Interning in a Fashion House

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It seems a lot of Polytechnics in northern Nigeria now offer Fashion Design as a Course. I think this is a new development, as I have received a lot of people wanting to intern at Osas Olumese.

It seems to me that most of these prospective interns did not choose Fashion Design as their course of study, but were given the slot by the school. Based on this assumption, the first thing I ask a prospective intern… is if they are really passionate about Fashion Design.


A lot of people see the glamorous part of Fashion Design, and then claim to have passion for it. On entering, they discover the aiki work , there goes the problem. I discovered this, the hard way… may be I would gist you in another post.

If I am skeptical about accepting Fashion Design interns, the question I expect prospective interns to ask themselves, before coming to me, or any Fashion House is “How can I make myself irresistible to this organisation?”

The answer is a cover letter…ok let’s not leave out the CV .

A lot of times a Fashion houses do not know what role the interns would play in their organization, and would really not love persons idling around doing nothing, so their response would most likely be a NO. The cover letter when presented to the Fashion House should:
  • ·      Highlight your experiences
  • ·     The value you would be bringing to the table,
  • ·     You can even proffer solutions to problem you have identified in the organization; or raise suggestions.

Sell yourself to the organization, such that after reading your cover letter, they would long to have you as part of their team. Your cover letter would even have outlined your job role, or they would create a job role that leverages on your experience.

Interning in a Fashion House should be a win-win situation for the two parties involved.

Internship may not necessarily arise from the compulsory 4 months or 1 year period given by an institution to her students, enabling them to gain industry experience, it can be self imposed by an individual who would love to function in an industry, but would love to first of all gain hands-on experience, in an environment that has a track record.

What is your view on Interning?

How can you sell yourself to an organization?

Share your ideas in the comment.


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