From the beginning

I began working at Derek Lam as a production assistant in New York City the week after Labor Day. They asked me to start early so the previous intern would have a good two weeks to train me and the other new intern. Just two weeks before my start date, I found an apartment. I had been working with a broker who assured me I would be fine and not to worry that it was so last minute, she told me, "that's just how things work in NYC". I was too busy enjoying the end of my summer to think about my new job for the next 6 months, moving to a brand new (and extra large) city, and living on my own. 

My move in day was dreadful. The apartment on 59th and 3rd ave in Manhattan, came fully furnished with kitchenware and all but that didn't mean much to me, obviously I wanted to make this space my own if I was going to be living here for 7 months by myself. So about 8 trips up and down the 10 flights of stairs later (and after begging and paying a random man to help us) I was finally moved into my own NYC apartment. My mom stayed with me for the weekend and we had a blast exploring my neighborhood and going out to trendy restaurants, it wasn't until Sunday when she left, that it hit me that I was truly by myself in this city. One partial anxiety attack later, I grew the courage to leave my apartment and run some errands in preparation for my first day at work. 

When I stepped out of the elevator Monday morning I was greeted by industrial white walls with giant vases full of fresh flowers and the name "DEREK LAM" printed on the wall. I was so nervous but the ease and confidence of the previous intern put me immediately at ease. Truthfully, I didn't even know what production was or anything it entailed, I was stepping into this entire new "behind the scenes" world of the fashion industry that I didn't know existed. I was intrigued and eager to learn. I began taking notes and mental images of every single thing my trainer was telling me, asking (probably too many) questions about each task she was showing me. The first and most important thing I learned, which clarified the whole production process for me, was the creation of a season from beginning to end. When I first came in we were working on Resort '15. The design and product development team starts working a season a year in advance with inspiration, fabrics, trims etc., then after they have created prototypes and showroom samples (always in a size S or 4), the garments are passed along to production. This was about all I could gather from my first 3 days and I thought I was on the right track, until I started getting involved with patterns, marking and grading and my whole world flipped upside down.