Fashion-focused Public Relations

What kind of work did you do throughout your internship experience?

My internship at CLD PR gave me many different opportunities to work in different areas of the full-service public relations company. One of my tasks includes working in the showroom with a stylist. The stylists would come in with a mood board for their clients for a specific event or trip. I would be tasked with helping them pick pieces that fit in the vision. I could pull from a variety of brands in the showroom including STAX, House of CB, Montce, and many more. 

One of my favorite days at my internship was the White Fox pool party event. We spend the entire day before the event setting up the house that was rented for the event. This included hanging up clothing on racks for the attendees, setting up the decorations, putting together gift bags, and organizing the layout of all the pop up shops. The day of the event all of the interns wore white and were assigned to a different booth at the event. I was able to meet so many people and learn all about the behind the scenes of these events. It was hard work, but very rewarding to be able to work the event.

Why did you choose this internship?

When I was first looking for an internship, I only looked for paid options. This narrowed a lot of opportunities for many companies. I expanded my search and started to look into unpaid internships and found a lot more options. I also knew I wanted to branch out and live somewhere new over the summer. This internship was in the fashion district of Los Angeles, which was a great place to be to make connections. I made my final decision to pursue this internship after I did some research, and I found this company had a lot of opportunities for me, in terms of the skills I would gain and the way my network would expand.

How has your internship experience influenced your plans for your future?

This internship has opened my mind to new opportunities and influenced my plans in many ways. The first way is learning that--in this industry--living in California is key.  Even if this company ends up not being the right long-term fit for me, there are many public relations companies in Los Angeles I can work with after college.

I also gained a lot of knowledge and transferable skills that I will be able to carry with me in my future career. One skill I enhanced through my internship was my communication skills. There were a handful of different departments throughout the company. In the beginning, my intern supervisor told us to speak up if we wanted to move to a different department. At first I was hesitant because I was just grateful to be there, but then I realized I have to make the most of my experience here. As soon as I let her know what department I wanted to focus in, I felt more fulfilled in my work.