Featured Intern: Hillary works hard, plays hard in Paris

Global Experiences Alumnus, Hillary, describes her Global Experiences internship in Paris, France.

“First day of work:

Walked into work today to a room that was filled with muslin, dress forms, partially finished garments, lace, and black and white pictures of designers and models. The room smells like Madame Isabelle’s expensive cigars combined with the very masculine sent of her secretary’s cologne. In the corner there is, no lie, a gold skeleton and in the next room a pair of lovebirds that often ride around on Franck and Isabelle’s heads. I spent the whole day learning tiny stitches that have to be done absolutely perfectly. Isabelle would come by to check every so often, leaning over me with her impressive figure that is always draped in black and her beady eyes squinting from under her blunt, page boy haircut. While I was there, they were doing some castings for the fashion show and every once in a while a model would come in, walk for the designers, have her measurements taken, and leave. I like how our parents and other people always lie to girls and say that people in the fashion magazines don’t exist because they are retouched and everything. Well they do exist because I saw three of them: tall, thin, and gorgeous. Practically perfect and completely un-retouched. Anyway, I found out a few things about my designer today. First is that they’re a very well-known name in France. Second is that they are one of the best, true haute couture designers in the world. They are the only ones who still do all their sewing the traditional way. Everything is done by hand and even lace is reembroidered in a particular stitch that isn’t used by other designers anymore. Pretty cool and I’m interning with them. I’m still trying to figure out how exactly I got into this internship working along side a graduate from Esmod. But I’m not complaining. Madame Isabelle said today that if I keep up with my strong work, I can help her with a sleeve. So I guess that’s what I’m looking forward to tomorrow ”