Interning At A High-End Fashion Boutique – Not All Glitz And Glamour
By Emilie Walker
How did you obtain this internship?
The application itself was very easy: I just filled in an online application at the LVMH website (the company that owns many fashion houses), and then was selected for an interview. Usually the interviews take place over a whole day and are located in Paris, but since I was here in St Andrews at the time my interview basically consisted of a 20 minute phone call! It was quite gruelling, having not read a fashion magazine in a while I definitely had to try hard to impress the person.
How did the internship go? It must have been difficult at first.
The first day was horrible. I was thrown in at the deep end by a very strict boss, who made me learn everything there was to know on my first day! Because of that, at first I really didn’t like the world of luxury clothing. I found out right away that it was a very rigid environment, with very specific etiquette and manners, ways of answering, acting and speaking. Everything down to the dress-code and make-up code was set in stone! I was assigned to the handbag and shoe department, and had to learn the entire collection right there and then. The prices, sizes, colours, selling techniques... there was a lot to learn, it was definitely overwhelming. On the second day though, as the manager was away I got to know the rest of the team, they were very friendly, and made me feel more at ease. The internship itself definitely got easier the more I learned and the more people I knew. I even got a goodbye gift at the end!
Describe the tasks you were assigned.
Obviously, the main task was to sell. And there was such a strict code of how to sell: I had to advise each customer as much as they needed (which meant staying with them as long as was necessary), encourage them to buy our products yet without seeming pushy. I had to greet the customers as they entered, but then let them browse the shop without speaking to them right away. But then I had to make sure I had spoken to the customers before they left the shop, which was very tricky! There was also a certain quota of sales to reach, which added to the pressure. I was also in charge of merchandising, which included putting the bags and shoes on the shelves in a certain way, refill the stock whenever necessary, fetch sizes and colours which were needed, overall I was in charge of the layout of the collection in the shop.
How did this experience make you feel about the fashion industry?
I got very different impressions overall. My manager made it feel so strict and hypocritical, with every word addressed to the customer being an attempt at a sale, and with so many rules and regulations. My co-workers, however, brought out the fun side! They made it very exciting for me, and more about the fashion side of it rather than the retail.
During the internship, did you encounter anything unusual?
Definitely! By working in a luxury clothes shop I was obviously confronted with demanding clients all the time, but at one point I had to deal with the most unpleasant customer ever. She wore sunglasses inside the shop, and everything about her screamed “rich” and “plastic surgery”. She proceeded to try on every single pair of shoes that she liked, in every single colour, all the while being extremely demanding and cold. She left with one pair of shoes, but then returned the next day to exchange them. Again, she spent hours trying every single pair she had tried the day before. She goes home with one pair, but then (while I was away) calls the shop in a rage, screaming down the phone that the shoes were broken, insulting the person who answered the phone and screaming that she would sue. She came back into the shop again, and had evidently broken the shoes herself, yet continued to shout abuse at the staff and especially at me! Eventually she was dealt with, and I was then comforted by everyone, but what a nightmare!
Would you recommend this experience?
Of course! It was the best way to find out about the world of fashion retail, and about the management side of things. In the end I had so much fun, I was so sad to leave! Ultimately it helped me realise that I would never want to work in retail, as the pressure is too high. The creative and administrative side of it though definitely appeals to me most. The best perk of working at Céline? Being around gorgeous clothes, bags and shoes that are to die for, and getting a staff discount!
The application itself was very easy: I just filled in an online application at the LVMH website (the company that owns many fashion houses), and then was selected for an interview. Usually the interviews take place over a whole day and are located in Paris, but since I was here in St Andrews at the time my interview basically consisted of a 20 minute phone call! It was quite gruelling, having not read a fashion magazine in a while I definitely had to try hard to impress the person.
How did the internship go? It must have been difficult at first.
The first day was horrible. I was thrown in at the deep end by a very strict boss, who made me learn everything there was to know on my first day! Because of that, at first I really didn’t like the world of luxury clothing. I found out right away that it was a very rigid environment, with very specific etiquette and manners, ways of answering, acting and speaking. Everything down to the dress-code and make-up code was set in stone! I was assigned to the handbag and shoe department, and had to learn the entire collection right there and then. The prices, sizes, colours, selling techniques... there was a lot to learn, it was definitely overwhelming. On the second day though, as the manager was away I got to know the rest of the team, they were very friendly, and made me feel more at ease. The internship itself definitely got easier the more I learned and the more people I knew. I even got a goodbye gift at the end!
Describe the tasks you were assigned.
Obviously, the main task was to sell. And there was such a strict code of how to sell: I had to advise each customer as much as they needed (which meant staying with them as long as was necessary), encourage them to buy our products yet without seeming pushy. I had to greet the customers as they entered, but then let them browse the shop without speaking to them right away. But then I had to make sure I had spoken to the customers before they left the shop, which was very tricky! There was also a certain quota of sales to reach, which added to the pressure. I was also in charge of merchandising, which included putting the bags and shoes on the shelves in a certain way, refill the stock whenever necessary, fetch sizes and colours which were needed, overall I was in charge of the layout of the collection in the shop.
How did this experience make you feel about the fashion industry?
I got very different impressions overall. My manager made it feel so strict and hypocritical, with every word addressed to the customer being an attempt at a sale, and with so many rules and regulations. My co-workers, however, brought out the fun side! They made it very exciting for me, and more about the fashion side of it rather than the retail.
During the internship, did you encounter anything unusual?
Definitely! By working in a luxury clothes shop I was obviously confronted with demanding clients all the time, but at one point I had to deal with the most unpleasant customer ever. She wore sunglasses inside the shop, and everything about her screamed “rich” and “plastic surgery”. She proceeded to try on every single pair of shoes that she liked, in every single colour, all the while being extremely demanding and cold. She left with one pair of shoes, but then returned the next day to exchange them. Again, she spent hours trying every single pair she had tried the day before. She goes home with one pair, but then (while I was away) calls the shop in a rage, screaming down the phone that the shoes were broken, insulting the person who answered the phone and screaming that she would sue. She came back into the shop again, and had evidently broken the shoes herself, yet continued to shout abuse at the staff and especially at me! Eventually she was dealt with, and I was then comforted by everyone, but what a nightmare!
Would you recommend this experience?
Of course! It was the best way to find out about the world of fashion retail, and about the management side of things. In the end I had so much fun, I was so sad to leave! Ultimately it helped me realise that I would never want to work in retail, as the pressure is too high. The creative and administrative side of it though definitely appeals to me most. The best perk of working at Céline? Being around gorgeous clothes, bags and shoes that are to die for, and getting a staff discount!