ADVERTS FROM VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, JONATHAN SAUNDERS, JULIEN MACDONALD AND HEIDI KLEIN HANDED TO OFFICIALS
Graduate Fog’s “Shame intern Scrooges” campaign today turns on four of fashion’s biggest designers, whose creations are worn by scores of A-list celebrities. They are Vivienne Westwood, Jonathan Saunders, Julien Macdonald and luxury swimwear designer Heidi Klein.
Screen shots of more than a dozen adverts for what appear to be unpaid internships with the four designers have been handed to officials via our friends at Intern Aware. Last month, HM Revenue and Customs promised to investigate the employment practices of anyone caught trying to fill positions which could breach the minimum wage law.
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HM Revenue and Customs have said they plan clamp down on those who fail to pay proper wages, prioritising the fashion industry, as it is “well known for the use of interns.”
We found multiple adverts for unpaid positions with Jonathan Saunders, and the supposed ethical warrior Vivienne Westwood, who Graduate Fog has crossed swords with before. Having ignored our pleas to improve her policy on interns to make access fairer, Westwood is currently looking for candidates to fill seven internships, all of which are stated as being “voluntary”. They are:
- Copywriter and Proof-reader for eCommerce internship
- Web Product Editor for eCommerce Internship
- Buying and Merchandising Internship
- Man / Woman / Accessories Showroom Assistant Internship
- Retoucher for E-commerce Internship
- Graphic Designer Assistant Internship
- Jewellery Design and Product Development Internship
There are too many to list here but here is the Buying and Merchandising Internship – advertised on her own website – to give you a flavour of Westwood’s demands:
BUYING AND MERCHANDISING INTERNSHIP
We are looking for an intern to assist the Buying and Merchandising team in its activities and general admin support.
He will be asked to Support the team in preparation for and during the buying season:
-preparing reports in Excel of last year’s sales patterns
-Collecting relevant information for buying forecasting and Marketing Research
-Working with shop managers to enter orders
-Checking order confirmation against original orders
-Other admin work as preparing order form with core pieces highlighted
General administration tasks including but not limited to the following:
-Monthly sell thru comparison
-Getting familiar with our system entering prices and POs.
-Stock reallocation for license lines (perfume, watch, shoes…)
-Help buyers doing the monthly analysis
-Take part in monthly meetings
This is an excellent opportunity to gain experience of the fashion and retail sector and it would be a good opportunity for those aiming to work in the fashion industry or related field.
The candidate must be computer literate, precise and have good organizational skills.
The role will be for approximately 5 days a week, Monday to Friday between 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, although as this is a voluntary position, these requirements are flexible.
To apply for this internship please send your CV and covering letter here.
Please also state your availability.
We also discovered adverts for internships with Jonathan Saunders, who is looking for a Personal assistant, Production intern, Sample room intern, studio runner, design intern and PR/sales & Marketing intern. A spokesperson confirmed to us on the phone that the internships were all unpaid, but they have not confirmed this in writing. Again there are too many to list here, but this is the PR / Sales & Marketing intern advert:
PR/Sales & Marketing Intern
This is a great opportunity for a student to understand the admin side of a fashion business .The student will gain experience with:
– Maintaining a record of a studio expenses report.
– Work closely and maintaining good relationships with our current buyers and retailers, regarding shipments.
– Assisting the press liaison
– Liaising with international clients’ press offices and international publications
– Help maintaining and supporting the office calendar with important press/ interview appointments
– Archiving past seasons’ show samples
– Filling and organizing
– Assisting with shipping and packing collections for overseas appointments
– Answering the phone
– Assisting team during fashion week
– Assisting with general office duties
The student will get to improve their time keeping, organisational, communication skills and will get to improve their IT skills.Contact: jasmine@jonathan-saunders.com or hugo@jonathan-saunders.com
Availability: Now
Duration: 3 months or more
Julien Macdonald is offering multiple positions for a role he simply calls ‘intern’, and luxury swimwear designer Heidi Klein wants to meet applicants for a “Wholesale intern” position.
No salary is stated for Macdonald or Klein’s roles and the labels failed to comment when we pressed them for more details about salary.
We hope HM Revenue and Customs have more luck than we did gaining clarity on the nature of these positions.
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