Cosmopolitan Magazine
Lindsay Amir Wright, 2010
I applied to Cosmopolitan Magazine through a website called ed2010.com. I discovered the website through a google search for fashion internships. I have always had a strong appreciation for fashion and photography through magazines and I have had previous experience in the fashion industry. I have had two jobs in the past at retail establishments. In the summer of 2008 I interned at Tuleh as a general fashion intern and I was able to see the production of a complete fashion collection from the beginning with the thought process to production, and finally Fashion Week. By working as a fashion intern at Cosmopolitan Magazine. I was interested in experiencing the advertising and marketing techniques of the fashion industry.
At the start of the internship I was immediately impressed by the beautiful Hearst Publications building located on the corner of 57th and 8th ave. Cosmopolitan offices are located on the 38th floor and share the building with many other respected magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Marie Claire, and O Magazine. On the first day I was introduced to the fashion closet (where I would spend much of my time). The closet held clothing and accessories for upcoming shoots or layouts. As an intern I was responsible for keeping the closet organized and to keep the movement of samples in or out, in order.
My supervisor, Lauren Finney, is a fashion assistant with a market of only higher-end designers. Many times during the internship I had to visit many of the showrooms and design houses to pick up or deliver samples. It was interesting visiting Chanel, Versace, and Gucci because my interest in fashion stems from these large design houses and it was great to see them firsthand and with a behind the scenes look. I had the task of creating the look boards for the upcoming spring issues. Look boards consist of all of the selected looks in their entirety from the Spring ’09 runway designs. My job was to scan through all of the runway books and pull designers who appealed to whatever the theme of the spread consisted of. After I chose about thirty or more books the fashion editors flipped through the pages to pull the specific looks. Then I photocopied each look and pinned them onto a brown corkboard. Lauren would then request the looks from the designers and I was responsible for making sure the pieces arrived and were properly hung and placed on the correct racks for run-throughs and fittings. The next process was the actual shoot for the magazine.
One of my favorite experiences as a fashion intern was the opportunity to assist on three fashion editorial spreads and one features shoot. When I was on set I was required to come early set up the clothing, jewelry, and shoes. I also steamed and assisted with the dressing of the models/celebrities. I watched from behind the camera as the cover and inside layouts were shot. The breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus on set were amazing and delicious. I had never been to a photo shoot before in my life and I never dreamed I would be able to as an intern but I consider myself to be very lucky. On two occasions I was asked to assist Karen Larrain with styling in the studio located on the 16th floor of the Hearst building. Karen is the Market Director and stylist at Cosmo.
After the shoots and the studio sessions, the clothing and accessories were returned to the closet where they are placed on shot and return racks. Usually after a scheduled shoot the designers immediately begin to request their sampled back to their showrooms. The clothing had to be re-packaged, a sign-out sheet was prepared, and the delivery information was sent to the Dynamex messenger system that picked up and returned the samples to their rightful owners.
I was also asked to do a little market research on the streets of New York for the magazine. On the first occasion I was given two different cover looks for the April issue and I had to 100 women between the ages of 18-34, which look they preferred and why. On another occasion I asked women about their opinion on the magazine cover titles, which titles they liked and disliked, and which titles would make them want to buy the magazine to read. After I collected all of this data I created two separated reports to be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, Kate White.
Another exciting time in the Cosmo office was the winter intern meeting with Kate White. Before Kate spoke to us we met with the managing editor, Jo-Ann Ligori who got us to think about different ideas and topics to be featured in the magazine. Our ideas were later pitched in an ideas meeting later that week. When Kate White entered the meeting she told us of her career path and how she first got involved in magazines and how she became editor-in-chief of the magazine. She gave us helpful ideas and tips for applying for jobs in magazines when we graduate. She also answered our questions we had about the magazine and the magazine industry in general. The meeting was very helpful and I strongly appreciate her interest in speaking to the interns.
Of course as an intern there are days when general office matters must be taking care of. I did my share of filing invoices, look books, and I was even responsible for a few expense reports. I opened mail for several editors and found it actually exciting to see the wonderful gifts they receive day to day. Another large task was calling model agencies in order to set up go-sees and castings for the shoots.
I enjoyed assisting Lauren with research. Usually we searched for pictures of celebrities with short skirts or big bottoms, but occasionally I was able to research topics of interest in popular culture. I was asked to think of new bands, celebrities, and activities popular in today’s ten and young adult culture. This was very interesting because I was able to contribute my ideas to the magazine and I was the connecting voice between the youth and the media.
As the internship came to a close I worked closely with Lauren to create and modify the schedule for the Fall 2009 Fashion Week shows. I was not able to attend because it conflicts with school time but I was asked to return for the summer and I will definitely give it strong consideration.
I thoroughly enjoyed my internship at Cosmo and I can actually envision myself as a future employee of the company. I really enjoyed the fashion department but it was also be interesting to assist with the art or marketing departments as well.
Contact the Career Services Office for more information on this internship.