After Seventeen magazine went out of print, which I felt devastated about, I graduated to Cleo magazine. And I think I have a 3 year collection of Cleo in my storeroom. So when I saw the Instagram post asking for new fashion interns, obviously I applied immediately without thinking. Then I went for the interview, and I got in. I think as long as you have some mass comm or fashion design background, you can make it in.
The first week of my internship was okay. It involved me writing quirky captions for our Hot Looks section, finding images (both street style and runway) for the 'From Catwalk to Cleo' section, etc. Second week onward, all hell broke loose. I found out that product sourcing is the most tiring thing in the whole damn planet. (Okay I am exaggerating but you get the point)
Product sourcing basically means going out to shopping malls, mainly in the "7th Heaven of Shopping" areas such as Somerset and Orchard, and loaning accessories, clothes, shoes, etc and bringing them back to the office. We then have to take pictures of these products in the studio. Our two resident photographers are in charge of that. These high resolution pictures can then appear in our magazines and they will appear scattered all throughout the fashion pages.
The week leading up to our photoshoot was probably the most physically tiring week of my life. When we go and borrow clothes and stuff, we take one of those 30kg luggages with us, and we go from shop to shop. My day typically went like this:
Pick-Up Products:
- Taka
1. Charles and Keith
2. On Peddar
3. Love Moschino
Return-Products
- ION
1. Topshop
2. Bershka
3. Pull & Bear
4. Warehouse
5. Stradivarius
6. G2000
- SMRT
1. F21
- Wisma Atria
1. Miss Selfridge
- 313 @ Somerset
1. Levi's
I got tired just typing all that. When we borrow, we don't just borrow one thing. We borrow LOADS. So that 30kg luggage is usually FULL. And there was this one day when I was going to the Agnes B storeroom and I had to drag the full luggage up 2 flights of stairs. No escalators. No lift. Somedays you're so fed up you just want the ground to open up and swallow you.
And I actually did overtime many times. Despite the fact that I am an unpaid intern. Normally the day should end at 6pm, but the latest I left office was at 10pm I think, that was the night before the photoshoot. Guys, you need to realise that I am not complaining. I am really just giving the insider scoop. I could pretend it's all glamorous and shit, but it's NOT.
There were some perks: I got free liptstick, concert tickets, got to hang out with international models, got discount at H&M, etc. And the perks definitely helped to cheer me up when the day was just too tiring.
The Big Day of the Photoshoot
Casting for the photoshoot had been done, my fellow fashion intern and I had got in crazy hauls from all over Orchard and we had got the big boss's approval of the selected pieces.
In the picture above, this is what we prepared, with a total value of at least $10k. 3 racks of crazy expensive clothes, shoes, bags, etc. From these, we narrowed it to the selected pieces for the photoshoot.
The models arrived at about 5pm, as well as the Makeup Artists, and together we headed to Kallang Stadium, which was the location. We all got Burger King for dinner and then started the photoshoot at about 8pm. It was a night photoshoot :)
The models were in thick fur coats, and I don't know how they managed to look so flawless and composed when there was barely any wind. It was quite hot! I saw two pairs of bare boobs. HAHA. Boys would have liked to be me. Then at 1am, I had to drop off a model, Luiza, at her apartment and then I headed home, reaching at 2am. What a tiring yet exciting night.
And I finally ticked something off my bucket list. Be part of a photoshoot. :)
So now I'm out of there. I treasure the experience but I am glad that my stint as an intern is over because it was frucking tiring.
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