Project internship: students find fashion positions off-campus

Unlike pre-law and premed students, those interested in working in the fashion industry don’t get a weekly listserv of job postings and career advice. At Columbia, there are no courses on PR or design, no faculty advisors, and no scholarships or free summer housing. Instead, students look outside the gates—or at least outside the classroom—to a wealth of extracurricular and internship opportunities.

Ellie Krupnick, BC ’11, has been looking to internships since her first year as building blocks to a career in the magazine industry. She started at fashion PR firm BPMW downtown, spent a semester working at Seventeen, and now works for the fashion features editor at Harper’s Bazaar. An American studies major, Krupnick said, “one of the biggest sacrifices is that I build my class schedule around it. There are a lot of classes I don’t take—our school calendar doesn’t follow the industry’s.”

Such internships can also be exploratory, not just connection-builders. Meghna Prasad, CC ’11, worked for Marie Claire’s photography department last year and in shoe and handbag designer Bally’s PR and marketing department this past fall. The art history and archaeology double major entered Columbia unsure of what she wanted to pursue, and has used these internships to gain exposure to different options.

Although time-consuming, these internships tend to offer more educational experiences than “The Devil Wears Prada” might lead one to suspect. Many internship hours are devoted to photocopies and coffee runs, but the less-than-stimulating work is worth it for the opportunity to observe and to perhaps even contribute to the conversation.

Donia Abdelaziz, CC ’12, spends one and a half days a week interning in Teen Vogue’s fashion closet. She keeps track of the clothing and accessories that go in and out of the magazine’s offices, and she sometimes puts together look books for the editors. Likewise, Prasad got to put together presentations for the marketing director at Bally, and Krupnick helps her editor brainstorm what’s in and out for the upcoming seasons’ fashion features.

On campus, such opportunities are fewer and farther between. Barnard’s history department offers a course on the history of fashion and its theater department offers a course on costume design. Industry employers often post internship openings through Columbia’s Center for Career Education. Malik Winslow, CC ’13, found his Teen Vogue internship through LionSHARE, but the process required him to actively see out the opportunity.

As Krupnick said, “No one here is making it any easier.” One area for improvement might be a better alumni network in the field—Atoosa Rubenstein, former editor-in-chief of Seventeen, Jane Keltner, the current fashion news director at Teen Vogue, and prominent New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn are all Barnard alums. Krupnick herself learned about the Harper’s Bazaar internship position from a Barnard student who had filled it before her.

Advising and networking concerns aside, these busy student interns recognize the value of the school they chose over more obvious options for people with fashion interests. “We come into Columbia knowing that we are not going to get preprofessional classes,” Abdelaziz said. “Although it would be great if a few more classes were offered, maybe in the art department.” Winslow similarly said, “the academically focused liberal arts aspect of Columbia is what makes it an Ivy League university.”

One major obstacle is the cost of passing valuable time at unpaid positions. Virtually all internships in fashion-related fields are unpaid. “The financial aspect can be aggravating,” Krupnick said.
Summer internships require finding and paying for housing in order to work for free or for college credit only, which can advantage those with greater financial means.

This disadvantage can be less burdensome during the school year, when internships are easier to find because the pool of applicants is drawn largely from New York City schools. Applications are usually taken as early as possible in the semester preceding the time of the position, in early summer for the fall semester and in fall for the spring semester. This requires schedule-planning savvy, but using Columbia’s location is worth it for those who hope to fill Anna Wintour’s shoes, or at least to find a fulfilling fashion career option. “I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t have aspirations,” Krupnick said.