The unsung heroes of Vauxhall Fashion Scout are the interns who work backstage as dressers, seating people front of house, in the media centre, and generally helping to keep everything running smoothly. Here Phoebe Waller, 2nd Year BA Hons Fashion Journalism student at UCA Epsom, tells the Fashion Scout what it's like to be an intern at London Fashion Week...
I was introduced to the idea of interning at VFS through a friend who had already worked over the past two seasons. I knew what to expect: long hours, sore feet and perhaps a bit of a bruised ego, (from the professionals who, unlike me, know the biz inside out).
What I didn't expect was being able to attend exhibitions, presentations and catwalks in my free time, to liaise with fashion greats, and be within spitting distance of VIPs like model Sophie Anderton and legendary fashion writer Hilary Alexander.
The cherry on the cake is getting to work in the Media Centre and I have been able to chat with well established journalists, bloggers, PR and photographers, which has been extremely valuable to me as I'm a second year BA Hons Fashion Journalism student at UCA Epsom.
It was really fun decorating the Media Centre at the beginning of the week in the style of Marie Antoinette, (think Sofia Coppola's movie), as it felt like I wasn't really working, but on the set of a film. We even got deliveries of cupcakes from The Little Cakery to put on our decorative cake stands (and pinch when no-one was looking!)
It is long hours and your university work will be put on the back burner, but it's only for a week! And the experience has been well worth it. The media centre manager said she'd even give me a reference -which will be great for my CV. I've literally had my cake and eaten it!
Image: Ljiljana Pajovic