As I am an international fashion student in NABA Milano, I have gotten to know different people from all over the world. We all come from different backgrounds, different cultures and different mindsets. But there in one thing that we all have in common; we all want to be a part of the hard-working but glamorous fashion industry.
If there is one thing that I got to understand really fast during my years of experience in fashion, it is that fashion is not easy. If you want to make it and if you want to be respected for your work, you have to stay grounded and never loose focus from your goals. As soon as you snooze, you loose.
It all depends on what you want to do tho. And how you want to do it. Because there are so many different ways to enter this business. I want to share a little bit of my experience of how I learned to move forward in the business and how I stay motivated and happy about my passion.
Here comes the journey of Sidsel:
The background story:
I just graduated high school by the age of 18, I was so high on life and for the first time I truly had the feeling of being able to do whatever I wanted in my life. I was planning on studying Psychology in my hometown (Aalborg, a small city in Northern Denmark) but my new courage (mixed with a little bit of alcohol) made me apply for a job as a web-intern for Costume Magazine / costume.dk. For sure, the self-confidence mixed with my humble mindset shined through in my application, because the next day I got a call from the editor and two days later I was having the job interview.
I clearly remember the whole process of being insecure on EVERYTHING. Would they think I was too young? What if I wasn’t “fashion” enough? Would they even look at me? Do I even have potential? (The kind of thoughts that I guess comes into every girl’s mind after watching “The Devil Wears Prada” one or twice too many times).
The fact is, that by the end of the day I ended up showing up in my little black lucky dress, with a low cut on the back, my multicolored Nike Hurricane and some badass cornrow braids slicked so tight to my scalp that I could barely think straight. If I was going to that job interview today I can assure you that I would have dressed differently.
After finishing the interview, shown my limited photoshop skills, written a small essay and spoken my very best fashion language, I got the job.
The internship:
I ended up working one and a half year for Costume Magazine. The first six months as the web intern and afterward I was lucky enough to get the job as the fashion assistant for the fashion director and fashion editor. The magazine jobs were never paid and I worked 60 – 70 hours per week by working as a sales assistant after the magazine hours, just to be able to pay my rent. I took out garbage, I ordered food, I steamed, I was unpacking and packing clothes and I was always the smallest person in the room. Always the one in the background, but it was all worth it.
By the end of my internship, I felt that I gained so much more knowledge just by watching my bosses working. The more that I showed them how hard I would work for this, the more “fun” I was allowed to participate in. I ended up assisting for the great photo-shootings, I went to the most amazing fashion shows and I was invited to some really great events.
An internship might just be an internship. It might be unpaid. You might have to do a lot of dirty work, but by the end of the day, being able to watch all the tips and tricks from the hidden gave me all the gold that made me move forward and takes decisions that lead me to where I am today.
I wouldn’t say I ended up with these opportunities thanks to my bosses. Of course, they had a great deal to say, but I mainly got all of these opportunities because I stayed true to myself during the whole process. And I think people see that.
Today:
As mentioned before, I am now studying Fashion Design (with specialization in styling and communication) in NABA Milano where I will finish by July 2019. My aim of moving was to be able to experience the fashion industry in the fashion capital – but first I wanted to improve my skills and knowledge.
I have worked with so many great and successful fashion people during my time in Naba and they all made me understand the process of being a designer, PR-persona, businesswoman and the process of creative directors.
If there is one thing that I learned in my fours years in fashion (either as a worker or as a student), it is that all the greatest and most successful faces of fashion is also just normal people like you. We all have bad hair days, we all like sweatpants and we all started somewhere- and usually, that somewhere is not that glamorous.
So don’t be scared of applying to whatever internship you might dream of. Don’t be scared of saying yes to things that might not seem that great from the beginning. The ugly duckling didn’t start out as a beautiful swan either, did he?
Hopefully we will all meet up someday in this fashion industry and by then we should all cheer to our careers.
See you out there!
Sidsel Brorsen
