Behind the scenes of the glamorous world of New York Fashion Week lies a seedy underbelly the fashion elite likes to ignore. Off the record are the interns that fetch daily non-fat lattes, carry garment bags larger than themselves while teetering in four-inch heels, and work for 10 hours nonstop before starting again the next day.

Sound familiar? “The Devil Wears Prada” first brought the grueling, belittling work to the forefront, with Anne Hathaway playing a struggling assistant to the fictional, yet terrifying, fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly. But unlike Hathaway’s character, Andy, these interns are working for free.

Last February, unpaid Harper’s Bazaar intern Diana Wang had enough, and filed what has become a federal class-action lawsuit against publishing behemoth, the Hearst Corporation. While it’s been debated for years whether unpaid internships are ethical, the push for paid internships in fashion has gained more traction since Wang filed her suit.

Last week, organizers from Intern Labor Rights, a division of the Occupy Wall Street movement, handed out free samples of pins that read “Pay Your Interns.” They also provided literature on the unfair practices of unpaid internships and how to get involved in the movement.

I applaud their subtle approach to protesting this injustice. Unpaid internships in the fashion industry perpetuate class advantage by denying valuable experience to those who can’t afford to work for free.

Many fashion companies offer internships for college credit — as if that is a decent trade-off for no pay. When I had an unpaid internship at a fashion company, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications required me to pay more than $1,000 per credit hour for the internship. Essentially, I paid for a line of experience on my résumé.

Magazine job posting site Ed2010 recently changed its posting procedures. While posting jobs to the site continues to be free for paid jobs and paid internships, it is now charging employers to post unpaid internships on the site.

Unpaid internships have been the norm in creative industries for so long, the fashion elite doesn’t understand what these interns have to complain about. They get to go to prestigious fashion shows, spot celebrities and get designer swag. It’s what every young fashion-lover dreams of.

The only people speaking out in defense of unpaid internships are the ones profiting from it.

VogueCreative Director Grace Coddington thinks unpaid interns should just suck it up, telling New York Magazine, “I think there are a lot of interns that feel very entitled. They think we owe them something.”

It infuriates me that interns asking for at least minimum wage are considered stepping over the line.Many of these companies are making billions of dollars. But why pay your interns when they’ll work for free?

Part of the blame lies in the culture of the fashion industry. Young people see these glamorous editors and models on street style blogs and long to be part of it. They’re told that if they work hard for no pay, the experience will lead to a paid job. Is the prestige of having Harper’s Bazaar on your résumé worth the sometimes humiliating, unpaid work some have to endure?

Fashion companies think they can just slap the title ‘internship’ on a job and get free labor. I understand why startups can’t afford to pay their interns, but not why the multi-billion dollar Hearst Corporation can’t.

In March, Condé Nast overhauled its internship program to include stricter regulations and mandatory mentorships. Each intern will receive a stipend of about $550 for the semester. While this is a step in the right direction, mandatory college credit isn’t enough.

I look forward to seeing how this debate pans out, and how it may change the power dynamic in the fashion industry. Until then, the rich and powerful fashion companies will continue to thrive off of the free labor from thousands of interns.

Allison Mariotti is a senior magazine journalism major. She has too many shoes to count, but could always use another pair.Her fashion column appears every Monday in Pulp. She can be reached at admariot@syr.edu.

Published on February 10, 2013 at 11:56 pm