Few jobs are as mythologized as the fashion internship. If you want to work in fashion, you’re likely already familiar with the 2000s movie tropes: the breathless fashion assistant teetering in high heels while struggling to balance their boss’s coffee order and layers of garment bags; the unpaid intern happily toiling away, knowing they’re being paid in clothing samples and connections; or the wide-eyed “super-intern”, who burns out in pursuit of a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity.
While any fashion student knows these depictions are relics of a bygone era, for the class of 2026 and below, it’s now brutal to get a foot through the door. Brands are hiring cautiously after layoffs and restructurings; rising graduate numbers are vastly outweighing entry-level job openings; and AI is rapidly reshaping hiring across industries.
Despite the feeling of discouragement that can come with the rejections and even ghostings applicants face, these internships — though sometimes few and far between — still exist. Vogue Business speaks to a host of industry insiders and career guides on how to be the one who secures it.
Know where to find the vacancy
According to recent graduates of The Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design, the traditional job search platforms — LinkedIn, Handshake, and Indeed — can feel like dead ends when it comes to actually getting an interview, let alone a job. The sentiment that job search platforms are “dead” extends to Gen Z at large, who have reportedly begun using Instagram to find jobs instead. Zoe Knaack, a 2024 Pratt Institute fashion graduate who is weeks from beginning a full-time role in swimwear and knitwear design at J.Crew, says, “You will see those listings on there for years, and they’re never gonna hire someone for them,” she says. Knaack eventually landed the J.Crew role through LinkedIn, but says her peers have not been so lucky: “There are just too many people wanting to get into this industry that [brands] can afford to be picky.”
Catherine Fisher, VP and career expert at LinkedIn, argues that the secret to using job search platforms to your advantage is to stop focusing on application volume. Career counselors may urge you to increase your odds of success by applying to as many roles as possible, but, for Fisher, “landing a role today isn’t about submitting the most applications. It’s about being strategic: focusing on roles that fit your skills and experience, then tailoring each application to show real impact, whether that’s from internships, freelance work, or personal projects.”
It’s just as important to show up on platforms before you begin the job hunt: “Share your work, comment on posts from people and brands you admire, and join conversations happening in your industry. That kind of visibility builds relationships, and relationships still matter.” By LinkedIn’s own data, she notes, nearly four in 10 hiring managers say a referral gives applicants an edge, “so building your network before you need it can open doors an application alone can’t.”
If, however, it still feels as though your peers’ jobs — roles you never saw come up while you were refreshing the same feeds — appeared out of thin air, the feeling may not be totally from the truth: according to Natalie Boren, EVP at Career Group Companies, a recruiting firm with a fashion staffing agency arm, some fashion companies deliberately don’t post roles on LinkedIn at all, because “they don’t want thousands of people applying to one role.” This is especially true at the entry level, says Boren. This is why they’ll seek out recruiting firms — Knaack, coincidentally, found one of her roles after being contacted by Career Group Companies, and another through a separate headhunting firm. Students should create profiles with headhunting firms to be considered for opportunities in both design and corporate verticals.
