My Internship In The Fashion Industry

Blumarine A/W 08 show in Taipei 101's 84th floor.MS YAMING multi brand show including MMM, Balenciaga, CDG, Junya Watanabe, R by 45RPM, Undercover.Stephane Dou A/W 08.Blumarine after party.Blumarine A/W 08 backstage.Jimmy Choo bags piled up before the photo shoot.

Lately we've been busy planning several new fashion projects and it reminded me of the time I did my Fashion PR internship back in Taipei. It was amazing to be involved in fashion shows and openings for brands like Maison Martin Margiela, Comme Des Garçons, Balenciaga, Jimmy Choo, Georg Jensen, Blumarine and many many more.

My internship started in the summer of 2008, with fashion PR agency STARFiSH Concept. As then a second year fashion marketing student, I knew it was crucial to take the initiative and be active. STARFiSH Concept has an impressive track record of working with international brands, so I sent my CV to them even though I knew they were not recruiting for interns. A few days later, I got a phone call from one of the directors herself, and after the interview, 2 months in the Taiwan fashion world began.

 

I started with the not so glamorous stuff. My job included photocopying, answering phone calls, sealing invitations and arranging press kits (arranging each press release in the right order and into the right envelope part, not the advanced writing press release part!). After a while, my superb photocopying and envelope sealing skills landed me more important role in the company. By the end of my internship, I was lucky that I got to see every step of the process of constructing a successful event. One minute I could be sitting in the same table and having a meeting with brands like Georg Jensen, Blumarine, and Banana Republic and the next minute ordering food for the whole production team before a show. At the events one of my jobs was to remember all the A-list guest's names and where they would be sitting on the front row, so I can greet them and take them to their seat. The next day I would be taking a £2,000 Blumarine dress to tailor to fix, guarding it with my life. Other jobs included contacting journalists, confirming RSVPs from the important guests, model castings, and handling lots and lots of the unplanned situations that would happen at an event... Well actually the agency directors would handle most of them, I would handle situations like when I accidentally pressed the emergency button in the bathroom of Georg Jensen's Taiwan headquarters.

Maison Martin Margiela rehearsal.Me and colleagues after MS YAMING show.Those two months were an amazing experience for me. The fashion industry is an extremely fast paced and brutal world, and in many ways is very different to other professions. But just like other industries, fashion has it's own cycles and it's own rules. When I started my fashion marketing and communication course at IED, I quickly realised fashion can be one of the most superficial industries, yet there's so much thought and creativity put into the strategy behind a brand, a show, or a collection. 

 

During my internship, my directors were always looking for talented people to join their team. From what i could see, the fashion marketing/ communication/ PR they (and the industry in general) were looking for people that have a knowledge of fashion, fast reactions, understand trends, tact, decent writer, and good looking or well dressed... and very few people can reach all of those levels, I wish I could have even 60% of the elements I listed. That's why it often needs a team with different strengths to execute a fashion event, and then many of these teams to create a fashion industry.

 

Looking at where I am based now, I think this is what needs to happen in Leeds. We need to grow and develop the best individuals we can. This means we can then have great teams creating amazing events and projects. If we do this often enough and more importantly well enough, we can begin to build an industry here. At Hebe we often talk about 'creating the industry we want to work in' and hopefully we will be able to contribute to and help that happen.

This is Taiwanese fashion brand Stephane Dou's A/W 08 fashion show that I was involved with.

The Hebe Week In Pics

We picked up some old newspapers at the vintage fair@shangtingpeng loved this one!We know it was the week before but had to show this awesomeness from Ivor at Cultural Convo.Crowd gathers for 'Yo! & Show' at Harvey NicholsWe checked out the store's S/S stuffThe catwalk worked it's way around the 4th floorThe sun came back to Leeds this week!Granary Wharf is awesome when the weather is good :)The Cath Kidston collection grows Sunny Tadcaster!

Deano & Friends

A few weeks ago we were contacted by an old friend and told about an event that renewed our faith in a often ruthless industry. This is a story about how a community came together for one of their own. This Saturday an event takes place that we encourage every single one of you to check out, get involved or support in any way you can and it is all for one man... Deano.

This is a charity event for a well known DJ and promoter DEAN SMAHON who in October 2010 lost both legs and a hand to the blood infection Septicemia. Dean is very lucky to be alive today as most of his major organs failed and he was in a coma for 11 days. He has battled back to health and miraculously has retained all his mental functions.

Organiser and fellow Dj Alex Simmons explains the effect Dean has had on the Leeds clubbing scene:

"I can't express the importance of this individual within the Leeds clubbing scene. When the doctors said we should go and say our goodbyes there was literally every DJ who had played in and around the Leeds club scene within the last 20 years... He is a hugely popular character with all customers, DJs and operators and a very influential and inspirational man."

At the event Dean will also launch a foundation which will have the aim of orgainising charity projects and events that will raise money for the people who helped him recover and people who suffer a similar loss to himself.

We already know that our words cannot do this story justice, so perhaps it is better for Dean to do it himself:

"On 4th October 2010 I unexpectedly became ill with a rare condition called septicaemia. Doctors still don't understand how I contracted it, but a dangerous type of bacteria multipled very quickly in my bloodstream which meant the quality of my blood was quite literally incompatible with life. During the first 48 hours the Doctors advised my family that I would most likely die or at the very best survive but be without hands, feet, probable brain damage and lifelong treatment for most of my organs. However many prayers were answered because my situation stabilised and I awoke from a coma after 10 days. Although the disease did not take my life, it has left me with lifelong physical loss and profound psychological challenges. I have lost both my feet, all the fingers from my right hand and left with the remains of two fingers and a thumb on my left hand - however I have been blessed with full mental fucntion, all vital organs made a full recovery and miraculously I have the pincer movement on my left hand. Mentally it has been a rollercoaster of emotions with the relief and joy at surviving, but also the sadness and shock of my physical loss. 

During the 3 months of my hospital stay, through my countless operations and current continual need for medical care, I have been encouraged, comforted and deeply touched by the support and caring attitude of both close friends and those I have met a handful of times on the clubbing scene. I've always recognised and been heart-warmed by the coming together of very genuine people at the weekend clubs. However, never did I anticipate the degree of selfless support I would receive during my illness. I cannot find the words to thank everyone enough. THANK YOU. 

As I grow stronger physically and mentally, I have started to re-enter the Leeds Scene with tentative steps and have started to DJ again which has been an awesome feeling because it is what I love to do. As part of my rehabilitation and to achieve as normal a life as possible, prosthesis are essential to a high quality of life. Research into the prosthesis market has enabled me to see the vast array of quality which exists within prosthetics and it is my desire to ascertain the highest quality legs and hands that I can in order to have a full and happy life and to enable me to DJ better than I have ever done. Alex Simmons, who is a long time friend of mine and much respected DJ, kindly approached me with the idea of uniting the clubbing scene for one magical night to help me achieve my dream of first class prosthetics - which I have graciously accepted as I realise what a momentous platform it would be to enable me to achieve my dreams and overcome this cruel illness. 

It will be an honour to DJ at the event and to be a part of one of the most notable and memorable nights of my DJing career and the year. I truly hope you can all make it to join Alex, me and the rest of the Leeds DJ's to celebrate survival against all the odds; that anything can be overcome with the love and support of your friends; to remember that life is beautiful; and most importantly to enjoy an awesome night which is the essence of clubbing. 

God bless and love to you all, Deano x"

We hope tomorrow is a massive success and raises loads of money towards Dean's recovery. This has shown that when a community comes together to help one of it's injured soldiers then anything is possible. Every DJ, promotions company, drinks brand and the venue itself are all doing this for free out of pure respect and love which is amazing to see. For more details about the event click here

Leeds Street Style: 23/03/2011

Jodie

Favourite Leed shop: Pop Boutique

Notes: Jodie just moved to Leeds from London, she's currently working in Topshop. Love the turban, pearl earrings, sun glasses, and lion-like coat. Her Frenchness is dreamy!

Joao

Favorite Leeds shop: Urban Outfitters

Notes: Joao also just moved to Leeds, he is from Portugal. Joao is very fashion concious, which is this city wants. Welcome to England!

Liam

Favorite Leeds shop: TOPMAN

Notes: Good old youngster style. If you want to go with the young and hip look, a nice beanie and an American Apparel hoodie can't go wrong.

Adam Tensta - Like a Punk

The Hebe Media team are big fans of Adam Tensta. Since we first heard some of the tracks from his awesome debut album: It's a Tensta Thing, we have been following his movements closely. For a while now he has been working on new material and is about to hit the world with his follow up album: Scared of the Dark. We checked in with Adam for a quick word about the new video for Like a Punk and an update on his current plans.

The first track from Adam's new album to begin making waves online was OK Wow, which we felt marked a pretty big change and gave a different vibe to Adam's previous stuff. Like a Punk takes that a step further, giving perhaps a more edgy and dirty sound to tracks like Back Before You Know It and My Cool, which were two of the stand out tracks from It's a Tensta Thing. Adam explains the story behind the new album:

"The new album was created during a very long period of time. It took close to three years to complete and is a snapshot of my life, as it is right now. Being on tour for three years on three continents provided me with so many new impressions and experiences, that it's hard to view things like I did, as briefly as just a couple of years ago. For me, Tensta is not the same as before, all though I still live out here. This newly found "perspective" has also forced me to delve into thoughts that I buried a long time ago. Thoughts about my relation to my family, resulting in me opening a Pandora's box for many of my vices. 

I would like to see this album as the first step in a process, a process to become a more open and tolerant person."

One of our friends who we featured on the blog a few weeks back, Albin Holmqvist, had worked on an awesome Tensta music video a while ago for the track Dopeboy, which you can check out here. The director of both videos is a guy called Marcus Lundin, another big Swedish talent. Adam told us what it was like to be back working with Marcus again on the Like A Punk video and the thinking behind the video itself:

"It's always nice to team up with people that can make ideas come to life, as in this case. Marcus has the vision and know to make visuals enhance the impression of a song. For this video we wanted something scaled down, with an almost documentary feel to it. We wanted to capture the everyday life of these young and frustrated kids. Their situation reminds me of how it was growing up and having nothing to do, and the almost dumb loyalty I once felt for my friends. Right or wrong, standing by their side no matter what we got into. Even if hesitant (as the monkey in this video), we rolled through thick and thin."

We think if the first two tracks are anything to go by then Scared of Dark will be a really interesting album. It is really cool to see an artist evolve and develop his sound with more then just the dollar signs in mind. From the way he performs, acts and talks, you can see how humble yet confident this guy is. As one of my Swedish friends said recently "It is almost annoying how down to earth he is with that amount of talent" we think that is one of the best compliments we have heard!

I spent a day down in London a bit ago with Babak and Thomas from Adam's management company, Respect My Hustle and we immediately hit it off. They are a group of creatives who are intersted in making cool projects and trying new things above any kind of short-term commercial gain. There are other really talented people in the stable such as Eboi, a man with an unbelievable flow and a man who I think is destined for something special: Dida.

We are currently developing a project with Respect My Hustle and are looking forward to making some annoucements in the coming weeks. We can see some really interesting opportunities and collaborations for them here in UK and can't wait to help that happen!