Intern Horror Story: Proenza Sends Girl Over Atlantic To Pick Up Fabric

by Julia Rubin | 5:30 pm, September 6th, 2011

Fashion Week starts in less than two days, and designers are totally freaking out. If Hurricane Irene didn’t set them back, material shortages have. And some are going pretty great lengths to make sure their runway shows go off without a hitch.

Material shortages have driven costs way up, plus there are fewer mills, dyers, and finishers who can actually handle the materials. This is causing some big problems! Cathy Horyn investigated all the craziness for an On The Runway post today, chatting with the likes of Prabal Gurung and Narciso Rodriguez. By far the most ridiculous bit of knowledge Horyn dropped was this: the Proenza Schouler boys sent an intern to Italy to pick up fabric.

“She thought it was so glamorous to fly to Italy,” Mr. Hernandez said. But she wasn’t going to be leaving the airport. As soon as she landed, someone would hand her the package of fabric, and she would board a plane back to New York.

Um, that is NUTS. Like a full-on intern horror story. (And we doubt they flew her first class.) We’re also sad to have learned, via Horyn’s post, that Ralph Rucci has a thing for Comic Sans. Sad face.

[On The Runway]

cathy horyn New York Fashion Week Proenza Schouler Ralph Rucci

http://www.facebook.com/derrode Derrode Louis Rowe

That was stupid. instead of having it sent next day!
http://thearticle.tumblr.com Mai

oh nooo!! comic sans?! triple sad face. :( :( :(
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1470900120 Alyea Ann Chandler

Tha sounds like something an intern would be directed to do & that person is indeed an intern. I see no problem with this!
http://profiles.google.com/sarahyfeng Sarah Feng

Um, why didn’t they just have the fabric shipped over?
http://profiles.google.com/sarahyfeng Sarah Feng

Um, why didn’t they just have the fabric shipped over?
Anonymous

that’s basically big waste of money / using the intern just for fun
http://twitter.com/modacycle_cb Charles Beckwith

It’s probably not so much for speed as avoiding import and export duties. Plus, if you ship it from Italy it can end up held in customs for days on both ends of the trip if they’re backlogged. A courier is more reliably faster and probably nearly as cost effective as overnighting 100 pounds of fabric.
http://twitter.com/modacycle_cb Charles Beckwith

The menu was probably printed out by the catering company. Can you imagine Ralph Rucci having time or energy to type that up himself in the week before his show?
http://twitter.com/modacycle_cb Charles Beckwith

It’s probably not so much for speed as avoiding import and export
duties. Plus, if you ship it from Italy it can end up held in customs
for days on both ends of the trip if they’re backlogged. A courier is
more reliably faster and probably nearly as cost effective as
overnighting 100 pounds of fabric.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LASIK3PT7Z4QXQGTN4G4GZ3QYY Nayith

The comic Sans. Gooooosh! The intern… Okay that’s fine. I know it’s horrible traveling on planes but well that’s the job sometimes. Fashion is cruel, we know that.
Jessicalynnh

My coworker used to intern at Proenza and she had to do the same thing. She stayed for a day and she said it was awesome. I’ve heard of it happening at Calvin too. Honestly, it happens ALL THE TIME. You need a broker for these kinds of things (fabric, sample garments, exotic handbags) and they have to be hand-carried to expedite the Customs process. It’s not that big of a deal.
Coen Dutch

Is doing odd jobs like this not all that being an intern is all about?
Anonymous

doesn’t seem like that big of a deal…
http://www.facebook.com/derrode Derrode Louis Rowe

I want to know what fabric could this be where it has to be sourced from Italy, When you can probably get it at some type of sources here, but I guess the cost would be more, but that’s what happens when you do things at the last minute, or better yet that’s what happens when or industry is being send over seas. IDK!
http://www.facebook.com/derrode Derrode Louis Rowe

So who’s gonna welcome me to the fashion world by giving my a ticket to China for 1 day? huh? huh? You know to think about it its highly comical!
http://www.facebook.com/derrode Derrode Louis Rowe

So who’s gonna welcome me to the fashion world by giving my a ticket to China for 1 day? huh? huh? You know to think about it its highly comical!
http://twitter.com/rodericdavid Roderic David

I demure I too make my interns do glamorous things time to time as well, such as running down the street to bring us flush tomatoes so I can make us a zesty lunch or reaching over to the wine cabinet when the world refuses to agree with me…blah
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/09/bon-chic-fashion-intern-flies-to-italy-just-to-pick-up-a-yard-of-fabric/

Intern Horror Story: Proenza Sends Girl Over Atlantic To Pick Up Fabric

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