Meet Christine Sunyoung Lee, a 20-year-old junior at New York University. While she’s interned for fashion greats such as Alexander Wang and Issey Miyake, she credits an internship at a small fashion company for giving her the necessary experience and teaching her the skills to be a great intern. Here’s her take on interning for some of the industry’s biggest names, the best advice she’s ever recieved, and how she survived an interview flop.

Christine Sunyoung Lee

ELLEgirl: How did you get your start?

Christine Sunyoung Lee: I started at a smaller, lesser-known fashion company called Gracia Fashion. I performed everything and anything they needed me to do. So, I basically learned the ins and outs of running a fashion company as a whole.

EG: Tell us about your experiences with interviews. How did you prepare?

CSL: My first interview at a big-name place was a flop because I was ill-prepared, overwhelmed, and scared of my interviewer who seemed so much bigger and experienced than me. After surviving that, interviewing for Alexander Wang was a easier, and even quite fun! I had already interviewed with a bunch of other fashion companies so I knew what questions to expect and answers to prepare. It was all a learning experience.

EG: Let’s talk about your current internships in Issey Miyake’s press department and Opening Ceremony’s marketing and web department. What did you expect to learn?

CSL: I expected to learn the business of fashion, what makes the label popular and relevant to culture and society, how marketing actually brings in numbers and profit, and the collective efforts of all departments to promote a brand that everybody at the company supports and believe in.

EG:You’ve been with both companies for a few months now. What have you learned?

CSL: In addition to my expectations, I came to understand that as cutthroat and tough the fashion industry is, it is extremely rewarding when your hard work pays off, especially when it does not go unnoticed by the truly supportive team members you’re working with. The business of fashion is not only about numbers and monetary gain, but personal satisfaction that definitely adds to a positive environment where everybody can thrive and grow together, skill-wise and relationship-wise.

EG: What were your day to day tasks?

CSL: Not one day is the same! In order to keep up with the quick turnover of fashion itself, things must be done with much organization, but a lot of flexibility as well in the fashion industry. You never know when a collaboration or business deal can just fall through or be dismissed because of changed plans. I assisted in the execution of product photo shoots for SS11 look books/e-commerce site, aided in documentation of chargebacks and returns, researched and analyzed market trends for presentations in corporate meetings, and supported in redevelopment of e-commerce for their website.

EG: What was the best advice you were given while interning?

CSL: I asked my supervisor at Alexander Wang how I could succeed in this industry, in which competition is so evident and connections are key. She told me to keep interning, keep advancing through hard work and dedication, and maintain good relationships. She said that it would not always be fun, but the only way to succeed is to push through and persevere. I know these are general and probably even obvious, but it really taught me to keep pursuing my dreams and keep taking opportunities to gain exposure and experience.

EG: What advice would you give someone else who would like to intern in the fashion industry?

CSL: Seek out opportunities yourself, because nobody will so easily place what you want in your hands, and intern intern intern. You need as much experience as you can get while you’re younger so you can start doing what you really want as soon as possible.

EG: Any last words for us?

CSL: Be confident in yourself. Speak up, ask questions, and don’t be afraid to be heard. Being different and unique is celebrated in this industry so by all means be yourself. There is room for anybody who is willing to make sacrifices and fight for what they want. Internships are vital because you interact with different people and you’re exposed to real-life situations, so I would honestly say that these are key.