Crackdown on Fashion Internships

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Alexandra

Well, well, well… This headline certainly caught my eye: “HMRC plans crackdown on fashion industry’s unpaid interns” (The Guardian.) It seems like the British government is finally going to do something about all of the overworked, unpaid slaves working in the London fashion studios. They have hired a task force that will be targeting the fashion industry for the next six months and investigating the use of interns in small and large fashion companies.

fashion careers, fashion jobs, fashion intershipsIntern abuse is rife in London, and it sickens me. I know of students who have been very badly treated in internships that required long hours and no pay (I know one who was at Alexander McQueen for 6 months, was only paid travel costs, worked 12 hours a day, and had no hope of getting a job.) An internship should teach you a bit about the company and how the industry works, but I have knows students to be stuck in a PR agency’s “closet,” not even on the same floor as the employees so therefore having no chance of learning how things work.

Internships should be educational, and should often lead to jobs. When I did my internship at Sonia Rykiel, I got a job afterwards. This shouldn’t be unheard of, companies need to recruit, and they should be taking on a limited number of interns in hopes that a few of them will be good enough to hire. If a company needs 15 interns in one department to keep the workloads manageable, then they are obviously abusing the role of the intern and need to hire more staff.

fashion careers, fashion jobs, fashion interships

The internship also needs to be a learning experience, the idea is that the intern learns the ropes, and is then more valuable when applying for jobs. Basically, they need to get some great experience out of it, if not it doesn’t make sense to work for free. Finally, internships should not be longer than three months (unless they are paid.) If not, the only people who can afford to do an internship (yes, it is expensive to work for free) are the ones who are wealthy. Either that, or they need to work night jobs which is just too much. I know people who are where they are because they were able to work for free for years. They are talented, yes, but so were many others. The fact that they were able to intern for years gave them opportunities others didn’t have.

I think it is great news that the British government is cracking down on intern abuse, hopefully it will mean that more jobs will open up in the industry, when companies will realize that they can’t rely on free labour to stay in business.

Have you done an internship that you thought you were badly treated?

Images sources: top and bottom.

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  • Paige

    Vancouver is actually pretty bad for that too. Luckily, because the Vancouver fashion scene is so small, oftentimes you can take advantage of networking opportunities even if you’re not really learning anything paramount to your career. That being said, I do think it’s something that isn’t monitored very closely… or really at all. Everyone has to pay their dues, but ultimately the point is that that hard work should pay off. I think sometimes it’s hard to say no to these opportunities, especially if you’re working with people you admire, but realistically in a lot of cases, you could be working a minimum wage job in an unrelated field and still be learning valuable skills. I would really love for these companies to treat interns as legitimate employees, paperwork included, and that way there’s some form of commitment on either end of the deal. I think it’s great that the government got involved in the UK, and I’m sure if the Canadian labour boards were to scratch the surface, they too would find some shady dealings. 

  • Miss Peelpants

    I did an internship at a magazine in London. I was sorting clothes in their cupboard most of the time. There were fleeting moments of realistic work (phoning PRs to get things sent out, checking prices etc) and one day I even ended up as the only person from fashion to be present at a photoshoot (no one else turned up…). I wasn’t treated badly, but I was advised that I would have to work there for at least six months (unpaid, in a job where you have to come into work looking stylish) and there was no guarantee of a job at the end of it. They have no interest in training people up, because they want to hang on to their own jobs. You’re just another freebie.

    I’m happy to work hard, and even work for free, but I need to be respected in return for it.

  • Anonymous

    I think most cities are bad, aside from Paris. In France, companies HAVE to pay interns, its not much, but even just a little helps.

  • Anonymous

    Good point about people hanging on to their jobs… Maybe the internship situation would improve if people felt more secure in their jobs. In fashion, there is always someone willing to do your job for half the price.

  • Priscilla

    I completely agree with you especially when you say that it is expensive to work for free, therefore only the wealthy can afford to do so. I am a senior in college and have not done an internship yet (although that is about to change) because I cannot afford to quit my job and work for free. My parents do not help me with my bills. I want to work in the fashion industry and for now I am trying to do some things related to fashion locally but I know I will need to go to NYC and get an internship or at least make an attempt and see if I can work my way into that industry. If I am lucky to land an internship I will need to take out part of a loan in order to sustain myself during those summer months. I wish there were scholarships for internships….

    Oh and this is the first time I ever comment on your blog but I just want to take this opportunity to tell you I absolutely love it. I do not always agree with what you say but I like how you say what is on your mind and do not hold back! (Your dislike towards celebrity “designers” always makes me laugh. I hate celebrity’s with their own perfumes, it drives me nuts. Like if they need more money!! Anyways, thank you for all your insightful advice on working for the fashion industry!

  • Anonymous

    Thanks Priscilla! And good luck with your internship. Some companies are nice and let you intern part time, so you can have a job as well. Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

  • Susan Jean

    I interned in London this past summer full time for 4 months for a famous designer and it was exactly as you wrote. Long hours, no pay at all (not even travel) and definitely no hope of a job. I was sewing toiles all day. I didn’t mind that as I wanted to enhance my sewing skills for my return to university but I definitely felt bad for interns who had or were about to graduate and were hoping for a job. Overall it left a bad taste in my mouth about the fashion industry.

  • Anonymous

    That’s disgusting that they didn’t pay travel, you should have gotten travel and lunch, usually £10 a day. And of course you were doing work that should have been done by a paid employee, its terrible. I hope this crackdown will result in less of these types of situations.

  • sh0egrrl

    As a soon to be graduated fashion student, this is one thing i am very concerned about. Of course internships aren’t going to be easy, but how do you know when the employer crosses the line, and more importantly, what can you do about it? The problem is that too many interns are afraid to speak up because they don’t want to jeopardize their future career.

  • Cheryl W.

    What’s the usual for Paris interns and are expenses covered?

  • alexandrasuhnerisenberg

    Not sure what it is now, but back in my day, it was less than minimum wage, although that’s a lot more than most companies pay.

  • Cheryl W.

    Do you think the way France supports its fashion industry makes a big difference since it protects its haute couture industry and there’s a trickle down effect that extends to the rest of the industry (in addition to it being a socialist country where interns earn wages) as compared to London (the fashion industry isn’t the only one not paying interns there)?