Exposing The Darkside of Unpaid Fashion Internships

In today's video I interview 4 different people involved in the world of fashion and business on the topic of unpaid internships. They discuss the positives and benefits of doing unpaid internships as well as the drawbacks and downsides.
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FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO:
ANDREW LOADER - The founder of Fashion Workie, a free jobs board / careers resource platform predominantly aimed at the fashion industry. He started the platform in 2009 As a final major project while studying fashion promotion imaging at the University of Creative Arts in Epsom.
www.fashionworkie.com/
DANIEL PETERS - A fashion marketing specialist with a mission for promoting careers of marginalised voices within the industry. It was this mission that encouraged him to set up Fashion Minority Report, an organisation dedicated to helping businesses create an inclusive workplace culture.
fashionminorityreport.com/
JOSEPH BRIMICOMBE - A Menswear Fashion Design student at the University of Westminster. He has gained work experience at Dior and Vivienne Westwood all before graduating.
josephbrimicombe.com/
SHEMI ADEBOYE - A research consultant and an Executive Search and Leadership Advisory Consultancy. He specialises in financial services recruitment.
#fashion #unpaidinternships #unpaidwork

[@epasuxelar4473]

I interned for a big brand in NY my senior year and when they offered me a full time position, I tried to negotiate salary because after calculating cost of living, I was essentially paying to work for them. They rescinded the offer immediately. All of these fashion companies and the entire industry in general runs on exploitation. Exploitation of people and the environment. I don't think fashion is worth the pain and suffering it creates. There's so many better things to do for the world than make a shirt. Edit: forgot to mention two employees at this company said that they hadn't been paid in 3 months... I think I dodged a bullet.

[@lailamedina3424]

Fashion schools are usually expensive and located in some of the most costly cities in the world. Even if the interns don't have the skills to be paid a proper salary, minimum wage doesn't feel like demanding too much in this situation... This unpaid internships culture and general toxicity (especially in fashion) when it comes to 'access', experience and networking needs to stop, one way or another.

[@cooper7031]

You got that right!

[@balazs7235]

Just imagine all potential that is lost because of that. There are people that will never be able to achieve their dreams and become the next big designer. Alexander McQueen was lucky to be born in London where he had a lot of opportunity due to his determination despite not coming from the bestest of backgrounds.

[@nomads4286]

Faxx I hate the idea of unpaid internships

[@jessiccablessngs1536]

I feel that there should be an increase in fashion apprenticeships. Fashion is a practical job. PRACTICAL. Why do we have to study it at university, only then to be told that we have to do an unpaid internship afterwards , simply because a degree alone is not good enough??? If they cant afford to pay, why can't the fashion businesses apply for the apprenticeship levy and hire apprentices? Then not only will the apprentices study fashion, but they will also work and get paid. Killing two birds with one stone! Or do they enjoy exploiting people??????

[@karigrandii]

Is it new to you that capitalism exploits people? lol

[@AC28235]

Unfortunately it’s a very broken system that starts at university. I studied at LCF and it was part of our YR 2 curriculum to complete a full term’s worth of hours at an internship. There are no regulations on whether you should be paid, how many hours you should do per day, etc so fashion brands are able to exploit students from the get-go as they need an internship to complete the term. This broken system doesn’t just end with internships. The graduate/entry level jobs that are paid (usually minimum wage) are hugely exploitative as you’re likely expected to work additional hours for nothing just because “it’s fashion week”. I ended up working for a brand for £15.5k per annum fresh out of university and over the 2 years I was there I worked out I was paid approx. £3.60 per hour because of all the additional hours I ended up doing. I also travelled for showrooms and was expected to pay for my food during that time (which in any other industry would be a business expense!).

[@alecothegecko]

Lmfaoooo this video drops as I’m lowkey in a unpaid internship

[@claioya5478]

THANK YOU! I’m a fashion major working towards her internship next semester (internship of 1 semester is required here for graduation) and I’m honestly shocked at how common it is to not get payed. Also how professors normalize it? They’re like: well yeah of course those cool hip labels in Berlin can’t pay you! That’s normal and you’ll get tons of experience. Right as if that will pay my bills for 4-6 months……..coming from a low income household and being the first to go to college I have no one to fall back to. I’m scared of not graduating because of the high cost as it is.

[@zahrashamji1889]

One thing I’ve noticed about a lot of fashion design graduates is that only 2% go on to work in the industry after however many years of investment in university fees & unpaid internships. The rest end up in retail or going in more lucrative industries. I mean even though they say fashion is a billion dollar industry I see designers coming out of uni and not even getting a basic 25k a year. Mean while tech/ finance and other billion dollar industries put their money where their mouth is.

[@sihammahat2227]

I'm glad this is being talked about, wonderful video and just a few minutes in

[@KL-ts7cs]

From my own personal experience, beginning a career in the fashion industry was a tough start. Not only do I feel like people inside the industry hide opportunities from newbies but they also are so exclusive on who is welcomed in. I am a Latinx woman and I constantly felt (and still feel) as if this industry has no place for me. I don't see many black/brown creatives, directors, or editors hold high positions. I often feel like the industry acts as if it could only support 3 black/brown people at a time. Like seriously, how many creative directors do you see at these old fashion houses? My first work experience was interning for a stylist and after working there for about 4 months I applied for another internship. This was my big moment as it was for a legendary stylist and I felt like it was a step forward in my career. I worked 5 days a week and was on call during the weekends. I was juggling these two unpaid internships and had no time for my personal life. Hours were long, lots of labor work, no time to eat and constantly needing to act like the workload was "manageable". I knew I had to make a big impression but I was so broke and tired during this period in my life. I was told my numerous people that working an unpaid internship was some sort of "right of passage". That the work experience itself was the true compensation and it would all be worth it once I saw the work printed in magazines. But the reality is that my generation faces different problems than those back in the day. We are challenging big social issues, going to college means you will end up with student loans, living in a fashion capitol (NY, Paris, Milan, etc.) is only attainable for those who are rich. The cost of living is so high that one can't afford to work for free. This industry is tough and exploitation is very very real. When and if ever I become successful, I will break this ridiculous culture of unpaid interns because it is not fair nor sustainable for young creatives.

[@fiftyclown]

How did you begin? i'm about to start my placement year in september and really need tips on securing an internship lol

[@KL-ts7cs]

@@fiftyclown biggest tip I can give you is to inform yourself of people already established in the industry and follow them on IG. I got my first two internships through IG. They posted it on their stories and i sent them a DM and email. Don't be afraid to reach out! People appreciate those who have guts ;) best of luck angel!!!

[@luv.viridi]

We can make it better as the next generation coming forward

[@luka_ingabire]

@@fiftyclownpray.

[@shivaaninisar9251]

Fashion workie is doing such a great job. I’ve been applying to so many jobs through the platform. Although didn’t receive any jobs yet but happy that the platform exists!!

[@mclean9814]

I can't help but laugh at the fallacy that many of these fashion houses can't 'afford' to pay their interns when the heads of many of the same companies are the richest men in the world. Sure, it's not as simple as that, but for as long as it's accepted that you just have to work for free then these conglomerates will capitalise on that. I'm a civil engineer and even when I was an unqualified 18yo nobody would have EVER expected me to be ok working for free lol

[@sergiubechian4591]

i've heard of brands selling their products worldwide through retailers, but on the company documents it appears that they only have 4 permanent employees this includes the director and ceo. conspicuously thats something wrong if they constantly publishing internships advert!

[@78grafikal]

How about unpaid Models. They get the worst part. As a Fashion designer I've seen it firsthand. I've seen them get like $100 for the night and they still had to go to practice for days before that.

[@ucanttestmeg]

Proper sick doc bro! Can’t wait to see more of these‼️ I think the word intern subconsciously caused us to devalue ourselves, but with interns tending to be younger, it’s important to remember how powerful and vital our perspective is to these brands! We’re the next generation of consumer, they need our insight now more than ever!

[@RRicky-ix8ic]

there are a lot of workers who are exploited in every part of the fashion industry

[@kassandrawithak]

i started off as an intern who was PROMISED pay for a big commercial styling job then i got promoted to first assistant and was told i'd be paid as a regular styling assistant and till this day i never got paid for anything. i also did so much work for my bosses clients when she was too busy with other things and never got credit or recognition for any of it and when i quit my ex boss would try to guilt me by saying i couldn't handle the job and all that crap when in reality i was just tired of being promised pay and not getting anything in return.

[@milanmellard405]

Very necessary conversation!👏🏽

[@Whodnl]

This is great content we needed Ayo always giving us great content

[@kristsupric]

Amazing work!

[@mariahelenasoowej1943]

So an intern doesn't have enough experience to be paid but enough to perform the tasks that 'an experienced' person would get paid for? To me that actually says that intern is anything but unskilled, being able to meet up expectations that are higher than their abilities. Is job done? then should be paid. Doesn't meet expectations? In that case why'd you hire that person at the first place. I think this is not even a fashion industry problem, for some reason the harder the work the less it's paid, some may say that higher well paid positions already required one to go through the hierarchy and all that exploiting, which is not necessarily true, nor people have time to wait till their 50s or later to finally get paid properly. Even so, how does it makes sense for the time commitment to be more important factor than the actual performance?

[@hhhenge]

Amazing video Ayo! Youre gonna be one of the key voices in the fashion industry i just know it

[@muhammadreynaldyfebrian3851]

bro where have you been ,i miss seeing you in my recomendation video

[@FashionRoadman]

School has been killing me haha, trying my best to be consistent

[@blahblahbluuu]

I am a woman who lives in Latin America, -I really have work experience in other areas-, but my dream has always been to work in something related to fashion. I saw a post on Instagram about volunteering (unpaid) for a well-known fashion-related non-profit organization and jumped on it. What a disappointment, - idk about other countries/hqs - it really was just to boost egos, we really didn't do anything for the environment and fashion, they saw it from a very privileged and superficial point of view. So disappointed, i just stopped replying to messages.

[@brendapredieri425]

Especially when you have to hustle very very hard and to be reject 20 times for a unpaid internship.

[@meeshyeesh1416]

1 only did 1 unpaid internship. had another FT job at the time, was barely getting by. there shouldn't be a norm of unpaid internships, they are exploitative any way you dice it.

[@dominiononimisi-fc6fs]

Superb 👍

[@katyac6511]

Honestly the beauty industry is just as much of an offender. You expected to be on the clocks for free and be thankful for it. Same goes for fashion. Not right.

[@aremuridwan2377]

Amazing

[@chisler6192]

Thank you for this video, hasn't checked in for a minute and the channel is an incredible tv program now :)

[@PeasantDesign]

I really wanna know the male designer he was talking about.

[@nimanixo]

Today I had my first fashion internship it was really weird and I lost money lol I'm so lost idk what to do in life anymore

[@yuyangwang2436]

Same in Shanghai

[@aremuridwan2377]

Great

[@owoadelawal7798]

Fashion school are really expensive 💯

[@cassiopaia3153]

Offering an unpaied internships is just a different way of saying: "We want you to work for us, but we don´t want to pay you." Even if you´re an intern, you are still working.

[@nammond]

SAY THEIR NAMES !!!!

[@user-zg2qp9eo2u]

❤❤❤❤

[@titiloyeajibola5966]

Nice fashion school

[@fiftyclown]

I just want an internship. Sad how i'm so desperate i'm willing to work for nothing.

[@The2econdcoming]

That’s exactly the sentiment they know people have. which is what’ these people explained ,

[@maximusfuller3375]

as you sit with ur tom ford behind u

[@FashionRoadman]

It’s a book

[@maximusfuller3375]

@@FashionRoadman not blind but thanks for justifying.

[@Loo444]

You gotta work your way up dude, you were naive and didn't bring value at 16, you, should be grateful for that experience because that opened up doors to your other "internships". When i started working i was doing the dirty jobs too, nothing wrong with bringing coffee, you gotta earn your stripes in life and don't feel like people owe you anything before you bring anything.

[@sean_daivi]

okay rambo

[@kuromiii4305]

lmao there's a huge difference between being exploited and working your way up

[@hkhkhkhkhk]

at least a minimum wage 🙏

[@HS-ie8tj]

This is not 1999. Cost of living is insane. Fashion is dull and boring BECAUSE they lack diversity.

[@31listings62]

No one owes you nothing yes; however you’re not gonna misuse people, you’re not going to mislead people, you’re not treat people like slaves, time is more precious then gold. If someone gives you their time you have to pay them its an even exchange theres not such thing as getting something for nothing

[@daniel.is.my.brother]

i am someone who wants to work in fashion. I live outside of a major city, so travelling to from it is far too expensive in the long run. I am also someone who lives with a single parent who is part of the working class. I have tried volunteering in charity shops, however the idea of internships is impossible for me to participate in at the moment