New York Fashion Week may be one of the most exclusive and covetable events for fashion fans around the world. No matter the major, students across the city clamor at a chance to get their foot in the door of the fashion industry through internships or volunteer work. Although working behind the scenes of a fashion show might appear glamorous, hidden behind the front-row views are endless errands and long—sometimes unpaid—hours. As the garment bags close on another season of NYFW, we spoke to New School students on whether or not their work experience was worth it.
Just like jobs, internships are found through a myriad of resources like networking, hiring portals, and even a simple DM on Instagram.
Holding a job in the fashion industry is far from easy, especially in the fast-paced unpredictability of fashion week. It requires a huge chunk of one’s time and often, that individual is forced to prioritize deadlines over other things, like schoolwork. Marcello Flutie, a second-year fashion design student, worked as an Assistant Designer of Ready-to-Wear at Luar. “I was doing full days. I would go to school in the morning, and then go to the studio and not leave until 2:30 in the morning, for at least a week and a half straight. I’m a firm believer in being the first one in the class and the last one to leave, and I definitely applied that philosophy to that job,” Flutie said.
A Parsons student and former intern for Collina Strada Fall/Winter 2019, said “I worked for as many hours as they needed me, I worked with the designer and her assistant so I basically did whatever they needed— from sewing, painting, fittings and castings. I worked backstage during the show to help the models get in and out of the looks.”
This student requested to be kept anonymous because they are discouraged from participating in another fashion week internship. “I think that the industry is not friendly. But at the end of the day, you have to intern to gain experience, so you can benefit from it.”
Regardless of whether these internships are paid, working behind the scenes of a runway show can be beneficial. “It’s not even a question. Field experience is imperative both inside and outside of the classroom,” Flutie says. “If you’re looking at it with a negative outlook, thinking about it like, ‘oh I can’t believe I have to do this outside of my schooling hours,’ then it probably shouldn’t be the career path you want to go down. I work endlessly on fashion, but it’s never a burden, at the end of the day when something is finished, it’s worth all the time in the world.”
Owen Langan, a third-year Visual Studies and Capitalism student at Lang, worked on rebranding a heritage couture brand in the Fall/Winter 2019 season. “I think if you’re in New York City and not taking full advantage of it, then you don’t really belong here in a way,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons why I came to school here, to do things outside of school and build a career, so it’s definitely worth it.”
It’s all about the experience and connections gained in hopes to lead to something better. Caitlin Williams, a second-year fashion design student at Parsons, assisted designer Pia Gladys Perey for Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2018 back when she was in high school. “There were a lot of sponsors that helped [the designer]. I spoke with ambassadors from cosmetic companies and I have their contact info. She was also willing to hook me up with the people she knew in New York as well.”
M Nava, a fourth-year Integrated Design student at Parsons, interned for Landlord last spring and worked six unpaid hours on the day of the Fall/Winter 2019 show. “I think getting that real-world experience kind of helped me to make better decisions when it came to what I was looking for in an internship later on,” they said. “Now that I know what it’s all about, I’m not necessarily going to run after a runway internship.”
Abraham Martinez, the current Digital Editor at V Magazine, graduated from Parsons with an MA in Fashion Studies. Martinez said “I really only did one fashion week internship while studying at Parsons and I only got it because the person who had the job originally got sick or canceled or something. But I will say that was my first introduction to the industry as a whole. It was with Milk Studios and it was a big deal and I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but looking back now, I don’t think I would be where I am if it were not for that internship.”
If there’s anything to learn from these experiences, internships allude to the unfair situations that may occur during one’s potential career. The fashion industry typically consists of a professional, yet rigorous environment with multiple demands that is expected of their employees. The resilience of these individuals is the deciding factor of whether or not they are suitable for this business.
“I realized from being in that experience that fashion is a job, and that doesn’t always mean you’re partying,” Nava said. “It’s just a job, and then you go home at the end of the day.”