Fashion can be a highly rewarding and enjoyable industry to pursue a career in. If you are passionate in creating fashionable outfits or design attire that follow the latest fashion trends or have interest in working for a fashion magazine, fashion internships are a great way of getting your foot in the door.

Many big companies offer fashion internships throughout the year, with many being summer internships. Fashion internships are available in various areas, including fashion designing, fashion public relations, fashion magazine, fashion event internship, merchandising, and showroom and fashion photography internships. Internship programs provide you with hands-on experience and will enhance your knowledge about the fashion industry.

Typical job functions of a fashion intern include providing assistance to the fashion designer, measuring and preparing garments for right fitting, spot latest trends and synthesize data. Fashion internships can help you learn to be creative and resourceful, which are important in the industry.

Fashion internships are either paid or unpaid. Some programs offer transportation and food allowance. For unpaid internships, school credit must be received.

Benefits of Doing Fashion Internships

Fashion internships offer students an opportunity to apply what they learn in school to the fashion industry. This will help them get an idea of a potential career path that they would like to pursue. Fashion is always changing, so doing an internship will help students learn the ins and outs of the highly lucrative industry.

Through fashion internships, you will get first-hand experience in designing and marketing fashionable apparel. You may even get an opportunity to assist on catwalk shows, fashion events and celebrity photo shoots.  You can get relevant contacts in the industry, which you can use to propel yourself to a full-time position.

Most of the fashion internships help you get college credits, which will help you get closer to that fashion degree. Completing internships at reputable magazines or fashion design houses can help boost your resume and help you land a related job when you graduate. If you are looking for a way to break into the fashion industry, internships can offer the best opportunities. Working for well-known fashion companies will help with your reputation and will give you an idea of what it takes to be successful in a highly competitive field. If you are pursuing a career in fashion, we strongly suggest that you do internships!

Types of Fashion Internships

• Technical Design Internships - Apparel companies offer technical designer fashion internships, which involve developing the technical components for the product. As a technical design intern, you will need to assist the fashion designers in taking detailed information from the sketch and ensure the desirable fittings in the designed garments. Technical designer internship for intimate apparel are also available, which involve developing and reviewing size gradations, preparing documents for fit evaluation, reviewing style status with the product team and ensuring proper pattern of the area is marked and maintained.

• Fashion Magazine Internships - Fashion magazines internships are offered to aspiring fashion designing students interested in writing to assist the fashion or lifestyle journalist.  The intern’s duties include researching content, conduct interviews, create stories and write compelling pieces.

• Merchandising Internships - Fashion designers provide merchandising internships to motivated individuals. As a fashion merchandizing intern, you need to manage products and stock, assist the designer during photo shoots and fashion shows and update the designer’s websites.

• Marketing Internships - Fashion technology companies offer marketing internships. The eligible candidates are those with outstanding oral and written communication skills and have passion and knowledge about fashion industry. The marketing interns are expected to create content for social media platforms, assist in developing marketing campaigns and managing social media presence. The length of internship period is usually 3 to 6 months.

• Showroom Fashion Internships - Showroom internships offered by high end apparel companies last for three months. As an intern, you will need to assist in designing fashionable outfits for private clients and fashion shows. You will be required to alter or reform designs, according to the specifications of the client. You will be expected to understand the design clearly from the perspective of the technical designer and assist the designer in making patterns, choosing and buying fabrics. You may also need to sketch the designs and assist in fittings.

• Photography Internships - Photography internships are offered by fashion photographers to candidates who have proficiency in Adobe Photoshop and knowledge about multiple lighting conditions. The interns are required to assist the photographer in shooting for magazines and ad agencies. Setting up the light and camera correctly, fine tuning the lights while shooting and preparing files for output are some of the responsibilities of a photography intern.

• Retail Internships - Retail stores selling fashionable apparel and specialty clothing look for motivated candidates who will guide the customers in their style selections. The retail interns are required helping in accomplishing the sales goals of the store, whilst assisting in providing good customer service. The duties also include maintaining the overall appearance of the sales floor and dressing rooms and computing sales prices.  Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills are needed for a retail intern.

• Media Internship - Fashion bloggers and magazines offer media internship programs. Typical job functions of a media intern include taking photographs in fashion shows and events and writing interesting articles on fashion shows. The interns may also need to assist fashion photographers in their art department.

• Styling Internships - Styling internships are offered to candidates who are interested in the latest fashion trends and have creative skills. The interns are expected to help the fashion stylists in selecting the clothing sources for shoots and accompanying him/her in wardrobe fitting.  The internship duties also include bringing and steaming of clothes during photo shoots and taking care of clothes purchased or pulled out.

• PR Internships - Fashion showrooms offer PR internships. The major responsibilities of a Public Relations intern include maintaining showroom, sending product pitches to editors, getting updated information about print and digital fashion publications, tracking product placements and preparing for fashion events.

• Production Internships - Companies producing trendy outfits offer production internship programs. Production intern’s duties and responsibilities include assisting the company in pre-production activities, which include arranging for casting, photo shoots and fittings. The interns are expected to assist the fashion designers by organizing the garments and doing other essential tasks.

• Graphic Design Internships - Online magazines, fashion blogs, websites and fashion magazines look for graphic design interns. The eligible candidates are fashion design students who have knowledge in graphic designing. As a graphic design intern, you need to assist the designer in creating web presence for new projects and using social media platforms effectively.

• Jewelry Design Internships - Jewelry design internships offered by high-end stores and fashion designers require the intern to assist the jewelry department. As an intern, you will need to conduct marketing and trend research and researching new materials and components. You will be involved in designing jewelry and preparing show jewels.

Companies Offering Fashion Internships

• Summit Media - Summit Media is a renowned fashion magazine, which offers advertising internship programs to undergraduate students pursuing fashion designing, journalism or other related programs.  Their fashion internships require you to assist in photo shoots, attend fashion shows and events, encode documents and help editors in putting the details together in the magazine.

• LuxeWear International Inc - Luxe wear International Inc is a reputable custom clothing and corporate outfit designing and manufacturing company. They provide fashion design internships to candidates who have imaginative skills and knowledge in Adobe Photoshop and MS Office. The design interns are required to understand the design from the viewpoint of the technical designs and assist the fashion designer in choosing and purchasing fabrics, fastenings, trims and embellishments and producing patterns. The internship program lasts for three months. It is an unpaid internship that offers academic credit only.

• Greater Good Apparel - Greater Good Apparel is a styling company that offers design and styling internship programs. The eligible candidates are those who are good at sketching and designing men and women outfits, familiar with fabrics and pattern making and understand the technicalities of production. The company offers negotiable compensation.

• Network Showroom - Network Showroom in New York offers merchandising and PR internship programs. Those who have a passion for fashion, strong communication and data management skills and excellent communication skills can apply for the internship programs. As an intern, you will need to work 16 to 25 hours per week.

• RocksBox - RocksBox in San Francisco, CA offers summer internship programs in fashion operations area. Those who love fashion and have knowledge about ecommerce are considered. Fashion operations internship at RocksBox requires you to conduct research in latest market trends, assist the team with shipping, checking shipments as and when received, printing shipping labels and managing inventory. It is a part time program that requires you to work for 20 to 40 hours in a week.

• Luxury Garage Sale - Luxury Garage Sale is a high-end consignment service, which sells new and used contemporary designer clothes and accessories. The company offers fashion internships, copywriting, proofreading and photography internship programs. You are normally required to work for 10 to 15 hours in a week.

• Space Magazine - Space is a sleek magazine that offers editorial internships. Eligible candidates are those who are willing to learn, work hard and have an eye for style. The internship program lasts for three to six months. As an editorial intern at Space Magazine, you will need to assist in book shoots, organize production schedule and assist the editors in writing, styling and conceptualizing.

• Chocolate Clothing - Chocolate Clothing is a famous boutique that offers fashion marketing internships for female students who are between the ages of 19 and 25 and have love for fashion. The length of the fashion internship is three months.

• Styles Entertainment Media - Styles Entertainment Media provides media internship program. The duties of the intern include assisting the art department.

• Maker’s Row - Maker’s Row in New York is one of the best cloth manufacturing factories in America. It offers fashion marketing and event planning internship programs. Marketing interns are expected to work closely with the marketing personnel in coordinating events. Their responsibilities include researching the market, managing social media activity, assisting in developing programs to build online identity and assisting in coordinating customer acquisition strategies.

• Ivory and White Bridal Store - Ivory and White Bridal Store in Quezon City offers retail internship program. As an intern, you will need to help brides in their style selections. You will also need to help the store manager in meeting and exceeding sales goals, maintain the overall appearance of the store and provide flawless customer service. Computing sales price, receiving cash and processing credit payments and maintaining up to date knowledge of sales and promotions are additional responsibilities. The internship program lasts for three months.

• Ralph Lauren Media - Ralph Lauren Media in New Jersey offers summer internship programs. Candidates who have proficiency in MS Excel and outlook, organization and time management skills, outstanding communication skills and problem solving skills are considered for selection. Students who are pursuing bachelor degree in computer science, engineering or some other technical field and have interest in merchandise planning can apply for this internship program.

• Vito - Vito is a high-end fashion website that collaborates with the best fashion designers. Fashion marketing internship programs are offered by Vito to students with background in fashion. As a marketing intern at Vito, you will need to take care of the content management of the website, monitor inventory, produce photo shoots and organize database. The length of Vito marketing internship program is six months. Food and transportation allowance will be provided to the interns.

Typical Salary of Fashion Internships

Fashion internship programs are either paid or unpaid. Fashion operations internship programs typically pay about $10 per hour.  Fashion magazine interns typically receive a stipend of $1,000 to $4,000 for a full summer internship. Other fashion internships offer an average stipend of $12 to $15 per day. Some companies offer allowance for food and transportation and the completion of their internship program can help the students to obtain school credit. However, companies offering internship programs that need a full time commitment provide wages.

You may also be interested in these internships:

Vogue Internship

Nylon Magazine Internship

 

by Diane Barlow