Fashion Internship - Modern Day Slavery?

[Faust]

I found this article from the Guardian very interesting. It would be interesting to hear some stories from you or someone you know.

[zamb]

Didn't the NYT publish an article addressing the same issues some month back?

these issues are not uncommon, and has been around for a long time. I am imagining its even more worse now because of the Global economic situation....................

[sam_tem]

probably slavery by choice, but if you're getting offered unpaid internships then you should probably just use it as a warning sign to change industries ASAP.

[seenmy]

Its just part of it,if you dont like it dont do it, the problem with fashion industry is there are so many useless people who just like the idea of working in 'fashion' because they think its all glamour and fancy do's, I like to think this process at least wipes a few of those people off the radar.

working unpaid for 8 months did me no harm,I slept on a 4ft long sofa in my mates front room every week night for that time, and probably worked the hardest I ever had,and to be honest I pretty much enjoyed every minute,I learnt more than I had done in 4 years of uni and it set me up and gave me the drive to start making a career.

thing with interning is you have to be smart,dont do it because you think you need to, do it because you see something you can learn or an insight you can gain, you might not be making money but what you learn by listening and looking will pay for itself, knowing how to handle yourself in this industry its totally key, if your any good and have a good head on your shoulders you can carve a path for yourself i think a ton of the kind of people who complain about long hours hard work etc,just arent going in to these things with their eyes open,and often without a goal, (other than the false dream they will just give you a job)

[andrew]

I run the office and studio for the label i work for and i got this position through interning for free for the label. Admittedly it was a right place right time scenario as i could step in when my predecessor left but never the less I think it is a vital part of the process. one it weeds out the useless or uninterested as has been mentioned above, and also so many companies could not exist without the free help. If interning teaches people anything it should be that you cannot make money from the creating side of high fashion unless you are lucky and very gifted. I don't think i have ever met a young designer who is living well from their company unless they have a. a better earning partner or b. a consulting, etc job or a diffusion line at topshop.

Also i like that at the end of the article they ask for peoples bad experiences only, no need for positive accounts.

[Faust]

I disagree. People should be paid for the work they do. The problem with proliferation of internships is that it favors the rich who can work for free and not have to worry about paying the bills. Fashion is an industry where a tiny portion of people at the top make all the money while the rest toil for next to nothing or for free. Essentially, it's a society without the middle class.

[Sombre]

so many companies could not exist without the free help.

That's their problem. It's illegal to employ someone without paying him/her. Internships get a free pass under the guise of "a learning experience". I'm happy for you and seenmy, but so often interns are given menial tasks that no one else wants to do.

I'm not necessarily making a case against internships in general, but saying the companies need free labour doesn't justify internships so much as suggest that the companies shouldn't be in business in the first place. If you're in business, you should be able to pay all your employees. That's not to say that an intern shouldn't be able to help you (it benefits the intern as much as you), but that intern shouldn't be essential to the survival of your business.

[viv1984viv]

this isn't strictly fashion related but its regarding internships.

The arts world in general takes advantage of people who love the work wanting to work around the industry for less than standard pay or nothing. People love fashion/art and are desperate/enthusiastic enough to work for free because it's in the industry they love - I have no real issues with this, if people want to do that then cool.

Where I find the issues are in the presumption that working for free gains valuable experience that will benefit them in future life. Seenmy, you have obviously done so, thats great. However im sure that for every person like seenmy who gained valuable insight there are 5 people who gained nothing but expected to. The 'pay being 'experience' is fine if the experience is beneficial/worthwhile however i'm sure a huge amount of internships operate under this premise when in actual fact the reality is they will only offer administrative experience of no real value and that would actually be paid well in other industries. Im sure there many small creative companies who save themselves 20k each year by using a steady stream of interns hoping for insight and learning opportunities only to find themselves providing admin support.

I originally logged in to point out an even more sickening activity.... in London auction houses contain unpaid internships that kids parents can bid on! Sometimes for charity sometimes for profit! How ludicrous is that!?!?!?! Im sure the experience gained is often higher value but I bet on occasions its nothing more than 6 months of paper stuffing and an expensive line on the CV..........

[zamb]

For me personally it isn't about not offering unpaid internships or the use of free labour that bothers me. it is the idea that even businesses who have the resources to pay people, because they are high profile companies, they use this profile as a tool to exploit people who are willing to work just to have a noteworthy company on their resume.

There are regulations governing internships, often these regulations are thrown out the door and people are asked to work multiple days for long hours with no pay.............that to me is indefensible.

When I went to fashion school I saw many dumb people with zero talent whom I knew had no chance of ever succeeding at fashion, attending college, but who am I to say who will become successful and who wont?, The world doesn't work that way. However, if a company can pay, they should, plain and simple, or if they are using interns, the regulations should be followed................as much as I love this work and this business, I detest some of the corrupt and immoral practices that are often given a pass and made acceptable norms in this industry!

[endersgame]

i'm pretty sure that if high-profile companies paid all their interns, there will be ruthless candidates who will whisper in their ears willing to work for free. by selling yourself short, you set the standard for intern pay, which is $0.

[kuugaia]

^ I think this is where the law comes in to set a standard so that people cannot whisper in their ears. Hopefully anyway.

The UK work conditions sound horrendous compared to what my girlfriend goes through. She's currently an unpaid intern at a PR/Fashion company and says that although a good portion of the work is mundane, there are occasions where valuable work experience is gained. Mundane work ranges from organising clothing racks, shelving shoes and labeling items. Good work can be stuff like choosing the clothes in outfits for a magazine shoot or doing write ups for promotional blurbs. Employees and bosses are all nice and treat her well. Work paid lunch parties and stuff. Her internships were 3 weeks, 2 weeks and 1 week.

[Enaml]

Essentially, it's a society without the middle class.

A very strong point. This is what much of our world is becoming. And why rules must be imposed. If those at the top are not willing to change it, someone else must.

[mononon]

i find unpaid internships the biggest bull shit scam out there.

right now, i am interning at a commercial real estate investment company, one of the top one's in the united states. they told me that i will be learning all this shit and whatnot. all i do is database and do free research for them. i haven't learned one thing. it's ridiculous as they do not pay for my gas and parking. i understand i do have the option of choosing not to partake in these "unpaid internships" but everyone needs a resume builder to say.

also i am interning at a fashion boutique that specializes in women's eco fashion (i know, i know...), but at least i am learning the principles of public relations and getting your store name out there...

so moral of the story is, fashion is not the only industry that takes advantage of free labour.

[mononon]

also there is sort of crackdown of unpaid internships or so i hear. some companies (the bigger ones / the one's who have been caught) now need to offer student credits to unpaid interns. the catch is, if you go to a private school, you must pay for the course at the school (sometimes as much as 5000 usd for 6 weeks) and do an entire course load of work for a measly 1 or 2 units.

[Yan]

Having not come from an arts of even fashion background, I am somewhat bemused by internships. When I exhibited at On|Off in February they has lots of interns who were totally unpaid and expected to do things like clean toilets. Many labels, established and up and coming rely on interns to effectively provide the manpower for their labels. Whilst the pragmatist in me can see the sense in a young newly established label using unpaid labour, I am disappointed to hear more established labels continuing with this.

My problem with the whole intern thing is many fold. I understand that working for nothing weeds out the ones who are just in it for the supposed glamour. Its the damage that the ones who are weeded out have caused which can create bigger problems. I also look in dismay at the feeding frenzy that surrounds fashion. So many people want to be "involved" for the wrong reasons. I think this ultimately devalues fashion.

I also have a real problem in people working for nothing, both morally and sceptically in that I cannot get my head around how you can expect the best out of people who are unknown to you beforehand, for nothing. I obviously do not come from a culture where interns are an accepted part of building a business. I guess many designers I know have interned for others on their way up.

I presume these are partly the reasons, my output is far less than my contemporaries. I tried working with a few interns but I was totally uncomfortable with this. Now I try to handle everything myself or use paid subcontractors.