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Marion Prost 

April 9th, 2026

 

What does it take to break into fashion? According to a friend of mine: a LinkedIn profile, a firm handshake, and a high tolerance to boredom.  

 

At some point this afternoon, checking the time has become the main deliverable. A friend of mine recently started an internship at Yves Saint Laurent in Paris, which, on paper, sounds like the beginning of a very good story. In practice, it is often the beginning of a very long afternoon. She told me she goes home exhausted most days, not because she is overworked, but because she has done almost nothing. There are other interns around her in the same situation, all recruited through proper interviews, all approved by job titles with calendars, all waiting for someone to remember why they were hired in the first place. 

 

Are there too many interns in fashion? The honest answer is that fashion does not have too many interns, but too many reasons to keep inventing them. Internships are useful to everyone involved. Universities get to say they prepare students for the industry. Brands get to look dynamic, youthful, and supportive of “the next generation”, which looks great in annual reports. Students will get a logo on their resumé that will open doors whether or not the experience behind it opened anything at all.