Duo-internship experience Emma
Hey, can you introduce yourself?
Emma VanderSande, 23 years old from Antwerp
When did you graduate from HoGent – Fashion Technology?
2020
What ambitions did you have within the fashion industry at the start of your studies and have they changed now?
I knew pretty quickly during the study that my interest lay in sewing and pattern drawing. During my internship with Opera Ballet Flanders in the third year, I was able to work closely with a bespoke tailor for my research on men’s jackets. This increased my interest in the tailoring profession. After my training I started as an intern at New Tailor via Young Patterns to learn new techniques and to build up speed in my work. After my internship at New Tailor I was hired in the costume workshop of Opera Ballet Flanders. Meanwhile, I’m still taking classes at the same tailor to improve and learn even more.
What would you recommend to other young people who also want to study/work in the fashion industry?
Try to do an internship in a company where you see yourself working later and preferably in the department where you would like to end up. In this way, you can get a first experience and get to know people who work in this field. Maybe you can continue working there, and if not, there is a good chance that they have connections with other companies that you can go to.
Where did you do your internship? What exactly do the companies do and what was your role?
I did my internship at New Tailor in Utrecht. This is a shop with its own studio where they make suits, jackets, shirts, etc. to measure. I worked in the atelier in Utrecht where the last adjustments are made to the tailor-made suits, retouches are done on older suits, bespoke suits are made and jackets from the easy wear collection are made to measure.
What did you hope to learn from this dual internship and what did you eventually get out of it?
I wanted to learn new cutting techniques during my internship and practice the techniques that I already know in order to build up speed. I was also able to follow the fitting of the suits, which taught me how to solve fitting errors.
Would you recommend the duo-internship of Young Patterns to other young people?
Yes, you can make first contacts within companies where you might want to work. Companies also get the chance to get to know you more extensively and to see your competences, which gives you, as a starter, more chance of being hired there later on.
Do you also want to do an internship?
Do you want to gain more experience as a recent graduate? You are younger than 26, registered as a jobseeker with the VDAB and you do not know yet what job suits you best? Then consider a duo-internship of Young Patterns. This is an internship of two times six weeks, in two different Belgian garment companies.
