Montana Wilkie
Type of Project: Internship
- During my internship at Stuart Weitzman I was responsible for many different tasks. I supported the VIP Celebrity Relations and Events team in daily tasks and special projects such as organizing the VIP and PR closet and tracking new sample inventory and gifting initiatives through Fashion GPS. I also assisted with seasonal press presentations and US based events.
- During my internship I learned a lot about myself. I’ve always been a very independent person, but I tend to question myself and my abilities often. This is something that has been a struggle of mine since elementary school. While my mentor and bosses gave me great reviews, they noticed that I lack confidence in my decisions. This input reaffirmed that I need to continue working on this.
On a different note, this internship confirmed that I want to work in the fashion industry after graduation. I have always had a love and interest in fashion, but I never got to experience working in the business end of the industry. Every day I would look forward to going to work and being with the other interns and employees. I loved learning about new programs, getting to see the new product, and meeting new people. This internship also made me realize how competitive the world is. I always felt uncomfortable using my connections and asking for favors, but this internship transformed the way I view this now. In order to become successful, you have to maintain good relationships and network because it truly is a dog-eat-dog world.
- There are numerous events, interactions and relationships that led me to these realizations and transformations. The relationships that I created with my mentor and bosses made me realize that I need to work on my confidence level in the decisions I make. I created such amazing relationships with these people, ones that I do believe will be lasting. I felt comfortable in confiding in them and asking for help. They made me realize that I am capable of making decisions on my own. Rather than second guessing myself, I must be confident with my choices. They taught me that educated questions are great and pointed out that I have gotten to where I am because I am capable of doing the work on my own. This is something I need to continuously remind myself of every day.
My love for the fashion industry continued to grow through various events, the first being the multiple Market Weeks I had the opportunity of attending. A Market Week event is where buyers from different stores come in and look at new products. The VIP team also gets the opportunity to go into the showroom and pick styles they believe best fit the red carpet and celebrity’s needs. My mentor always asked for my input and listened to what I thought would or wouldn’t work.
I loved getting to work the Retail Summit, where the store managers of every Stuart Weitzman store spend a week at the headquarters learning about current events. The CEO said something that left an indelible impression on me, “good luck is where hard work and opportunity meet.” I have been told multiple times that I have good luck, but that statement made me pause and think that it isn’t that I am “lucky” it is that I have put in the work to get where I am. This goes back to networking. Thankfully I had a connection to interview for the internship and I took advantage of it. It got my “foot in the door”. But I knew it was all on me to get the job. I was fortunate that the interview went well and the feedback I got was positive. Because of this experience, I believe that my future has been transformed. My passion for the industry has only grown stronger and I am so excited to see what is in store for the future.
- This transformation has undoubtedly changed my career path and I foresee a bright future. As I previously stated, I believe this will open so many doors, hopefully leading me to my dream job someday. This internship has taught me that there are so many options in the fashion industry, and while I loved doing PR and Celebrity, I look forward to getting to know the marketing side or maybe another position next summer. I did not realize all of the career paths in the fashion industry. Because of this new knowledge, I will take advantage of different class opportunities and try to learn more and become more well-rounded.
This was one of our internship events where we got to learn more about different positions.
This was at a trip we took to see the Heavenly Bodies Exhibit at the MET