TVFU Recap: What You Need to Know to Land an Internship

Breaking into the fashion industry is a difficult task to do, and it is getting harder every day.  Fortunately, I got the opportunity to get a look into this life from some of the best in the industry.  The weekend of October 20th in New York City, I attended Teen Vogue Fashion University.  This is a weekend long conference for the most fashionable women, and men, in the world who apply and get accepted.   Teen Vogue Fashion University offers numerous amounts of classes led by a range of fashion icons. This year, those who participated in TVFU were able to meet and seek advice from, Grace Coddington, Prabal Gurung, Nicole Richie, Christian Siriano and the Teen Vogue Editors.  One crucial advantage for breaking into the fashion industry that all of these fashion icons hit on, maybe the most important aspect, are getting internships.         

Grace Coddington, a former model and currently the creative director of American Vogue, has an overwhelming, but positive presence with her wild red hair and the power of passion seen in her eyes.  Coddington expresses how she feels about fashion: “fashion makes you feel happy; it is an international language, a feel good thing which makes it easier to get through the day when you are working with something you love.”  If you are currently unsure fashion is the industry you want to be a part of, ask yourself if you feel the same way about fashion as Coddington does.  If so, it is the perfect industry for you.  Coddington also describes the perfect intern, in her eyes, “the intern has to have humor, someone who is not going to pack up and go home early in the evening.  It does not matter what their degree is, or if they even have a degree.  I do not care if they are wearing Prada, I want to see how they put an outfit together.” If you ever are an intern in the fashion world, Coddington forewarns that, “Everyone at your magazine is going to be watching you all the time.  You will be doing little jobs.  Life is tough and if you want to be successful, you have to work hard. “  Coddington was a joy to see and it was an honor to hear her words of wisdom.

Following Coddington was a class taught by a man who claims to “love women because they are such complex creatures.”  This man is no other than the famous women’s fashion designer, Prabal Gurung.  Gurung expresses his interest in an intern: “When hiring an intern I looks for enthusiasm and excitement.  I do not expect the person to know everything, just to be passionate and to not be afraid to work hard.  They have to take risks and love what they are doing.” Gurung was born in Singapore and raised in Nepal, so naturally it was extremely difficult for him to break into the fashion industry, especially the American fashion industry.  Although Gurung grew up far away from this industry, he still was able to make it big.  Gurung gives advice that helped him break into the industry, to Fashion U students who are currently experiencing the trouble of being far away from New York but wanting to break into this industry.  Gurung advises, “You need to get to know the fashion industry.  Even if you are far away from New York, talent will find its way to NYC.  With social media, you are easily connected to fashion and New York.  You actually have a benefit because isolation is the key to creativity.” 

Seeing Nicole Richie was an amazing experience! It was wonderful to see such an inspirational woman be able to balance being a mother, having a clothing line, and being a businesswoman.  She did not focus on breaking into the fashion industry but she did give ideal advice.  She expressed that making mistakes is a positive thing.  Nicole Richie stated, “mistakes are learning and growing, it is not a step back, but a step forward.” I love this advice because everyone is going to make mistakes in life, especially when breaking into the fashion industry; however, you have to look at these mistakes as something positive and something to learn from, otherwise you will always criticize yourself and never have the faith and courage you need to break into this world.

One of my favorite speakers I saw this year was Christian Siriano, winner of season 4 Project Runway. If anyone watched this season, they would know that Siriano is the type of guy to speak his mind and break some rules in order to make it to the top.  Siriano’s advice is not as pleasant as Coddington and Gurung’s.  Siriano says that “if you do not understand what is going on or what people are saying to you, act as though you do.”  I do not know if this is necessarily the best advice, but it may help some succeed, of course it helped Siriano.  One thing Siriano was persistent about was that if you do not love what you are doing, you have to find something new, something you actually love.  Siriano shared with us the best advice he has ever received: “Listen to people in the industry, but you really have to ‘do you’ still.  Do not be who other people want you to be, be yourself, find what’s good for you.” For all of you Christian Siriano fans, he is a lot shorter in person!

My final class at Teen Vogue Fashion University was none other than the Teen Vogue Editors.  Amy Astley, Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue, spoke on creating opportunities for yourself in the fashion industry.  Create your own blog; get involved on your campus with fashion related groups.  Astley states that the main thing to be cautious about is, “it is now harder to get fashion internships for legal reasons, and so, naturally, they are now a lot more competitive.”  I was most fond of Astley’s inspirational message: “Fashion is about people who put themselves out there and take risks.  It is all about taking risks in order to break into this industry.”  Gloria Baume, the fashion director of Teen Vogue, talked about what a quality intern looks like to her.  She states, “I am always watching my interns and I always want them to be the first one there to offer themselves for a job.  I want them to never say no and always think ahead.”  Sheena Smith, accessories director of Teen Vogue, wants an intern, “who is eager and interested in being in fashion.  I look to my interns for inspiration.  I like to get to know the personality of my interns.”  Each Teen Vogue Editor looks for different qualities in their interns.  This proves that any type of person has an opportunity to pursue a career in the fashion industry.

I loved my experience at Teen Vogue Fashion University and I would recommend this opportunity to anyone who is interested in the fashion industry.  You learn so much, and overall it is just an amazing, unforgettable experience. Breaking into the fashion industry is extremely hard; however, if it is entirely worth it for you, then it is something you must do.  Take this advice from these fashion icons and reference it when working towards your future in the fashion industry! 

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