Rona Phi

Internships can be a great way to apply what you learn in the classroom to… a showroom!  Internship spotlight Rona Phi, AUP International Business Administration student, shares her experience as Showroom Assistant for JW Anderson. Supporting their RS23 Showroom, Rona realized the importance of working on something one finds enjoyable. Having had a great time interning, she now hopes to learn more, develop her skills further, and build a career in fashion business.

Rona Phi

Junior, majoring in International Business Administration Major and hoping to graduate in Spring 2024.
 

Tell us a little bit about your background:

I was born and raised in the Philippines. I attended a Filipino-Chinese school where I completed the IB Diploma Program. I've travelled a lot before coming to Paris, but moving here and enrolling at AUP are the biggest steps I've taken so far in becoming independent and exploring new opportunities.

Which company/organization are you currently interning with?

I did my internship with the British fashion label JW Anderson for their RS23 Showroom.
 

Where is your internship taking place?

Paris, France
 

When is your internship taking place?

Summer 2022
 

What is your job title?

Showroom Assistant

What types of responsibilities and/or tasks do you have in your internship? What's a typical day for you like?

The internship was short-term (only lasted for 9 days), so it was understandable that tasks assigned to me were repetitive. Responsibilities included supporting in showroom preparation, general showroom maintenance, welcoming and greeting buyers including Net-a-Porter, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods, and Selfridges, supporting the Sales Team during their appointments with buyers, helping backstage by assisting models with getting dressed and helping with styling garments from the collection, and maintaining visual merchandising standards.

What are the biggest challenges and successes you’ve experienced during your internship?

There were times there was a lack of team spirit as everyone felt quite tired with the busy fashion week schedule. This made it harder on some days to feel motivated and act welcoming. Despite this, the biggest success would be gaining substantial advice from the experienced team and receiving their encouragement to work in the fashion industry since they believed I performed very well. Additionally, the experience felt rewarding in the end when we packed the entire collection along with everything else in the showroom. This made me feel proud that I was involved in the process — from set-up to double checking inventory of collection pieces that will be shipped around the world.
 

What language(s) are you speaking/using in your internship?

English and a bit of French
 

Tells us about your future goals/aspirations. Is this internship relevant? Do you think it will help you along the way? How?

This internship was a great glimpse at the fashion world. I will definitely use this as a starting point to learn more about business in fashion and how the industry operates. I want to continue doing internships around business and fashion, especially marketing, communications, or visual merchandising related positions. I also hope to build my career path around fashion and work in France after graduating.
 

Anything else to share?

Make sure to find an internship you think will be enjoyable and you'll be a good fit for! It's important since you can't force yourself to be enthusiastic about a job, and that will be reflected in your work attitude and essentially the way you carry out your duties.