Mary Katrantzou Internship Experience

Before I go on you may want to put on something cosy, grab yourself a drink and a handful of snacks, this is going to be a long one… ;-)

Over the summer I decided that I wanted to do another internship and to do so I undertook the same process that I did earlier this year (see my Sass and Bide internship here). However, it was required that I had an interview before I was selected which I was quite nervous about. When the time came they asked me questions such as:

• Tell me a bit about yourself
• What is your favourite collection and why?
• What is your least favourite collection and why?
• What do you know about Mary?
• If you had to pick three designers to work for who would they be and why?

Luckily Mary Katrantzou is definitely up there as one of my favourite designers so I thought that the interview went well. After that it became the waiting game to find out if I had been chosen or not and after e-mailing them a couple of times they replied saying that I had got the PR & Marketing internship - hurrah! 

First Day

Tip: The first day is always the most daunting - you are the newbie and a blank canvas in a new setting. First impressions count so make sure you are friendly to everyone, offer to help where necessary, be eager to learn and try your hardest. There is always a lot of information to take in on your first couple of days so bring a notepad and pen with you to jot everything down :-)

On my first day I made sure I set off a little earlier than I needed to in case I got lost or there was any delays with the train - I was half an hour early in the end! After being offered countless amounts of tea, coffee or water I finally met the team who I would be working with and they were all so lovely. My task for the day was to do an inventory for the sample sale. This required me to go through boxes of sample clothing and using their commercial books I had to find the style of the garment and the name of the print and note it down into a spreadsheet. It was super exciting seeing all of the clothing in real life and I began to understand how the business side worked.    

The Next Few Weeks

Over the next few weeks I was given a range of tasks including; designing and writing newsletters, logistics, locating samples, using Fashion GPs, communicating with PR companies Karla Otto and Starworks and suggesting garments/looks for bloggers. My skills rapidly developed, I felt in control of my role and I was enjoying every minute of it. I was also getting to know other interns, and members from different teams (finance, e-commerce and sales) which has resulted in me making great friends and good networking for the future :-) One aspect of the fashion world that I love is that you never know what the next day is going to bring and the tasks are constantly fresh and exciting. 

Show Week

Show week is manic. The hours are longer and it involves a lot of logistics as an intern. Tasks for the week involved; ensuring the show boxes were complete, writing invitations, hand-delivering invitations, sending looks for guests to wear to the show and many coffee runs. This is the week that you really want to aim for comfortable clothing as you will be doing lots of running around getting bits and bobs! It is also very important to be on top of all e-mails, make sure you prioritise important tasks efficiently and work well as a team :-) 

Show Day

The day began at the studio getting last-minute show bits and going on a huge coffee run before heading off to the venue at Kings Cross. My role was working front of house which meant that I had to put all of the seat numbers/names out on the benches and show guests to their seats if they were lost with the other interns. I was required to wear all black with a Mary Katrantzou scarf to distinguish myself as an employee. After everyone was seated we were rushed off to the viewing gallery where we could sit and awe at the show from above it was absolutely magical - I loved the cosmos & chaos theme! It still amazes me how fast fashion shows whizz past, months and months of preparation and it is all over in ten minutes - every moment counts and I think Mary and her team definitely made every moment count. 

Top Tips:

1. For an interview always thoroughly research the brand and be prepared to answer difficult questions. 

2. Always be sure to ask what you need to bring with you on your first day. (A notepad and pen are a must).

3. To-Do Lists will be your best friend. 

4. Don't be afraid to ask questions. 

5. All you can ever do is be confident and try your very best :-) 


Lots of love,

Sarah Marie x