How Enrica became Fendi Junior Designer at 22

Enrica Greco is only 22 years old but already works at one of the most established fashion luxury houses Fendi, as Junior Designer. She took advantage of every job opportunity, in fact her resume boasts of many short experiences with numerous fantastic brands such as Elie Saab, Louboutin, Rick Owens, Neith Nyer, Iris Van Herpen and Dior and has often changed cities Paris, Amsterdam and now Rome ” to not feel comfortable” says in the interview. She also attended many summer fashion courses that have advantaged her career in fashion and then completed her studies with a degree in Fashion Design at the Istituto Marangoni. Timing in the fashion industry is fundamental and the sooner you start, the better. Find out how Enrica was brilliant and smart to take advantage of every opportunity from a very young age to get to the role of Junior Designer at Fendi at just 22.

1. Welcome Enrica. Could you please introduce yourself to the Glam Observer community?

Hello! My name is Enrica Greco, I was born in Naples on January 28th 1997. I’m not very good with presentations …

2.Your education is very rich. You attended for two summers the intensive course in Fashion Design at the Parsons School of Design in New York, followed by two summer courses in Fabric Awareness and Embroidery at the UAL in London, again a BFA in Fashion Design at Parsons to then get your degree in Fashion Design at the Instituto Marangoni. Although short, have you found the summer courses useful for your career? What did you appreciate most from them and how were they considered on your resume in the application phase?

My Academic path started very early and I consider myself very lucky. Since I started writing I immediately felt the need to draw, I remember and jealously preserve my first Sketchbooks where I designed shoes, bags and clothes with the most absurd shapes. I remember how all my family was proud of the little me so mocking and enthusiastic, and it was around the age of 6 or 7 that I received my first sewing machine and my first set of Faber Castel pastels. My first “creations” date back to that period, mainly sweaters, princess dresses and Barbie dresses.

I started taking these courses during high school and I got to know people who have enriched my cultural background and that helped me confirm what is still my passion. Certainly the various summer courses have brought me ahead of many of my peers, I already had the basics and adopted a method, I had contacts with the professors and I had some credit that would later help me with the admission.

Every single person I met during my journey helped me, both personally and professionally, to get where I am now. I advise anyone who wants to pursue this career to start as early as possible, even just to understand how it works and if it is really the path to be taken. Well, in the application phase I always appreciate the expression of the person in front of me while viewing my CV and discovers that I am only 22 years old hahaha.

3. You also have many interesting experiences at your back in Paris during fashion week, as Collection Coordinator Assistant at Elie Saab, Event Assistant at Louboutin for a year, Showroom Assistant at Rick Owens and Dior Couture. How did your fashion career start? Does the choice of Paris have a particular reason? And what did you learn from all these various pre-graduation experiences?

During my university career I have never missed a single opportunity to enter the working world, I tried a little of everything and I met professionals in every sector. It takes a lot of humility, my first job, clearly as a volunteer, was as a dresser at the first show of Neith Nyer (who was also the first to offer me an internship in the style office as a new graduate, so never turn up your nose) , once I served some radish at a Christian Louboutin event at Martin Grant’s maison …

Slowly, even more interesting proposals have arrived from an “educational” point of view, but everything is needed. Paris was a bit of a “cowardly” choice, I didn’t feel ready to move to New York permanently, so I asked for the registration at the Paris headquarters of Parsons, then I fell in love with Paris and decided to stay there even changing University, upsetting all my study plans for the first time. Thanks to my past experiences I have certainly learned to be flexible and patient.

4.After graduating you moved on to Fashion Design experiences at Neith Nyer in Paris, Air France, Iris Van Harpen in Amsterdam and now at Fendi in Rome. How has your role changed from brand to brand and how did you cope with moving to different cities every time?

I graduated in Fashion Design and I always knew I wanted to become a Fashion Designer.

For the last months of University I worked at Neith Nyer where I took care of creating new Designs (presenting Illustrations and Technical Sheets) and develop patterns and prototypes and then in October, after the Showroom, I followed the production of his Spring Summer collection 2019.

I wanted to experiment so I thought that getting out of my “comfort zone” could be an excellent experience, both for my persona and professional experience. I have always found the combination of art and technology fascinating, but I never understood it, I never felt it close to my vision of art and fashion, for these regions I spontaneously applied to Iris Van Herpen. I think that getting out of my schemes and experimenting with something totally new can enrich me in many ways, and then retrace my steps and be a more mature artist and designer.

In the future I want to create my own brand so now I am trying to make the most experiences; I started with Neith Nyer because he is a young Brazilian designer who jumped independently and with a small staff into the chaotic world of fashion, without certainties but enthusiasm. I learned to work in groups and to face misunderstandings, to race against time and always have a plan B …

From Iris Van Herpen I understood the importance of technology nowadays (which is increasingly insinuating in our society) how to give a more ecological impact to the clothing industry thanks to technology and how to mix manufacturing with craftsmanship without to make innovation disappear, let alone tradition.

Although I am a “millennial” I’m not very up to date from a technological point of view. The next step was to work for a solid, historic brand. Experience the “savoir faire” of industry and really sweat to be recognized.

Changing city and environment saves creativity, I consider myself a nomad, I don’t like to stay too long in one place, I could start feeling “comfortable”.

5.Today you are Junior Design at Fendi. How did you get your position and what do you do?

So much effort and a bit of luck. It is very important to be in the right place at the right time. At the moment I deal with outerwear, for which I’ve always had great interest.

6.What do you like most about your job?

Definitely the people I work with.

7.What was the hardest thing you had to face when entering the fashion industry?

Well, many would say the competition, the wild life, the crazy hours, the nights … But honestly I didn’t find any difficulty, I sometimes felt tired but I know I’m where I should be.

8. What does a typical day look like for you?

I wake up early, sip my coffee looking at the Roman roofs, take the bus to get to the office and start a whirlwind of enthusiasm, emotions, stress and creativity.

8.What are your tips for those who want to enter the fashion industry and work as Fashion Designer in a prestigious company such as Fendi?

Have patience and a great desire to learn, be sociable, talk a lot and with everyone. It is never too early or too late.

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