Here's the next feature from Jessica Sheppard, who shares her internship experiences at numerous fashion companies. It's so interesting to see how each one differs and what you can gain from various internships. We wish Jessica loads of luck in her future fashion career!
Age: 22
Internship:
- Dresser at UCA Epsom Interal Show
- PR Intern, London Collections: Men at Elladror PR
- Design Room Assistant at In Love With Fashion
The Best
experience/responsibility at your Internship:
- I loved getting to see the clothes up close and feel a part of the team.
- Seeing the fashion shows from the side lines and being trusted with important people!
- Getting to cut out the fabrics and feel like a proper part of the team.
1.
My
model was really stroppy and had a tantrum in the middle of the show so it was
impossible to get her dressed on time.
2.
There
was a lot of waiting around between shows.
3.
I
wouldn't really say there was a worst bit - it was so much fun!
Your day-to-day
tasks/ main responsibilities:
1.
Making
sure the outfits were together as a whole and fit to be worn as well as fitting
the model properly, practising quickly changing in and out of the clothing,
becoming friendly with the model and getting her in the right place at the
right time. My model had 11 outfit changes so it was quite fast paced and
stressful.
2.
My
main tasks were helping to set up the show spaces, ensuring everyone was in the
right place to sit for the show and helping it to all run smoothly.
3.
Cutting
out the patterns and making sure that I was using the right fabrics. This was
probably my most tense internship because I was so worried about cutting the
fabric wrong because it was so important.
Why are you
interning?
I study fashion
design so its important for me to get experience within the industry. We are
pretty much forced to intern so we have more chance when we get into the
working world.
What are your aims
for the future/what do you hope to get out of your Internship:
I am not entirely
ruling out any part of the fashion industry so I am trying to get internship
experience in all sections - then at least I've tried every avenue before
reaching my end goal and I'll know that its exactly what I want to do. My main
dream is to have my own menswear line but I know that I'm going to need a lot
of experience with designers before I get there.
Interning, for or
against it? And why?
I'm totally for
internships but I think that they are incredibly expensive and hard to get into
unless you live in or close enough to London. However, there are some good jobs
in major cities like Manchester - London is the place to be if you want to make
it in fashion. I definitely think that they help you with experience and
knowledge of the industry and it’s kind of like a taster course before you end
up in an actual job role.
Your social handles:
twitter - @coppergardenx
instagram - @coppergarden
Are our readers
allowed to contact you to talk more about your internship experience?
YES
If you would like to contact Jessica, please email londonfashioninterns@live.com and we will pass on your contact information.
And finally, here's Jessica's video on Q&A's about fashion courses and internships, a good watch and some very helpful tips and advice!
