t have connections to help secure an internship. Some students start applying for summer internships in the fashion magazine industry in December. Conde Nast has a January 31st deadline for its summer intern program. Others are able to find internships at the online site EdBoard2010.com a month before it starts.

Some professionals warn that students who really want the job need to step up to the plate, get their paperwork in, and be persistent.

Nick Axelrod, a fashion assistant for Women’s Wear Daily, is surprised by how many students don’t follow through with the application process.

“I only ever actually got responses from people after following up at least two or three times,” Axelrod said.

Axelrod recommends that intern applicants follow up at least once a week with the editor responsible for the hiring. This shows the editor how much you are interested in the internship.

Don’t worry if your boss has not told you the details about your job in the days leading up to your internship. Editors have busy work schedules and sometimes don’t have time to answer e-mails. They are used to receiving new interns and will answer your questions, but it is better to wait until the first day of work.

People in the fashion industry dress stylishly, but appropriately, while on the job. Interns wear summer dresses or jeans with a cute top and flats or comfortable heels. Male interns should pair a nice shirt with jeans and either open or closed-toe shoes. You will spend the most of the day on your feet, running errands and making copies, so be comfortable. Many New Yorkers wear flip-flops on the metro and when they are a block from work, change into their dress shoes.

If you are wearing a dress, make sure it is long enough because you may find yourself working on the floor creating storyboards. Storyboards are made up of the looks editors want their assistants to get samples of to use for a photo shoot. When you are working on storyboards, the last thing editors want to see is your underwear.

McCanse said she wore a skirt or dress to work almost every day.

“You are in the fashion industry…get creative with what you wear. I love thrift stores and wore many vintage outfits. What ever you wear, don't look sloppy,” she said.

Holly Bauman, a senior at the University of Texas, also spent last summer working at Glamour. After her experience at Glamour, she decided to spend her following spring semester working at D Magazine in Dallas. She was surprised by the casual, laid-back atmosphere.

“At Glamour, we barely had a moment to eat lunch. At D they give us an hour break and let us work from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” Bauman said.

The New York City market is more fast-paced than other cities’ work environments. If you have a job in New York, be prepared to work non-stop. But just because you work hard doesn’t mean you don’t have fun.

Bauman said her most memorable experience was the friendships she made with the other interns.

“We all became so close because we were working on top of each other all day. There is no way we could all have gotten our work done without the help of other interns,” she said.

Whether it is an internship in the Big Apple, or in the Big D, make sure to enjoy your experience for what it’s worth. Before you know it, the summer will be over and you'll be back hitting the books.