Is your future for sale?

Let's kick off with an exciting discovery I made today: I have a readership that extends BEYOND the UK. Oh yes. This might be hard for you to believe as the only official members of this blog are my friends, who have taken pity on me and are being kind. However, on my weekly snoop of the statistics page I noticed a faint green tinge to America and France.. At least ONE person from the USA and France have at SOME point looked at my blog. Ok, it doesn't seem like a massive achievement- especially given that other blogs have hundreds of followers who openly acknowledge reading them. But, I will give thanks for small mercies and frankly I'm pleased that anyone other than the friends I persuaded to join has even seen it before.

Now that excitement's over with, let's get on with what this blog is actually meant to be about- the struggle to find your footing in the fashion industry. Having read an article today about Oscar De La Renta, Valentino and Missoni [among others] auctioning off unpaid internships literally makes me want to scream into a pillow about the injustice of being an impoverished graduate, rather than someone whose parents are apparently now able to buy them experience and a future. The nature of the business, i.e. being unpaid, is part of the reason the belief that in order to succeed you must be wealthy continues to grow. The presence of the wildly privileged within fashion magazines can sometimes breed contempt between interns and reinforce the sense of entitlement within them that must surely come with obtaining these placements through money.

The injustice in a scheme such as this only serves to make interns ask: How far would I go for the chance at my dream job? Because ultimately, it is only that- a chance. There is no guarantee of a job after an internship, merely a good recommendation, and when you're asked to pick up their dry cleaning or lunch, empty the bins and visit sex shops for them [oh yes, that's happened] you do find yourself wondering if it's all worth it and if you're even allowed to refuse. Like the time the god daughter of a bookings editor came to help out with returns and sent back a broken necklace she had explicitly been told NOT to, she stared blankly at us and we took the blame. Or the time an editor's niece was in the cupboard for a week, went on a cover shoot and given as many Tom Ford and YSL beauty products she could carry when she left. Of course, these placements aren't really about the freebies or the shoots you go on- they are about proving yourself. Something, I am completely convinced, you have to do a lot less of if you're well connected. 

You can find the article here, and I know it's the Daily Mail but for once what they're writing is actually accurate..