My Experience in the New York City Fashion Industry

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Columbia Barnard chapter.

As a design-lover, I was honored to have the opportunity this summer to work as an intern with a luxury bridal brand in their Manhattan-based office. I started my internship with an open mind, as it was my first time working in the fashion industry. Although my initial goal was to learn about as many creative fields as possible, my internship ended up being one of my favorite experiences to date.Working in a small, all-female office, I was lucky enough to interact with all of the empowering and welcoming team members and get a sense of the different responsibilities within a fashion brand.  I am so excited to share my insider scoop on what working with a fashion brand is truly like! 

During my internship, I was overseen by the production team leads, and, naturally, I spent a lot of my summer working closely with them. I cut applique and prepped decorative pieces for dresses, and I was educated on the sourcing of a lot of the materials, most coming from India and other locations overseas. I also prepped large fabric samples to send to factories and, by doing so, learned about various specifications when it came to the cut, style, and stretch of different silks. One of the main responsibilities of the production team was to quality check every single gown and garment that got sent in from the factories, and shipped out to bridal store buyers. Quality checking was super tedious at times, and I often found myself becoming dizzy as I inspected every square foot of a veil. But the process provided me with more insight on how detail-oriented brands must be in order to maintain their reputations of high quality. “QC” was never taken lightly!

The not-so-glamorous aspect of my internship experience was, by far, shipments and communications. Noting down QC issues into spreadsheets, taking inventory, alphabetizing, contacting factories, carrying piles of gowns through the streets of New York… the list goes on. Lugging a heavy cart of dresses back from a factory is definitely not for the weak. These tasks opened my eyes to everything that happens behind the scenes to create fashion products. Back-and-forth communications with factories to alter measurements and customizations resulted in perfectly crafted pieces, despite how arduous the process had been. As a fashion intern, trips to factories for pickups and deliveries is definitely a right of passage. However, I was honored to communicate first hand with the brand’s main factory, and I was able to see the inner functionings of yet another type of fashion business.

The highlight of my summer internship was being involved in the marketing components of the fashion brand. I think oftentimes, companies tend to leave interns out of the loop, choosing to assign them menial tasks. My office made sure to actively include me in all of the stages of the creative process, which I felt so lucky about. Sitting in on a marketing meeting, for example, was like watching the brand’s magic come to life and the visions of the creative director manifest themselves into a reality. While the marketing team discussed photoshoot ideas and social media concepts, I was able to stay actively involved and provide my input. I was even invited to be on set for two of the brand’s photoshoots, one for their website lookbook and one for their editorial shoot at a gorgeous site in Long Island. Both were invaluable experiences that fully integrated me into the business. 

Like any internship, you have to pay your dues in fashion! Sometimes, you may be given tasks that are particularly difficult and laborious, or asked to run errands that others may not want to do. However, the experience is so rewarding when you are able to see a creative vision form and evolve while integrated in a brand’s daily work and planning. When pursuing a career or internship in fashion, it is important to understand the different components of a brand and which one speaks to you the most! I am truly grateful that I was able to be involved in a bonafide fashion company before completing my first year of college. I found every task I was given to be a life-changing learning experience, and am excited to explore the fashion industry further as my career progresses! If you are an aspiring fashion designer or creative looking to gain experience in the field, my best advice is to just ask around! Whether it be in your school community or your personal one, you may be surprised by what opportunities come your way by making your passions known.