Carolina Herrera Internship

So just out of my first semester at Parsons, I start applying for internships for the summer through the university career services. Having spent a good month of the summer with my friends in Toronto, and a very basic portfolio, I an not confident about finding one that will cater to my field of choice: eveningwear design.

However, a mere few days before I am set to leave New York to spend my summer in Dubai with my family, I manage to snag a design intern position at the Carolina Herrera office on Fashion Avenue.

Psyched, excited and superbly nervous about what to expect, I get dressed in a pair of black highwaisted pants, white top and sensible flats for my first day at work.

I walk in and am greeted by the super-friendly receptionist and am asked to wait for someone to come out and greet me. I look around the expansive 17th floor showroom which is tastefully decorated in black and cream, complete with dark flooring and plush beige carpeting. Never before have I had the chance to work in such a luxurious setting and I feel somewhat intimidated by the gorgeous, tall, thin and impeccably dressed women walking around in 4 inch heels.

I am greeted by yet another one of those chic, beautiful women who introduces herself as an assistant designer. She is wearing striking coral heels with a cream shimmery minidress and a black blazer on top. Her hair is pulled back in a chignon, her skin is flawless and she is a full head taller than me. But her demeanor is sweet and friendly and she immediately puts me at ease and shows me around, introducing me to everyone in the office.

I spent the summer working in the design office alongside the Design Director and Assistant designers. The company is an incredible one to work for where the employees and interns are treated with kindness and respect. Mrs. Herrera herself worked in the office next to ours along with the Creative Director of the company. I have nothing but praise for any of the people I came across at the office. Everything is taken in stride with the utmost professionalism and an amazing sense of humour. It is evident that these people love what they do and take all measures to make even the interns feel relaxed, welcome and at home.


Mrs. Herrera herself requires a paragraph to herself. I was completely star-struck the first time I met her. She is everything you would imagine her to be. Classy, elegant, gorgeous and possesses more than just a small dose of that star-quality, that je-ne-sais-quoi that is hard to come by. With platinum blonde hair, incredible posture, graceful features and an amazingly elegant sense of style, one can only dream to look the way she does at 72.

The work itself was more errands than anything else. It was hard, hard work. Running around dressed to the nines in full-makeup during the scorching hot NYC summer is no joke. But I think of it as paying my dues to the Fashion Industry. I never had a chance to complain as I was so happy to be working around such inspiring people who treated me with such kindness and respect. I was always exhausted at the end of the day but to me, it was all a small price to pay for being lucky enough to work in such a prestigious company.

The fruits of my hard work came around in September. I got to attend the Carolina Herrera show at New York Fashion Week. I saw the collection that I had helped put together on the runway. And it took my breath away. I was reminded of how much I love what I am working towards and why I came to NYC in the first place. Oh and I saw Anna Wintour in person at the front row of the show:)

Whats more is that the supper sweet design team gifted us interns goodie bags consisting of several thousand dollars worth of Carolina Herrera clothing to thank us for our help and efforts. They even made sure that the clothes were individually catered to our sense of style and being the experts that they are, they were bang on.

Overall, amazing experience, amazing internship. I would love to go back for them someday as I cannot imagine a better atmosphere that anyone could work in.

Left: 3 of us Design Interns, wringing out a 15 yard piece of silk on the balcony. Everyone was so amused that they started taking pictures of us.

Left: The design team.

Left: Anna Wintour at the Carolina Herrera show

Watch the entire Spring 2012 Carolina Herrera show below!

Studying Fashion at Parsons the New School for Design (Fashion Design AAS)

So a lot of people are curious about what it is actually like to study Fashion Design at Parsons the New School for Design. I know I was searching high and low for any information regarding the school and the programs it offered, but was not too successful in my endeavors.

Thus here is the lowdown from a second semester AAS Fashion Design student. Fashion is NOT all glamour and partying. I learnt that the hard way. I came here not knowing what to expect, but I had an image of snooty rich kids who would party hard, dress in the latest designer fashions and not work too hard. That image could not be further from the truth.

Yes Parsons is a private fashion school, possibly the best one in North America. And yes, the students here tend to have wealthy backgrounds. But that is it. The Fashion Design students at Parsons are quite possible the most dedicated, passionate and hardworking ones I have ever come across. I thought the students at McGill worked hard. I was wrong. The work ethic here is unparalleled to anything I have ever seen or heard of. And the program is just as demanding and vigorous.

The AAS Fashion Design program promises to make even the most inexperienced pupil into a talented designer, at the forefront of their career stage. This does not happen by accident, it happens by a curriculum that requires you to forgo sleep, food and rest to learn, experiment and create designs that are of the utmost quality and highly inspiring.

Being only 4 semesters long, Parsons AAS Fashion Design consists of a rigourous set of classes, professors and policies which push you to your limits. Each student carries a courseload between 6 to 9 classes,often with a professional internship. Each class assigns a project every week, which can take anywhere between 3 to 24+ hours to complete. Miss more than 2 classes and you fail the course. Yup, thats right, you fail regardless of how well you may be doing in that course.

The curriculum consists of a unique mix of construction, design, art and marketing courses which are catered to teach even the most oblivious of pupils (like myself) the art and profession of Fashion Design. Work hard and the results are infront of you. You learn more than you ever thought was imaginable. By the end of your first semester, you are able to transform a concept into a completely finished garment all by yourself.

The atmosphere is highly cut-throat and competitive, as is the industry in which you aim to enter. Students work hard day and night, without sleeping for days to create projects that are awe-inspiring. You get inspired by your colleagues and the feats they accomplish. Doing well in this program is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. but the results are spectacular. Internships are yours for the choosing. You are the employers' first choice because they know the caliber of hardwork and dedication that is required to be a Parsons student. And its very likely they themselves were one not very long ago.

The program is tough, and tears are frequent. But there is very little guesswork involved in what is required of you and what you need to do. Unlike my previous university, there is a constant flow of information from the Fashion School regarding the next step. Events are frequent and usually include industry leaders.

All in all, I wouldn't have chosen anything else. This place is incredible and inspiring and I get to do what I love. Hard work, as you will learn at Parsons, is the key to your success. For all of you considering the program, be sure it is for the right reasons: to learn and grow and nothing else. You will not get to sleep, dress up, party or explore the city; that will have to be set aside for life after Parsons.

Concrete Jungle

So I know it been about a year since I last posted on this page and I apologize for that. Thing is, life got pretty crazy and its taken quite a bit of time for me to adjust and settle into it, but I now realize that blogging about it would be quite possibly the best way for me to remember it and many of you fashion-lovers might actually find it interesting.

First and foremost, let me update you on what has happened since I last posted: I got into Parsons the New School for Design's AAS Fashion Design program last year and as a result, I am now living in New York City. Pretty cool stuff huh?

I applied in 2010 to the program in the hopes that somehow I may just get in, and when I did, I spent a good hour jumping around my brother's apartment in Montreal in joy and disbelief. It seemed my life was finally getting on track, and on January 16th, 2011, I followed my ambitions to become an eveningwear designer to a city I had never set foot in before: The Big Apple itself aka NYC.

I hated it at first. I was stuck living in an "open space" i.e. the living room of a one bedroom suite with 3 other girls I knew nothing about. They were nice enough, but I couldn't help missing my comfortable, relaxed, Canadian lifestyle where I was lucky enough to constantly be surrounded by friends whom I loved and knew. Furthermore, I was bewildered by the masses that walk the streets of New York on a daily basis. What's there to love I thought? The dirty streets with their piles of garbage bags, the depressing subway stations and not having anyone to talk to for days really made me question the validity and sanity of my decision to move into a place where I knew noone and knew nothing about.

Its been 11 months now, and my feelings have truly changed. The phrase "Never judge a book by its cover" could not be more suited to anyplace in the world other than NYC. A few close friends, and a ton of exhilarating yet exhausted experiences later, I have fallen in love with this bizarre city I have come to call home. The opportunities this place has to offer coupled with the attitudes of the people living here have truly inspired me in a way like no other. And not writing about it and sharing it with you all would truly be injustice to a blog which I started as a dedication to my love for fashion.