News

Fashion internship in New York 14/10/09

by Australians in New York Fashion Foundation

The aim of the Australians in New York Fashion Foundation is to create opportunities through internships/traineeships and connections for young Australians to gain valuable work experience in New York’s fashion and beauty industries.

Set up by a group of Australians who have achieved success and recognition in New York and established their own support networks across the fashion industry, the Foundation provides an opportunity for successful Australians in the New York fashion industry to help the next generation of young, future Australian stylists, journalists, fashion designers, publicists, hair and make up artists, set designers, photographers, and beauty professionals.

Each year the Foundation will fund one graduate to come to New York for up to six months. The Foundation will provide the successful application with a Visa to work in their chosen field, together with a financial grant and a return ticket to NYC. The applicant is responsible for finding accommodation and managing the grant funds to cover their accommodation and living expenses in NYC.

The Foundation will also arrange and coordinate a work experience in the graduate’s chosen field in the world of fashion and beauty, tailored to their talent and area of expertise and study.

KEY DATES:

  • Applications open: August 1
  • Applications close: October 16
  • 10 Finalists announced: November 1
  • Finalist dinner and interviews (Sydney): Late December
    Winner announced: Mid January

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Application criteria:

  • Entrants must be between 18 to 28 years of age
  • Entrants must be an Australian citizen
  • Entrants must be currently enrolled in pursuing studies at an Australian degree – or certificate-granting post-secondary academic institution outside the United States, or have graduated from such an institution no more than 12 months prior to his or her exchange visitor program start date, or hold a degree or professional certificate from an Australian post-secondary academic institution and have at least one year of prior related work experience in his or her occupational field outside the United States, or
    have completed five years of work experience outside the United States in the occupational field in which they are seeking training
  • Internship/traineeship while in New York: The recipient will be assisted in securing one or multiple internships tailored to the recipient’s specific abilities/aspirations within the industry. This will be facilitated by the AIFINY board prior to the recipient departing Australia
  • Internship/traineeship duration: The internship(s) will begin and end within a period of six months. Commencement of the internship must be between March and August of the year that the recipient is notified of winning

Financial:

  • One initial grant of USD 25,000
  • This sum is to be used to cover accommodation and living expenses while in New York during the six month internship(s)
  • Additional visa and related legal fees covered by AINYIF
  • Return flight to New York from state capital nearest to recipient’s home
  • Recipient responsible for all other expenses incurred
  • Recipient responsibilities:
  • On being notified of the award the recipient must provide a budget outlining how they will use the grant in relation to their expenses over the six month internship(s) in New York
  • Recipient is responsible for procuring own living arrangements in New York

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

  • All entries must be submitted via email and must include:
  • A one page resume (in ms word document form)
  • Scanned proof of age in a JPG, PNG, GIF, or PDF format
  • Written copy of no more than 500 words specifying which area of the industry/type of career they wish to experience and detail why they should be awarded the chance to intern in New York. Information regarding the U.S. visa category applicable to the entrant must also be specified here(in ms word document form)
  • Resume and copy must adhere to word limits/page size and be in 10-12 point font size
  • No more than eight (8) portfolio images. Images must be submitted in a JPG, PNG, GIF, or PDF format

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

  • The application must be saved as a ZIP file and named in the following format: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_2010.zip.
  • The zip archive must include resume, essay, and portfolio images. The ZIP file must be no larger than 25 megabytes (MB) in size

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

  • Applicants should demonstrate intellect, vision and innovation
  • Applications must be clear and concise
  • To be eligible for the requisite United States of America visa, applicants must fall into one of the categories listed under General Information/Application Criteria. If applicant does not fit a category as listed, his/her application will be deemed invalid

APPLICATION PROCESS:

  • Following an initial review, a short list of 10 applicants will be selected by the founding AINYFF board and invited to participate in one-on-one interviews conducted in Sydney in late December. Interviews will be conducted by founding board members and prominent members of the Australian Fashion Industry.
  • Applicants will be notified if they have been short-listed for interviews. Unsuccessful applicants will not be notified. The judge’s decisions are final. AINYFF will not give feedback on unsuccessful applications. All applications submitted become property of AINYFF and will not be returned.