So, here's our first intern feature at LFI and it's by the lovely Katie who gives us an insight into her great experience at Drapers as well as her fashion blog. We'd like to thank her for sharing her internship views and goals. Wishing her the best of luck for the future in bagging that dream job!
Name:
Katie Meadway
Age:
20
Internship:
Editorial Assistant at Drapers.
The
Best experience/responsibility at your Internship: During my time at Drapers I
was given the opportunity to run a feature regarding fashion industry
professionals and their careers. It meant I was able to interview thoroughly
interesting people, for instance, a designer at Speedo, whilst also getting a
piece of my writing published in a prestigious print magazine.
The
worst: Luckily, Drapers was not a standard ‘fashion’ internship. They really
got me involved with all the work they needed doing, and didn’t hold off on the
pressure. However, when researching for potential interview candidates, it did
mean I had to send a lot of emails. It wasn’t boring by any means as I was communicating
with really exciting people, but the first one or two emails got a bit
repetitive due to having to ask everyone the same initial questions, before
their individual responses came through.
Your
day-to-day tasks/ main responsibilities: Like I previously mentioned,
responding to emails from PR contacts, other journalists as well as stockists
and wholesalers, researching appropriate people to interview and feature in the
magazine, and emailing. I also had to do the weekly indicator - a feature that meant
I had to ring around boutiques and small individual retailers and find out
their best selling products and brands.
Why
are you interning? I did a degree in Psychology, but have always wanted to
pursue a career in Fashion - be it PR or journalism. Due to my initial degree
choice, I felt like I needed to offer experience to make up for my lack of
education in my chosen field.
What
are your aims for the future/what do you hope to get out of your Internship: My
aims for the future are to become a fashion editor, preferably of a magazine or
website. I am lucky enough to be starting a new job soon as a Product Editor,
which is a great start on the ladder to my dream job!
Interning,
for or against it? And why? This is a hard one. As a whole, I am for interning,
providing you are gaining experience and actually learning, as opposed to
learning how to make a good cup of tea, or how your colleagues prefer their
coffee! I think there are some things that education can’t teach you, and that
you really do need to experience how the inside of the industry works. For
those reasons, I am for them. However, if you feel degraded, useless and
unappreciated, then I would strongly encourage you to think about the length of
time left at an internship and whether you are learning enough to make you
feeling that way, worth it. Interns are, sadly, always going to be the bottom
of the food chain, but there is a way that employers should be treating you -
with respect and they should also comprehend that you have a desire to learn
about their role. After all, it could be you doing their job one day!
Do
you have a website/ skill/or talent you would like to share/tell the readers
about? www.aimabovelimits.co.uk
is my fashion blog that I have been running for the past two years. It
predominately focuses on high-street fashion but does include features
regarding Fashion Month, and something I really love looking at - the
transition from catwalk to high street.
Your social handles: Twitter: @aimabovelimits
Are
our readers allowed to contact you to talk more about your internship
experience? OF COURSE :)
If you would like to contact Katie, please email londonfashioninterns@live.com and we will pass on your contact information.
