'A million girls would kill for this chance' - an ex-intern at Vogue US

[adorefaith]

i think thats what she meant ferdinanda..

 

[Lacroix]

After reading, it didn't really seem like the girl cared about high-fashion all that much. I say, there really are a million girls who would die for the job, but its a different kind of girl; one that would actually faint if they even got an interview. And why say 'I've only been here 2 weeks', when you knew the job was in NY, and you lived in London? It was her choice to take the job so she should have researched New York and learnt the street names etc. For both Lauren & this girl it's like they just see all the picking up of clothes and money for the shoots as a waste because they don't see the bigger picture; they don't appreciate high-fashion and what goes into it. It makes me sick that some people get these chances and complain when someone like myself would never get an interview because its so damn hard & competetive

 

[MJCouture]

^While I think that your point is valid, and she should appreciate the opportunity (and what it will do for her resume), she is definitely correct to complain about certain types of treatment that are COMPLETELY real in the magazine world. Assistant editors take all of their aggravation out on the interns, because they have no one else to take it out on and they are getting sh*t from everyone else (the sh*t runs downhill if you will). While I find that people are actually nicer as humans than you would think in fashion publishing, they are shrewd, nasty b*tches when it comes to work. They will humiliate and insult you for doing something you were told to do after they change their mind and don't inform you, they will scream that something should be done "right now" after they told you you had to the end of the day. These are the kinds of things that are demoralizing to the soul and to the work ethic. When you are not being paid, and not being appreciated at any level it is really hard not to be bitter despite it being the only foot in the door of magazine work.

 

[Lacroix]

^ I know, but that'll never change if anything it will get worse. I suppose you'd just have to develop a thick skin because the people who are you're bosses most likely were once in the intern position themselves. I don't know, I think theres a difference between not being paid when you should be etc (which is just wrong) and having to go on various exhausting errands & putting up with long hours and bitchy people.

 

[yojimbo]

there should be other ways of making it big in the fashion industry, without starting from the bottom up in a crappy internship job.

2 cents

 

[MJCouture]

^thats true. And there are many editors at major mags today who did not start their careers on the editorial side. Of course some grunt work for an intern is expected, and I don't think complaining about having to do it is justified, but it should be appreciated.,

 

[Megzy]

So I might use this article for a marketing project but all articles have to be from "established news sources" does anyone know if The Times Online.co.uk is a credible source? I'm not from the UK so I have no idea.

Thanks

 

[Lacroix]

^ Yes it is, The Times is a major newspaper here so it would be fine to use.

 

[Megzy]

^ Yes it is, The Times is a major newspaper here so it would be fine to use.

Haha yeah I didn't even think about that, thank you

 

[gia0202]

as someone who LOVED fashion, i mean lived for it, i understand the writer's angst. it is all ridiculous. as an intern you are expected to bow down to these women, have no rights, work for nothing, and almost no one in the editorial world makes any money anyway. if you want ot be able to pay your bills--it's understand. date a rich man or have rich parents. otherwise---starve.


ther is nothing glamourous about grown women working for just above minimum wage despite ivy league educations in an industry soo sexist and male-dominated that it raisies the question....what happenede to the feminist movement? did it hit the garment district of ny yet?


only recently have there been head designers that are women. the heads of these publishing houses are usually men, and while women fill pr firms---there is no money in that sooooo...


p.s. the reason why editors haggle to get clothes for free is because they can't AFFORD to buy it.

 

[katebug]

Whilst I'm sure interning is a nightmare, it is only usually for a few months and I think that sticking it out proves strength of character which cant be shown on a CV.

However, I do wonder if actual employees in the lower ranks are treated much better?

 

[gia0202]

from what i found, many people in the fashion industry are only nice to people when it benefits them. maybe it comes from all the anger built up from teh assistant/intern years. the main thing is the pay. most editors of mags don't make more than 35 grand. it is rare they are able to afford glamourous lives.
that limit the people who would seek this career to those who canot live w/o fashion and those with well-to -do parents. while intering somewhere--i was the only girl who did not come from money. there were 5 of us. our boss was well-to do. half the office was as well.

 

[baRose]

AMEN!!!...



thank god someone said it..
HOORAY..

this is NOT about "accepting life"...or "learning to be tough"..
this is about coming to a place in your life where you realise you are WORTHY of being treated with the respect that you DESERVE..

L0VE...you say if people are shocked by this they must be young or lacking experience..
and it's funny you say that...because i think those are EXACTLY the people who take this kind of crap as "necessary" and "part of life"..
it simply IS NOT...
i dont know where you work or how you live...but in my life and my work, i don't take that kind of abuse and ridiculous hierarchy as NORMAL...and i don't surround myself with people who believe it is OK to treat others that way...
i dont live in a bubble...and of course i meet people who i dont particularly get along with....but i dont speak to others with disrespect and they dont speak to me that way either...

there is a BIG difference between learning to work hard and be surrounded by people who you dont particularly get along with and being instructed not to look someone in the eye or being taken advantage of...
i think with age and experience you learn that kind of discernment...

Holy Cow! I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[smartarse]

Reality Bites

(On reading this thread)


This is just a foresight/hypothetical. please do not take offense:


If a publishing company like Conde Nast/Vogue were to hire interns on this thread for 2 weeks, at most, half of the posters in here will not be asked to return the final week nor will be asked again. Period.

*I was once a college student and had a very high esteem (on self as well as in my education). I thought i knew it all. I did know it all (as in booksmart). But booksmart is not enough to get by in the real world, neither is nepotism/ who you know. The latter is just a foot in the door, but the true testament is how you perform is what gets you respect as well as to the top.

 

[smartarse]

...oh and one more thing. New York City is a very tough,competitive place, not just in publishing. So for that London Intern and some of the posters in here who doesn't know how rough and tough it is amongst high achievers, go-getters, highly ambitious, shark infested in the chaotic, IRON JUNGLE of NYC, you might be in for a rude awakening, if you so happened to land a job in the most sought after companies and positions in Manhattan - NYC.

NOTE: Please do not take offense. I am just informing on how it really is to work in NYC in general.

 

[misssakura]

I think most people realise that's how it 'is'. A lot of people just don't think that's how it should be.

 

[Nemova]

^Exactly, misssakura. It's very easy to come down on people in a patronising way saying that they have no idea how the real world is. Fact is that most people know very well how things work but they decide not to abide to the "iron jungle" rules. Life doesn't always have to be about eating each others livers supposedly for "survival" purposes.

 

[dazed&confused]

... how rough and tough it is amongst high achievers, go-getters, highly ambitious, shark infested in the chaotic, IRON JUNGLE of NYC.

tell me about it..NY is a bloody jungle/shark tank! whether it be i-banking or publishing, etc. people can be brutal! luckily, I'd say college (or most colleges) prepares you well because while at uni, one meets all sorts of people, and you learn to deal with those disagreeable types. When I first came to uni, I was shocked at how conniving, backstabbing, and willing to step all over you people were just in order to get ahead, and was told various times (even by profs) that that was how it was in NY, and to get used to it. Unfortunately such experiences have prompted me to automatically assume the worst about a person's intentions until I have been proven otherwise.

I think most people realise that's how it 'is'. A lot of people just don't think that's how it should be.

agree

 

[gia0202]

but you adjust. the first time i internviewed at a firm--the owman who interviewed me was mean. she literally held up things i should werar--letting me knwo i have terrible style.
the jealousy factor was unparallel. she works as a less known firm, and she was prob. irritated. i went on to intern at a topplace (bismarck is AMAZING) . and now am offered a internship at a top mag. but just imagine how many girls that firt womabn must have crushed? and i hav great style. stylists have literally requestd me for a shoot, just after seeing my outfits.

 

[leyla m.]

oh my... this article made me laugh and cringe at the same time....
possibly true and if so terribly "PASSé" if you ask me.
my job at donna karan NY as a PR intern wasnt much different but i made my mark and had a personality. everyone went on about how Donna herself would be quite scary. i did occasionally walk past her office for a couple of reasons and at the time not knowing better would hand whatever i had for her to someone else just because all other employees made her seem out of reach for mere mortals..
i dont know what this girl has made out of this opportunity but i can for sure say from own experience that a slight mixture of arrogance and bitchiness is what gets you around in the fashion world. CONFIDENCE no matter what people say or however they may look at you
Anna Wintour is after all no better than you or me and except for respect that i have for everyone around me anyway i wouldnt give her more than that! i dislike people who intimidate others ..