Here's my story of finding a design internship:
Ever since last December I have been in the process of landing a fashion design internship for the summer. I have sent my cover letter, resume, and portfolio to various brands and labels located in Los Angeles and New York City.
I have gotten a few responses, since I was pretty much making “cold calls” via e-mail. It's very hard to find listed design internships. In addition, finding out about one usually comes by having the best connections. Most of the companies that got back to me were only offering internships for showroom, merchandising, etc. This was discouraging at first, seeing as to how badly I wanted a design internship.
Since NYC Fashion Week is approaching, designers that are showing their lines have been busy. Considering I had received the above e-mail responses and the occasional “contact us back in months closer to the time you wish to intern," I was getting a bit frustrated. That was, until I called up Rodarte and the lady on the phone suggested that I follow up. Then, a light bulb turned on in my head: I had not thought of that at all.
From my follow up e-mails I got another small handful of responses, indicating that my portfolio did not get lost in the heap of things and will be reviewed after Fashion Week is over, which eased my anxiety a bit.
A few days have gone by since then and things are looking brighter, and companies have contacted me for an interview. Even though I don’t have the job yet, my persistence has gotten me an interview at least.
MY ADVICE: The number one thing to remember is that if you want to intern for small high fashion companies, it is important to keep in mind that they are small. This means they probably have one person handling many tasks. Contacting a hopeful intern back will be the last thing on their mind if there are deadlines in production or for a fashion show.
Remember, persistence is key--and a good resume and impressive portfolio wouldn’t hurt either!