A typical day at Iris van Herpen starts at 9 am, so I get on my bike at around 8:50 to head to “Het Veem”, where the main atelier is. This is a big beautiful building close to the Houthaven area of Amsterdam, and is home to many different companies which focus on art, fashion, woodwork and much more. Upon arrival I make myself some coffee and grab some cookies from the cupboard before sitting down at my desk so I can go through my emails on my computer. My first task of the day is to create a lookbook for a celebrity we are planning to work with. This means I search through our big archive of dresses to look for a dress that fits the celebrity by style, availability, location and more. This usually takes up to an hour to summarize around four to six looks. While I am working the atmosphere in the atelier is alive. I have my fellow interns and colleges working around me, either on a computer like me, or on a sewing machine. The energy is vibrant as people are talking and laughing with each other as they work. After completing my lookbook, my next task is to pack a look that need to be shipped to our location in LA. As this dress is quite large, I first need to think of a way to build a box so that it can be transported safely. After making a quick plan I start constructing a box filled with plastic and bubble wrap, which is big enough for the dress to fit, but not too big so the dress could get damaged. All this can take up to hours, as it takes a lot of attention to detail. At around 12 I get called into my supervisors office, and I take part of a short call she has with a VIPs stylist. While they work out the dynamics of this business opportunity, I sit next to my supervisor and take some notes. At around 12:40 the call is over, which is perfect as it is now time for lunch. My fellow interns and I head downstairs to the canteen where we get fresh soup and salad. After our meal we go to sit outside at the water and enjoy the sun until the break is over. At 13:40 I receive my next task, which is heading to the new atelier to help with some building of tools. It’s a 15 minute walk away through Westerpark, and I get rewarded with coffee and pastries after the job is done. At 15:30 I receive another transportation task, which is bringing a dress from our atelier to a company who wants our dress on a mannequin in their office. I get driven in a taxi, and need to build up the look when I get there. As the dresses are very fragile, I need to put the looks up, as I have been trained to do so. When I come back to the atelier the clock just hits 17. I spend the last hour of my day on my computer organizing the archive a bit, before having a quick drink with my fellow interns at the water. I am home at around 19, exited to go back to the atelier the next day.
An Internship Day at Iris van Herpen
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