Brittany Cohen Credit: Terry Richardson
BBA Design and Management Harpers Bazaar Fashion Internship Graduation: May 2013
CONTENT
“Runs” to Fashion PR/Design Firms
pg 3
Retuns and Check-ins
pg 5
Board Copies and Lookbooks
pg 7
Resume
pg 9
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“Runs” to Fashion PR/Design Firms PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The market editors primary role at Harpers Bazaar is to communicate with fashion public relations firms and designers themselves to obtain the clothing needed for the various shoots in the magazine. Moving clothing can become extremely expensive, especially when the packages include several different looks. The editors rely on the interns to locate the PR/Design firms, and retrieve these garment bags, so they could be shot for the magazine. This involved an editor/ intern trust relationship to be formed, because many times I found myself carrying thousands of dollars worth of clothing. These runs could be simple, like going downstairs to obtain a shirt from the in office studio, to going to several different locations for an urgent shoot. Regardless of the scenario, this job was the most crucial way I could assist the editors, and a vital part of my position as fashion market intern.
RESPONSIBILITIES: I was responsible for tracking where the editor was ordering the clothing from, mapping out the address, getting to the PR/ Design house, finding and collecting the garment bag, and delivering it back to the office.
MEDIA:
Photo Credit: Terry Richardson, Harper’s Bazaar
No media involved.
COMPETENCIES: Important to be diligent and punctual, and
have a good sense of direction around the city.
DURATION: Every session, from 20 minutes to three hours.
Photo Credit: Terry Richardson, Harper’s Bazaar
PROCESS DESCRIPTION: Throughout my experience at Harpers Bazaar, I could estimate I went on about 70 runs, and they were all quite memorable experiences, for the good and bad reasons. I really enjoyed being able to physically go and see the different fashion houses and public relations firms throughout the city. I feel like this was a great, hands on way to physically see how the fashion world operates behind closed doors. Since I was working on the publishing side of fashion, I was lucky that I was able to have such close contact with the PR firms, because I was able to see somewhat how they worked, without participating in an internship. It was also good to be able step outside of the hectic office once in a while, especially when it was a nice day out, and the walk to my destination was long. However, when the weather was bad and the subways were running slowly, runs could turn into the worst task ever. Also, they could be extremely tiring, physically and emotionally, and there were some especially difficult days I experienced. Overall, I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit these locations, which I doubt I would ever have been exposed to normally, but I think I’m ok with not having to do runs anytime in the future. Photo Credit: Terry Richardson, Harper’s Bazaar
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Returns and Check-ins MEDIA:
Garment bags, and premade check in/return sheets.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Working in the fashion closet, the
interns were responsible for handling all the clothes that were brought to Harper’s for shoots. The back closet was, at times, literally overflowing with clothing from seemingly every fashion designer on the market. Once the clothes were brought into the closet (via run or by mail) it was the interns job to correctly check in all the items, hang the clothing up on an incoming rack for the editors, and alert the editors that the clothing was ready for their approval. After the shoot, or if the editors decided not to use the clothing, we needed to send all the items back to the designer or PR firm where they came from. The designers or account executives would request the clothing back, to be used on another shoot elsewhere. This email would be forwarded to the interns, in which case we needed to pack up the clothing, fill out appropriate paperwork, and order a messenger service to retrieve the packed garment bag. Maintaining the clothing racks, keeping track of where everything is stored, and protecting the more expensive items are all important tasks a fashion market intern must do to keep a fashion publication running smoothly.
COMPETENCIES: Must be thorough, focused, and responsible for your actions. DURATION: Every session, took an average of 20 minutes.
Photo Credit: Greg Kadel, Harper’s Bazaar
PROCESS DESCRIPTION: The returns and check-ins were more of an administrative task than the labor intensive runs, but this lead for more opportunity for accidents and miscommunication between the interns. Although I personally never had any issues with returns or check-ins, there were incidents with the other interns, such as forgetting to check everything in, and items literally going missing into thin air. A $2,000 skirt was apparently thrown out, because the intern didn’t thoroughly examine the box that it had been mailed in. This shows just how important it is for an intern to be focused and diligent. I personally enjoyed the check-in and return process. It was like opening up a present every time we received new clothes, and when the clothes were returned, it was satisfying to know that we as an intern team had taken good care of the clothing, and that someone else would be using them to create more beautiful fashion art. It was also exciting to see the clothing we had handled in the pages of Harper’s each month. The pictures I’ve included on these pages display some of the clothing we brought in and cared for while it was being shot for the magazine. RESPONSIBILITIES: I needed to be careful with all of the clothing and be
knowledgeable where everything was stored. All paperwork needed to be filled out correctly and filed in the right place, and all photos needed to stay organized on iPhoto. When packed away, clothing needed to be stored correctly, and then when the messengers came to the office, the correct bags needed to be delivered in order to ensure everything was processed.
Photo Credit: Don Penny and Stuart Tyson, Studio D, Harper’s Bazaar
Photo Credit: Courtesy Lanvin, Harper’s Bazaar
Photo Credit: Courtesy Marni, Harper’s Bazaar
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Board Copies and Lookbooks MEDIA:
Style.com, scanner, boards and pushpins.
DURATION: Every session, took an average of 30 minutes. COMPETENCIES: Required detailed assembling skills, and knowledge of
designer fashion and markets.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Board copies and maintaining the designer lookbooks were essential to helping the editors style the fashion that would be seen in the pages of the magazines. Lookbooks are a presentation of the designer’s current collection, and could be shot at a studio, or printed offline from their most recent runway show. The interns created and organized these lookbooks, to make sure they were easily assessable to anyone who needed to use them. When the editors were prepping for shoots, they would go through the lookbooks, and chose the designer styles which they wanted to feature in the upcoming edition of the magazine. We were given these lookbooks, and tasked with finding the corresponding chosen looks to the Style.com runway images, printing them out, and creating mood boards. These printed images, called “board copies,” were cut, labeled, and pinned to a corkboard. These mood boards were then given to stylists to work with for the future shoots, and therefore it was important that they were done on time, and correctly, in order to ensure everyone was on the same page with the fashion spreads.
Photo Credit: Yannis Vlamos, GoRunway.com
RESPONSIBILITIES: These tasks included processing the requests of the
editors from lookbooks, to finding and printing out the correct styles they wanted online. These pictures needed to be labeled with a specific caption, and then cut out and pinned in order on a corkboard.
PROCESS DESCRIPTION: Maintaining the
Photo Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto, Getty Images
Photo Credit: Yannis Vlamos, GoRunway.com
lookbooks was one of my favorite tasks in the office. I loved looking through the designers collection, and creating visual diaries of their presented work. I learned about a massive amount of designers through this process, and it was a great test to my knowledge of the people creating the clothing we find in the mainstream today. I also enjoyed producing the board copies, because it is such an essential task for the interns to do, and I appreciated the responsibility I had been given in completing the task correctly, and on-time. As I am interested in the styling aspect of fashion, I liked seeing all the different looks come together cohesively in one space, and the editors vision for the upcoming shoots would become apparent through these mood boards. Although they seem like simple office tasks, they are actually products of a season of hard work for the designers, and much thought and consideration on the part of the editors.
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Resume
Brittany Cohen 300 W. 20th St, New York, NY 10011 Cell Phone: (781) 718-6677 Email: bc0939@gmail.com KEY COMPETENCIES:
________________________________________ -Interests in Fashion and Art -Demonstrated ability to multitask -Excellent in Microsoft Office and CS4
-Excelled in social media -Success in stressful environments -Exceptional customer service skills
EDUCATION
________________________________________ 2011-Present Parsons New School of Design (enrolled), New York, NY 2009-2011 Pace University (transferred), New York, NY 2005-2009 Weston High School (graduated), Weston, MA
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
________________________________________ Internships: -Marlo Marketing Communications: Public Relations, Boston, MA (Spring 2009) Worked in the Products and Services department Wrote pitches for clients to magazines for future placements Helped organize promotional events for clients Sat in on brainstorming meetings Worked the front desk and answered phones Created clip reports for the clients presenting magazine placements -Marco Realty Trust: Administrative Assistant, Boston, MA (Summer 2010) Administrative assistant to the owner of the real estate company Handled copying, faxing, and emailing Up kept paper and electronic filing Assisted during on-site project evaluations Answered phones and hosted guests In charge of organization and distribution of financial reports -Schneider Associates: Public Relations, Boston, MA (Summer 2011) Worked with the Consumer Products department, along with some training in the other available department, such as Consumer Tech and Marketing Made clip reports for online and magazine placements Sat in on brainstorming meetings and client phone calls Helped organize Grand Opening events and place advertisements in local newspapers and websites Drafted invitations and emailed important members of the participating communities -Harpers Bazaar: Fashion Editorial, New York, NY (Spring 2012) Managed check-ins and returns of US/UK designers clothing Assisted with conceptualizing mood boards➢ Constructed the fashion boards and organized, photographed, and packed trucks for upcoming photo shoots Organized look books for the seasons fashion shows Helped editors on fashion week related work including making and organizing schedules
Community Service Projects:
-Amigos De Las Americas: Azua, Dominican Republic, 2 Months -Visions Tortola: Tortola, British Virgin Islands, 2 Months -Tenacity: Allston/Brighton, 2 months
Brittany Cohen
(781) 718-6677 coheb725@newschool.edu brittanycohen.tumblr.com
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