Meet Rachel Jerome, if you haven’t already. This girl is certaintly hard to miss with the number of activities she’s involved with around campus. Check out her story about her summer job.
Class year: Junior (Eeeee! How did that happen?!)
Major: Economics
Activities on Campus: Student Activities Council, Tour Guide, Investment Club, and I just became the Campus Ambassador for Pickn’Tell
Versace!? How did you get this job? I was searching for internships on Experience (a career posting site that CELS subscribes to) and there was a posting which was actually from a few years ago with the contact person, but I decided to email them anyways and a few months later I got an interview!
What did the job entail? I was in the Wholesale Department, which is the department that sells the collection to stores. I assisted with market (when buyers come to the showroom to look at the collection and decide what they want in their store) by working with the account executives in the showroom, setting up the showroom, dressing the models during appointments, and preparing order summaries for clients. When it wasn’t market week, I was busy preparing for market by working on selling reports, managing inventory and stock, and coordinating samples and the swatch books. One of my favorite parts of the internship was going to Saks Fifth Ave every morning before the store opened and merchandise the Versace shop to make sure everything looked perfect. Saks is one of Versace’s biggest clients, so it was important that the Versace shop looked great.
Where did your interest in fashion come from? Well, people might actually be surprised that I do have an interest in fashion because if anyone saw me on campus last year I was probably in sweatpants, but I have actually always loved fashion. When I was little my grandma would take me shopping with her and I absolutely loved picking out clothes and creating looks for her. I like that fashion is a way to express yourself. I have never been good at art or music or anything like that, so fashion is my creative outlet.
What is the most interesting skill you learned? I learned so much about how businesses are run and how much is involved to maintain a successful brand. The Wholesale Department really focuses on tailoring selling to the clients, so I did a lot of work on capturing trends and comparing how items are selling at different stores. I learned so much retail math that I had never been exposed to in any of my econ classes.
How can you use the skills you acquired in the future? I hope to go into business (vague, I know), so I think the exposure to all the behind the scenes work has helped me understand what is needed to have a successful business.
Did you meet/see any celebrities? Not at Versace, but this summer I did meet Cee Lo Green at a club and I saw Russell Simmons walking into the Plaza!
Maybe you could share some fashion tips with us sometime too? :)