There actually IS something wrong with a system that necessitates free labor for entry level work experience, especially in an industry whose geographic epicenters have exorbitantly high costs of living. Consider also that to intern with any of the brands anon just listed, you almost always have to already be attending a school (Parsons, FIT, CSM or Polimoda etc.) with extremely high tuition costs.
I actually applied to a “production internship” with The Row while I studied at FIT and quickly declined an interview when I parsed through a more extensive description of what the internship would actually entail: sorting bits of trim by color into different bins. I don’t actually remember if this one was paid– this was after their lawsuit, so perhaps it was. I interviewed for a similar “technical design internship” at Marc Jacobs. I was told that I would not be allowed to sit in on any fittings, look at tech packs or assist on any CAD illustrations (these being literally the crux of technical design) but that I would need to be available to carry samples to and from different buildings and get people coffee. I interviewed for a “patternmaking internship” at Tibi, where I was told that I’d be cleaning the office and “some times tracing patterns on to oak tag”. With that one in particular, I ultimately told the interviewer that I couldn’t afford to accept unpaid internships, and she said “oh, it’s not unpaid– you’ll get a $200 clothing allowance of our own products” for over two months of work. Ha. Ha. All of these positions expected at least three full work days per week.
I want to reiterate that I was only able to get any of these interviews by using my school’s career services database. None of these were opportunities open to the public. These internships were ONLY offered to students studying at elite fashion schools.
This is how our industry ensures that no poor people, or really very many middle class people even, can enter.
Put aside your privilege (or ignorance) for a moment and ask yourself: “If my parents weren’t footing the bill for school tuition & housing in a fashion capitol, would I really be so eager to spend over 20 hours per week doing menial, mostly non-educational labor in order to fill my resumé?”
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vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind
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