Student Internship Spotlight: Victoria Nergaard at Association Azzedine Alaïa
Where is your internship? Who is it for? What is the company known for?
During Spring Semester I interned for the Association Azzedine Alaïa in the Marais in Paris. The foundation is housed alongside the Alaïa Couture House in Paris in order to preserve M. Alaïa’s couture collections. M. Alaïa himself was also a prolific designer up until his death in 2017, known for his rejection of fashion calendars and designs seemingly made for supermodels, especially Naomi Campbell
What are your roles within the position?
My position was in the archives, and I worked primarily on the Balenciaga collection owned by Alaïa. I filed through the vintage Balenciaga collection created by Cristòbal Belnciaga up until 1968 and archived each piece, including writing garment descriptions, condition reports and photographing them
How long is your internship? What are you hoping to learn during this time?
My internship was from January until May 2019. When it began I was hoping to learn more about the design processes of couture designers through their collections as well as the process of creating a fashion archive for future exhibition. I definitely learned both of these at my time with Alaïa and also learned a lot about the inner roles of the couture house
What is the coolest/ most intriguing part of your internship?
There were a lot of cool parts about my internship, one being meeting some very interesting fashion professionals. It was also amazing getting to actually be in contact with couture pieces, especially ones owned by famous people of the past like Mona Bismark who was a huge Balenciaga fan, and Elizabeth Taylor. It was also really cool to trace the life of the garment by researching vintage magazines and auction websites to see where these garments have gone and who they’ve belonged to over 50-60 years
How did you find and secure the internship? What was the process? What was ideal within your resume for the position?
I was luckily offered my internship through my program, and I applied by submitting my resumé through my program director along with other students in my class. I was really lucky to get an opportunity to work inside a couture house and also work in a fully French-speaking environment
What advice would you give to others looking for an internship at this company or in this industry?
Definitely do your research! I think it’s really important in working with couture to understand the brand identity and history, especially if you’re dealing with archives. Also be willing to adapt, in fashion you never really know exactly what you will be doing in your position, and you should definitely express willingness to learn and take on whatever is thrown at you.