Ana* had big dreams of launching a high-powered career in fashion. She was smart, ambitious, and willing to work hard. As an undergrad at Yale, she nabbed a coveted internship at Dolce & Gabbana, and after graduating, she locked down a job as an assistant at Tommy Hilfiger in New York. But she quickly found that the reality of her life in fashion was nowhere near as glamorous as what she had imagined.
For starters, she says her salary as an entry-level employee was a paltry $24,000 a year which, even in 2010, wasn’t enough to live on in New York. Fortunately, her parents were able to help her out. “The only people who can afford the jobs and unpaid internships (in fashion) are people with families who will support them,” she says.
The hours were long and the work was grueling. Her bosses expected her to be on the clock 24 hours a day, so she spent every vacation, dinner, and even bathroom break, glued to her phone. She found herself jumping from one crisis to another–and to her managers, each fashion emergency was a matter of life and death.
“The stakes are ridiculously and unnecessarily high,” she recalls. “My epiphany came standing in the rain on 11th avenue trying to hail a cab to get to Columbus Circle to deliver some boob tape for a Met Gala attendee’s dress. I was crying with frustration like it was a serious problem: But it was tape.”
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
