My Fashion Internship: How I Entered the Fashion Industry

We at VienneMilano believe that internships are a fabulous way to acquire skills. Over the past few years, we have had the privilege to work with talented individuals from all walks of life and from all over the world. Meet Rachelle Keegan for example. When we first met Rachelle, she was a pediatric nurse who had always dreamed of working in the fashion industry. Read her experience as she courageously took her first step into the business of fashion.

So you love fashion and want to incorporate this passion into your life, but how? Where to start? These were a couple of questions I encountered when I decided to make my transition from Pediatric Nursing to fashionista. I always loved clothing and styling and finally felt it was time to take a leap of faith. Scared but excited, I started to look for internship opportunities in Boston. This leap brought me to VienneMilano.

Interning is a great way to get first-hand experience in a specific career. Founder Vienne Brown took a chance on me, despite my lack of knowledge regarding fashion. I think my enthusiasm and excitement to learn shone through, convincing her I could do it. Initially, the most challenging part of the internship was paying attention to detail. In the nursing world everything is very rushed and quick; taking a step back to review social media to look for spelling errors or grammar mistakes, or to make sure social media posts were scheduled at the correct time was very different for me. To overcome this, I had to learn patience and challenge myself to mentally slow down and take one task at a time.

During my internship, I worked three 8-hour days. I started my mornings by tackling my daily tasks that included checking and responding to emails and managing our social media. As an intern, I was expected to write blog posts, which helped me learn the meaning and importance of short content, meta titles, SEO, and many other parts of creating blog posts. I never realized how many steps there were, not only in the writing of a blog, but in the layout and promotion of it. I was also able to style outfits for our blogs and select images that related to the post. I really was able to add my own creative touch to all the pieces. As I explored and began to master these new tasks, I was given creative freedom and educational feedback from Vienne, allowing me to grow and develop my skills. Additionally, I learned a lot about other brands and designers. There was always something new to learn and never a dull moment. Working one on one with the Founder and businesswoman gave me extensive insight on what it would take to start my own business. I really respected my mentor and appreciated all that she had to teach me.

Another one of my responsibilities included sending out samples to influencers, bloggers, and fashion magazines as well as taking inventory of our stockings. As my love for our thigh highs grew, Vienne was gracious enough to gift me several pairs of my own! However, one of my favorite experiences was sitting in on casting calls. For casting calls, the model was invited to meet with Vienne and myself. We would have a short interview followed with some questions relating to her fashion experience and personal life. We would then have her model two different outfits: a party outfit and our thigh highs and lingerie and thigh highs. We would take three pictures in different poses to see how she looked on film. Vienne and I would then debrief and review the photos to see if the model was a fit for our brand.

Ultimately, this internship was a stepping stone towards my new career. This experience gave me a solid foundation to transition from the medical field to the fashion industry. I made a great connection with Vienne, whom I am still in contact with today and collaborate with. She provided me with insight into what owning and running your own business entails. Anytime I had questions she was happy to answer them and was alway looking for opportunities to teach me something new. We often talked about other brands and current trends, not just abut VienneMilano. Professionally I learned how to approach and form relationships with other professionals in the fashion business. These professions included writers, editors, models, and influencers. Reviewing current trends and following influencers helped me to use my own creativity to design outfits for our blogs and gave me ideas for my own wardrobe. It also gave me direction in my career. I found that I loved creating outfits and it confirmed my love for fashion. I will take with me the useful tools that taught me how to market myself and my brand in the future.  I will be forever grateful for my time and experience at VienneMilano.

We are so inspired by Rachelle's story and truly had a pleasure working with her. What would you like to learn from a fashion internship? If you are ready to join the fashion industry, apply today by sending us your resume at ciao@viennemilano.com.