This summer I interned in the fashion closet at ELLE magazine and in case you’re wondering, no it was not like being in “The Devil wears Prada.” Of course there were moments of high stress, like the time before a big photo shoot in California when entire outfits were missing only hours before the clothes were scheduled to be sent out! The editors would be badgering their assistants asking where the particular outfit or article of clothing was and us interns would be sent running around to try and find it. Other than moments like those, being in the fashion closet just felt like being in a big office filled with clothes instead of desks. Allow me to explain a little better: the fashion closet is a large room, a little smaller than the average formal lounge here at AU, where all the clothes come in and out for the various shoots. The clothes are organized on racks by which shoot they are for and a day or two before the shoot a few editors come in and pick which outfits they actually want to use. This is called a run through and afterwards some of the outfits would be sent back to the designer or PR company that they came from. Others would stay because the editors were still considering whether or not they wanted to use something. If this sounds familiar, there is a run through scene in “The Devil wears Prada”: it’s when Meryl Streep goes off on Anne Hathaway for not knowing the difference between the two belts and then for not knowing what exact shade of blue her sweater is. During one of my first weeks at the magazine the editor in chief came in for a run through and us interns had to leave the closet for what turned into an hour. The shoot was with Ireland Baldwin, Alec Baldwin’s daughter (who he yelled at over a voicemail that was leaked) and was featured in this year’s September issue. Typically the run throughs were less than a half hour and only included one or two editors quickly browsing the racks of clothes they had requested.
My first week at the magazine was particularly stressful as we were scrambling to pack for one of the final shoots for the August issue that involved more clothing than I have ever seen in my life. The theme of the shoot focused on the military trend and was being shot in the middle of the desert in California. The entire closet was filled with everything from bikinis to winter coats in camouflage print and solid olive green. In the end, the spread in the recent August issue featured mostly jewelry and a few bathing suits. Those first couple weeks were the most stressful times I had while at the magazine, but by the end all us interns had shown we could work together really well to get things done. My first Friday at the magazine we were there until 10:30pm working to pack up all the things for the military shoot! We were all tired and hungry, but having each other as a support system was a major boost. A Joe Jonas sighting outside the building at the end of night helped too.
On a more regular basis, these morale boosts came from my boss, the assistant in charge of the fashion closet. Her job largely consisted of being the contact for design houses and PR companies when they wanted their stuff back, which usually involved a constant stream of emails until they were told the clothing was on its way. Despite all this she always tried to remain as calm as possible and was constantly reassuring us that everything would be fine. It was those times that she felt more like an older sister or a camp counselor than a boss, especially considering she was only a few years older than us interns. She always made sure that we were never just sitting around, but rather helping each other out as best we could. On days when there was very little happening, she would let a few people go home and enjoy a day off in order to keep the closet quieter and more organized.
Overall, it was a pretty amazing experience interning at such a well established fashion magazine. I learned so much about all the work it takes to put a magazine together while also learning this fall’s latest trends!
Photo Credit: http://www.justjared.com/2013/…