How a placement year took me backstage at Paris Fashion Week

My year on placement has taught me so much about my work ethic and gave me real insight into how the industry actually works. One of the highlights of my placement year was the opportunity to travel and work backstage at Paris Fashion Week!

Here are a few reflections and tips I have learned from my placement year as an intern at a major fashion brand.

Searching and deciding

Searching for an internship can be a daunting process. As I study Fashion BA (Hons), I had to put together a portfolio along with my resume. Thankfully, a lot of the work I had already done on my course, with feedback from tutors who work in the industry, helped me build something strong enough to send out.

There was a lot of contacting companies and facing no response or simply rejection. The entire process can take a while, and you might find yourself in a state of limbo. At Kingston, there is support for students choosing between going into final year or taking a placement year, but ultimately the decision has to feel right for you. Even if you’re unsure, I would still suggest trying as it can’t hurt.

This limbo period actually offers you the chance to take your shot. It gives you the opportunity to go for interviews. Even if you get rejected or decide to transition into your final year, it’s a great way to get some interview experience and feedback on your portfolio from people within your industry.

Getting a placement is sometimes a matter of luck and timing, especially within creative industries. Not all openings are advertised, and positions often start at different times of the year. Kingston emphasises being proactive, and that really helped me. I found that reaching out directly to companies and not just waiting for roles to be posted made a big difference.

Learning to say goodbye

Another big part of placement year is learning when and how to say goodbye. In reality, you may not always end up in the department of your choice and may end up changing companies or departments midway. Perhaps you start out really wanting to do a placement in a design department but end up in product development or production. Another opportunity might come your way, and it's important to know when to take it or leave it when the time comes.

Kingston’s focus on adaptability and experimentation really helped me here. Throughout my course we were encouraged to explore different areas of fashion, which made it easier to stay open-minded during the placement. The placement year is meant for you to discover your strengths and weaknesses and where you’d like to see yourself in the future. It’s also important to leave a good impression, as you never know what opportunities the connections and friends you’ve made during your placement year will provide.

Paris Fashion Week experience

One of the highlights of my placement year was the opportunity to travel and work backstage at Paris Fashion Week!

This opportunity was halfway into my internship and felt like the culmination of the last six months of work. Although intense, it was a really fun and amazing experience to see how the collection came together through the casting and styling in the lead up to the show. The days flew by, and I was mainly tasked with retouching and printing out the photos for the casting sessions.

This responsibility tested the skills I had learnt on my course – especially technical editing, organisation and fast creative decision-making. I had to multitask between my work and keeping track of the constant flow of models and styling variations for each look.

We were there for about a week to prepare, and the show took place on the fifth day. To my surprise, the main event happened really quickly – about 15 minutes. It felt surreal, and honestly slightly underwhelming, that six months of labour was sent down the runway in just 41 looks. But that’s the industry, and this experience gave me a real, unfiltered understanding of what working in fashion truly feels like.

Discover more about the Fashion BA (Hons) course and available work placements at Kingston University.