Paris Internship 2018
As many of you may know, I interned with a French wedding dress and Prêt-à-Porter, or "ready-to-wear", designer Camille De Dampierre this past summer in May 2018. I loved this opportunity to work under her, as I was able to live in Paris for a month and study the industry of design after concluding my freshman year of college. For the first week before starting my internship, my mom and uncle came along to go sightseeing in my favorite city. We did the usual Paris sights and different than anything I've done while visiting Paris in the past, we went to champagne region in Épernay to take a private tour of Moët & Chandon, where I learned how to properly open a champagne bottle and understand the detailed industry of producing the highest quality bubbly there is. After all of these new experiences came to an end before my internship started, I quickly settled in the Parisian lifestyle.
Since I was there for one month, I chose to live in a small family owned hotel in the 2nd arrondissement by the Opera, run by a handful of employees, all of whom knew who I was and my schedule each day. This was a sense of security as they knew when to expect me back by nightfall. Basically my mornings started off as so: I woke up around 8 am and grabbed some fresh fruit I had picked up at the market the night before on my commute home. I would brew some hot water and enjoy some tea with my fruit as I got myself ready for the day. I always laid my outfits out the night before, and packed my work bag, which housed my sketch pad, watercolor pencils, always a liter bottle of Pellegrino, a snack of sorts in case my lunch break was late that day, and a jacket as I found Paris in the late months of spring could become quite chilly while running errands on the job.
After I had prepped myself for the day, the maid was typically on my floor to clean my room, so I'd head out to catch my metro to make it to Camille's office on time, which is where we mainly worked. Each workday could either occur at a financial office in which we had our own workroom, about a 10 minute walk away from my hotel, at Camille's office which was a 20 minute metro commute, or we would meet directly at the atelier's store for fittings with clients, this happened to be over a half hour commute, but didn't happen more than once a week. Within the first day of meeting Camille, I went to her office space in the 9th arrondissement in Pigalle, which also happens to be the Red Light District of Paris, but once you were in the neighborhood area, I loved all of the small coffee shops and adorable lunch cafes. When I would leave her office near dusk, I always had my guard up as I walked briskly towards the metro passing men looking for their newest pursuit. Though you might think the metro being underground could be unsettling at night, I always felt safe hopping on my train back to the Opera stop alone. Most work days were Monday through Friday 9am-6pm, and often having Friday's off for time to explore the city or visit fashion exhibitions at museums. Sometimes, there would be a bank holiday on Monday's, which would also allow me to frolic around the city more.
I became very used to being in my own company, and unlike in the States where it can seem awkward to be seen eating alone, it was quite normal to go have lunch by myself, grabbing a quinoa salad and a glass of rosé before heading back to designing. My favorite cafe had amazing green juice and carrot cake I would sometimes eat if we had a break between appointments. From this cafe, I could see the top of the Sacré-Cœur. I think my favorite part of the weekends and my days off was grabbing a chilled bottle of champagne and a salad for the day, then walking to the Jardin des Tuileries to sketch new designs. I would sometimes stop at a gelato stand in the afternoon at the park and try a new flavor being offered if it was hot outside, or go across the street from the Louvre for a Nutella crepe. The jardin was always full of life and many opportunities for people watching. Almost every night, I would walk along the Seine river bank and take in the this area of solace in the city.
As I was there for an extended period of time, I became friends with other interns at my job, who did PR work for the brand, and I made friends with a Chanel sales associate, named Amelia. She was in the same year of study as me, but she was in her 20's, as she took a gap year to travel Europe with her friends. She had classes, work and finals during most of my stay, but we did meet up for drinks one evening and we discussed the different lifestyles of our two countries, and plans for our career paths in design. She would always send me the best museums to go visit fashion exhibitions and unknown areas of the city to explore. I am so thankful for her kindness and desire to share the Parisian culture with me.
Paris is a city rich with culture and new opportunities to grow as a person. My experience this past summer was nothing short of life changing, and I'm excited for what summer 2019 brings for me! Stay tuned for my plans to live abroad again soon!
XOXO,
Kenzie Rae
