So my duration at Browns came to an end on Friday. I have had such a good time working with them, the bridal team were so much fun and such down to earth people. It was quite the experience as I worked really closely with the owner of Browns, Caroline Burstein herself. You wouldn't expect the owner of such a prestigious fashion company to remember your name as an intern or even teach you the ways of the company, however she did and it was really nice.
Spending my days in the beautiful Browns Bride store I did things you'd expect an intern to do such as book appointments, take wedding dresses from one place to another, make dresses look presentable on the rails, serve drinks to customers and all sorts.
It was interesting to see how Browns had made such a name of themselves, as Caroline told me as I was making tea for some clients 'we want to show everyone we are the best' and that is what many of the brides to be agreed with. When I was booking appointments I'd get brides begging for appointments however due to popularity we were fully booked. Even when I said we were full we'd get them ringing out bell visiting the store to try their luck. When I left on Friday we were booked up on Saturdays until mid January which was pretty insane and most days during the week were fully booked which showed the extent of Browns Brides popularity.
However not everyday was the same, we had trunk shows on some of our days. This is where one of the designers we stock comes into our store and sets up their next collection exclusively for us. Meeting the designers was really interesting and understanding the concept and ideas of their dresses for someones big day. I got to meet Akira, a Japanese designer who focused on beautiful embellishment and detail, he was such a sweet modest man, a bit shy but so happy! Mira Zwillinger whos dresses were pheonomenal in the sense that the level of detail and hand work gone into each dress was insane yet beautifully light and etherial. Mira and her daughter were passionate people who played by their own rules, a bit wary at first they soon warmed and were really lovely people. I also met Peter Langner a german designer based in Milan who worked for Dior for many years. He was truely inspired by Dior using hidden boning in his dresses, the structured gowns held elegance that could be worn by Audrey Hepburn. He was a very focused lovely man who cared so much for his brides. Delphine Manivet was a true Parisian, so chic and utterly effortless just like the gowns she designs. She puts a blue button in the hem of each dress which has a carving of a pram in to bring the brides luck.
Akira
Mira Zwilinger
Peter Langner
Delphine Manivet
Browns is definitely a company I would like to work for in the future, they're a really close knit family company who really believe in the well being of their employees which is something I really respect. Although I didn't see all areas of the company I hope I will see more as future internships could arise.
Things I've learnt so far during my internship:
Try and always look presentable, fit in with your surroundings yet still be yourself.
Confidence is key, people will respect you so much more!
Don't complain, if there is a job you don't like, grow up and do it! Everyone's been there.
Stay focused, if you've asked to do more than one thing don't forget about the tasks you need to do.
