Interns of New York: Morgan McCarty
Morgan McCarty is a fourth-year fashion marketing and managing student currently interning with the JUJU showroom. Photo courtesy of Morgan McCarty.
Featured image by Ysabel Cacho
For some, hearing the words “work” and “New York City” in a single sentence brings to mind Miranda Priestly, the fictional she-devil from the book and film “The Devil Wears Prada.” And while Morgan McCarty, a fourth-year fashion-marketing student from Richmond, Virginia, described some of her days like scenes from the movie, there is no Miranda Priestly in sight. “Everyone I work with is very friendly and inspiring,” she said. “That was one of the reasons why I chose JUJU to do my internship.”
McCarty is the only intern at JUJU, an integrated showroom that handles both the press and the sales of its clients. “We work almost as brand liaisons for our labels for buyers, stylists and editors who are seeking the directional and emerging designers we represent,” McCarty explained. Her time is divided between JuJu the Showroom, which handles sales, and Juju the PR, which handles the press and public relations.
As the only intern, McCarty is busy with all aspects of both the showroom and press. “I like being the only intern,” she said. “I am assigned more tasks and am highly involved within the showroom.” She maintains the showroom and makes sure the collections are presentable to the clients. During the meetings, she assists her team by dressing the models. She places and confirms orders, updates line sheets, sets up appointments and makes sure to follow up. For JuJu the PR, McCarty tracks samples in the media, pulls and prepares samples for stylists, editors, bloggers and magazines. “I also am often running around the city dropping off or picking up samples,” she added. “Some days feel very ‘Devil Wears Prada.'”
JUJU is also McCarty’s first internship and while she “came into it without knowing what to expect,” she had always known she wanted to intern for a multi-label showroom. “I knew I would get a good and well-rounded education [out of it] because showrooms handle multiple aspects of the fashion industry from PR, visual merchandising and marketing sales,” she said.
McCarty did her own research and found many showrooms in the city. Even though several showrooms did not offer internships, McCarty still reached out to them. Her determination paid off eventually and she was interviewed.
While most students catch up on some much needed rest and relaxation during spring break, McCarty used this time to book a trip to New York to check out the showrooms. While she was there, it was the combination of her “really good experience” and the friendliness of the people at JUJU that influenced McCarty’s decision to intern with them for the summer. One of the reasons why McCarty chose New York as the city to call home for the next several months was because she gets to wake up every morning, not knowing what might happen that day. “The city is so unpredictable,” she explained.
Even though this is McCatry’s first internship, she feels it’s “a bit easier” to be an intern rather than a student, “in the sense that you have a more defined schedule for the most part,” she said. “When the work day ends, the work stops and same when the weekend comes around. When you are a student, there is always work to be done regardless if you’re in class or not.”
She said she feels SCAD helped her transition from classroom to office because the school “definitely prepares you for professional environments! Learning how to present yourself almost as a brand to employers is something that SCAD teaches very well.” She added that networking has also been another valuable asset she learned at school.
As far as fashion goes, “I find that I’m using so many concepts and skills that I’ve learned through my coursework constantly through this internship. It has made it a lot easier for my boss since she doesn’t have to hold my hand and explain things to me,” McCarty said.
As someone whose first internship is in the Big Apple, McCarty advises new interns to be involved as much as possible because “you learn so much through experience and the more tasks you take on, however difficult, will make the internship more valuable to you.”
“If you are working in the city and are required to wear heels in the office, bring extra walking shoes!” McCarty added. “I have already lost the sensation in two of my toes since I arrived here!”
Despite her numb toes, McCarty has surely dug her heels deep in the whole experience.
