Tag Archives: Fashion Careers

My Met Gala Experience

Hello!

I just want to start by saying that you should all take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way, because you never know what else might come from it. Although sometimes it might not seem as glamours as you’ve imagined, you never know what you might gain from it. Being at FIT you are exposed to and offered so many great opportunities to take part in and be involved in events you’ve dreamed about attending.

I’m mentioning this, because on Sunday and Monday I had the amazing opportunity to work at the Met Gala, a job I got through FIT. I got to work with the event planner to set up the event and have a sneak peak before anyone else at what the Met Gala was going to look like inside. Although it wasn’t easy work, being able to work in the same room where Anna Wintour was, made it easier:P That being said, I thought I was going to do my job and then be sent home, but then the event planners offered me another job to work at the Cipriani where Condé Nast was having an event. And from that I got offered to be part of another event this weekend, which I was a little hesitant about accepting at first, because of finals coming up. But then I remembered that it’s a once in a life time opportunity and who knows what might come from it. A lot of people told me that I shouldn’t say yes to everything, but to be honest, us as students aren’t in a position yet to start being picky about what we want and don’t want to do. We have to have as much experience as we can, good and bad. Because that’s how we grow and learn from them.

From one job I got through FIT, two others came from it and who knows maybe more. That’s why I really recommend you be involved and open to jobs and any opportunities FIT offers you, because FIT have some great connections and who knows what else might come from some not so glamorous jobs. You never know what kind of surprises life has in store for you!

xoxo

Zorya

Step Outside Your Major

With 30 majors here at FIT and thousands of students, it can be very easy to get comfortable with your crowd within your major.  If you are in a smaller major like Toy Design or Cosmetic and Fragrance Marketing, you are most likely spending endless hours in class with the same exact people.  It is important to step outside of your major and not only meet people within the school, but also take advantage of the opportunity to collaborate.  FIT is truly seamless (no pun intended).  If you are a designer, you can collaborate with a photography major to have your pieces photographed…most likely FOR FREE.  If you are a photography major, you can reach out and have clothes, jewelry, and product to photograph….FOR FREE!  It’s a win-win situation all around!  Photographers should be collaborating with graphic designers who should be collaborating with AMC majors.  Every student can create a professional quality final product or project outside of the assignments that they are given by the professors.  Once we all graduate, there may be creative restrictions, a lack of budget, or a team premade for the company that you work for.  As a student, now is the time to take advantage of the resources that you have at your fingertips!

Ashley

Summer Intensives

Summer Intensive programs are classes that anyone can take during the months of June and July. They are ideal for people who want to dip their toes into a new topic of study, but cannot afford (for either monetary or time constraints) to enroll in a full or part-time certificate program. The courses range from 3 to 10 days and touch on a variety of topics we learn here at FIT.

To see what courses are being offered this summer, click here!

The Center for Continuing and Professional Studies offers Certificate and non-credit programs that give additional and more specific training to those already in the industry.

–Emily–

Internships: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Everybody seems to have an opinion on internships. Are they necessary for “real world” learning? Is it just free labor? Do you actually learn anything worth while?

My opinion has certainly changed since starting at FIT. On the one hand, internships are necessary for the “real world” experience of working with a team, in an office and reporting to people above you. Almost any successful professional will tell you that working under someone is necessary, and you should do it even if it is unpaid. This is where it gets a little complicated.

On the one hand, internships offer (hopefully) invaluable experience, networking opportunities, helpful references, business insight and something to put on your resume. There is no doubt that employers want experience. It can also guide you in deciding what you actually want to do when you graduate. Even if you are absolutely positive you are going to be in advertising, do you want to work for a big company or a small company? An exciting but risky start-up, or a stable respected company where you will have much less responsibility or creative freedom? Are you sure the job you think you want is actually fulfilling?

However, many people now believe that internships are detrimental to students. They certainly take up a lot of time with most companies wanting at least two full days a week. It is also hard to quantify how much someone is learning at an internship. Are you just getting coffee, making copies and running things back and forth, or is your supervisor taking the time to make sure you understand what you are doing and, most importantly, why it is important? Most internships are unpaid, which brings up the argument that internships really only benefit middle to upper class kids who can afford to work for free. If a student is paying their own way through college it is unlikely they will have time for school, their job and an unpaid internship.

Of course, most places try to get around this now with “credit bearing” internships. These are also usually unpaid, but the student can get credit for a class. This allows the school to check up on the work place to ensure it is safe, and that the student is getting enough of an education to make the time spent there worth it. However, these credit-bearing internships are not offered by every company and usually require the student to add  another class to their schedule. This limits the flexibility of their schedule for other classes and obviously takes away more time.

If I may interject with my own opinion here, I do think internships are necessary. The ones I did have certainly helped me see what jobs I thought I was interested in more clearly. I have been exposed to big companies, little companies and growing companies. I have learned a lot and made many helpful connections. However, I have never been paid for my work. I have never even been compensated for lunch or travel. Looking back now, it is very frustrating as well as quite disheartening considering I am looking for a job and having done all this work is not  a guarantee I will get hired. I met a woman recently and asked her if she would ever need a research assistant. She replied that she would love an assistant, but could not afford to pay fair compensation at the moment, and did not feel it was right to accept that labor for free. Even though it was an opportunity I could not have, I was so happy when she said that! I mean it was so refreshing just to hear someone say, “I can’t hire you, but I respect you, your work, and your time too much to let you work for nothing.”

What are your opinions? Have you had any good or bad experiences with internships?

–Emily–

Blush Magazine – Spring Issue

For all of you that may or may not know, I am a part of Blush Magazine, the beauty and fashion magazine here at FIT as the Senior Photo Editor.  Our brand new Spring issue comes out this week on newsstands here at FIT.  Be sure to pick up a copy before they are gone!  Everyone on the Blush Magazine team works really hard to put out a really strong and beautiful issue.  We are completely student run from the articles to the photo shoots to the layout and more.  If you want to join Blush Magazine, we meet on Tuesday’s (not every week) in B736 during common hour.  We are having a meeting tomorrow, 3/24 for planning for our summer issue!  If you miss this meeting, email [email protected] to find out information for our future meetings.  Below is a sneak preview of our fashion editorial shoot for this spring issue!