NYFW 2016
As some of you may know, in the beginning of February 2016 I took a trip to New York to intern with a designer for New York Fashion Week.
Many of you have asked me the simplest of questions like ‘How was it?!’ ‘What have you learned?’ ‘What was your favorite part?’ and as I would begin to answer, I noticed that a sigh was always my first remark. So now, I’ve decided to make a video explaining an answer to those questions and wanted to pair it with an excerpt to further clarify points that I touched on.
My trip to New York was crazy, awesome, humbling, awful and freezing! I stayed with family members whom I met on the day I arrived which was an uncomfortable situation in itself, however, that’s besides the point. My internship was a crazy learning experience. Countless times I was told to pick up item specifics of certain merchandise I had never heard of before and it had to be perfect, and if not perfect, damn near close. I would make purchases and deliver pieces to make garments and it all had to be done very quickly. I got lost in Manhattan, which slowed me down a number of times. The weather was horrid, I had no idea where anything was or what to do (most of the time) but no matter what, I HAD TO KEEP GOING. I learned not to stop. Despite the mountains to climb, the hurdles to jump, I’ve really learned to keep pressing forward. If you want something for yourself in life, the only person who will have to get it is you.
As I was there I kept on wondering why I was putting up with all the BS I was given. I asked myself numerous times why in the world was I letting this designer disrespect me, order me around, and make me feel worthless. These were the humbling times. If I cussed her out and quit, my trip would have ultimately been pointless- so I sucked it up and did my job- for a good 8 days. Overall I had to gain a lot of self-control to not say the things I wanted to. Or I completely transformed her words and slick remarks into air in my ears- basically nothing. Her rudeness taught me how to extract negative energy from my mind to remain focused on the job that needed to get done. I believe that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned- How to control my mind- How to focus. I only interned with this designer for one week and it’s insane because I feel like it has left a major impact on me. There were many times where I messed up (on major projects) and I mean I messed up so many times that I was beginning to wonder why she still kept me there. It was bad.
After 8 days of madness, I somewhat “resigned” and and told her I was going back to Florida. This made me feel like I had given up. It made me question how much I really loved fashion. How bad did I really want it. But that’s the thing, you stop working for your dreams the moment you sell yourself out working for someone else’s. It was an opportunity and an experience that I’m grateful for, however there is definitely a limit that I was pushed to. I felt that the amount of work I was held accountable for, the disorganization, the disrespect I tolerated, and the 12 hour shifts (unpaid) were no longer worth it. Some people called me crazy, saying this whole thing was pointless, and although I questioned it myself, I have to disagree. Some parts were really awful, yes, but there were also some parts that were huge blessings. I may not see all the ways that this trip has impacted me, just yet, but I can already see some slight/major changes in my attitude and work ethic. I am going to keep going, I am going to keep creating and I am going to be great. – Ahni Nichole.