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True life: I’m a fashion intern in London

Ashley Karnowski,
Grand Central Magazine

One of the many mock-ups that Karnowski worked on as an intern with designer Erdem Moralioglu in London. Photograph by Ashley Karnowski
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Previously: Why I’m an apparel merchandising and design student

I’ve been in London since May 31 to do an internship in apparel design. I wanted an internship that would be challenging and, in the end, rewarding. So I applied to intern for fashion designers only in London.

I needed to get out of my comfort zone and really discover what life is like in the fashion industry in another country.

Fortunately, I was accepted to intern for a young and very talented designer, Erdem Moralioglu. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into, but I was honored they chose me after viewing my portfolio and a phone interview.

I’m currently working in his studio in trendy East London, three to four days a week for nine hours a day. I can truly say this internship has pushed me to work harder and think faster than I’ve had to in the past. There’s only so much you can learn in a classroom.

My knowledge and confidence has expanded as I’ve been relied on to prepare for London Fashion Week in September and help with the current season’s production.

The studio consists of Erdem, his four employees, a pattern cutter and three to six interns and all of us are always busy. The madness consists of interns in the back sewing the first mock-ups of spring/summer 2009 garments, steaming or cutting fabric and asking questions. Erdem and his employees are responding to e-mails, on the phone, or sizing and viewing garments on the fit models.

The jobs for us are endless, but it’s good because our changing tasks keep me constantly in student mode.

I’ve also learned how important it is to keep a camera with me at all times. During my first week I was thrown into a cab with five gowns and whisked off to a house where actress Uma Thurman was in dire need of something beautiful to wear (interning isn’t always that glamorous).

And just last Wednesday I was sent to Brighton to deliver fabric and pick up a few skirts. Brighton is a touristy town on the coast, and I never would’ve been able to take a day trip and see the things I have if I weren’t at this internship.

Apparel design student Ashley Karnowksi puts away samples from the Cruise Collection, while interning in London this summer. Photograph by Maggie Barber
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I’m definitely lucky to be in Europe experiencing the things I am, and getting my foot in the door here through Erdem. I’m not even sure what it is I want to do career-wise; my long term goals are yet to be discovered, but I figure I may as well push myself as hard as I can and work for someone who I can learn from.

No matter what it is I decide to do once I graduate, I know this internship will get me the attention I need. I’m proud to work for a designer who has been recognized in publications such as W, Elle and Vogue.

Living in such a fashionable city – one that certainly has a style of its own – has gotten my creative juices flowing. Now all I have to do it find the time to put my ideas in motion!