Fashion Institute of Technology Internships

The Museum at FIT is dedicated to advancing knowledge of fashion through exhibitions, programs and publications.

Interns work directly within a host department, contributing to the museum's exhibitions, outreach, and management. Positions are available during the academic year, based on the projected workload of the host department and the qualifications and experience of the candidate. All positions have a 130 hour minimum requirement, are volunteer, and are unpaid.

Internships include appointments in the following departments: Costume, Accessories, Conservation, Registrar’s Office, Media, and Programming and Education.

Eligibility

Internships are open to graduate students pursuing a degree in a related field. Candidates should have a genuine interest in fashion. (The Media internships only require that a student have proficiency in Photoshop and either Dreamweaver or Powerpoint)

How to apply

Applications must include the following:

• Application Form
• Full resume of education and employment.
• One academic recommendation (3 recommendations for conservation).
• A cover letter describing the candidate’s interest in museum work and reasons for applying to the internship program.

Academic Year Internship application deadlines:

Spring term: Postmark February 13
Summer term: Postmark April 30
Fall term: Postmark June 1

Application materials for all internships should be submitted to:

The Museum at FIT
Internship Program
Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, E-301
New York, NY 10001
Fax: 212 217 4561
museuminfo@fitnyc.edu

Costume Department

The Costume Collection consists of more than 35,000 objects dating from the mid 18th century to the present day. The collection has a strong emphasis on contemporary women’s fashion, but also includes menswear, active sportswear, and lingerie. In addition to exhibitions, the Costume Collection is a research resource for undergraduate and graduate students, visiting scholars, faculty, and the design industry.

• Designer highlights include: Armani, Balenciaga, Beene, Blass, Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Galanos, Gaultier, Halston, James, McCardell, Miyake, Moschino, Poiret, Schiaparelli, Westwood.
• Halston Archives and Study Room: design, patterns and related records documenting this important designer’s life work.

Interns in the Costume Department will assist curatorial staff with collection management and/or research projects. Knowledge of museum protocol is a plus, as is completed or ongoing coursework in fashion studies.

Accessories

The Accessory Collection consists of approximately 15,000 objects that date from the mid 17th century to the present day. The collection has a particularly strong emphasis on designer accessories from the second half of the 20th century. The accessory collection is supported by the Solomon-Sloan Endowment Fund, which was established in 2005 to facilitate the acquisition, conservation, documentation and exhibition of accessories.

• The footwear collection contains more than 4,000 pairs of shoes, boots and sandals. It includes examples by designers such as Manolo Blahnik, Roger Vivier, Herbert Levine, and Salvatore Ferragamo.
• The millinery collection contains more than 3,000 hats by famous milliners such as Caroline Reboux, Lilly Daché, Halston and Philip Treacy. There are also many examples from designers such as Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Jacques Fath.
• The handbag collection includes fine examples by luxury houses such as Hermès and Gucci as well as examples by Roberta di Camerino, Judith Leiber and Bonnie Cashin for Coach.

Interns in the Accessories Department will assist curatorial staff with collection management and/or research projects. Knowledge of museum protocol is a plus, as is completed or ongoing coursework in fashion studies.

Conservation

The Museum’s Conservation Department handles all the preservation and conservation needs of the MFIT collection, including developing and maintaining a preventive conservation approach to collection’s maintenance. The department is responsible for the proper maintenance and storage of MFIT’s large and diverse collection of costumes, accessories, and textiles. The department prepares and mounts all costume and textile objects that are displayed in the Museum’s exhibitions, including any repair and/or cleaning procedures necessary to prepare the object for display. The staff is also responsible for the final phases of the accessioning process, which include labeling, vacuuming, condition reporting, and the final preparation for storage of all of newly accessioned objects that enter the collection.

Registrar’s Office

The Registrar’s Office manages legal, logistical and collections management tasks pertaining to the Museum collections, new acquisitions, outgoing loans and incoming loans for temporary exhibitions. The Registrar’s Office is responsible for maintaining legal documentation of the permanent collections and loans, including preparation of deeds of gift, loan agreements, certificates of insurance and receipts. The department arranges insurance coverage, packing and local, national or international transportation for objects entering or leaving the Museum. The Registrar’s Office also works closely with all other Museum departments on a range of long term collection management tasks, such as inventory, database records, facilities and environment issues, and the establishment and execution of collections policies.

Education and Public Programming

The Education and Public Programs Department organizes and coordinates special projects and events (including lectures, symposia, etc.) to provide insightful and intriguing perspectives on the culture of fashion. The department is responsible for shaping and expanding the museum’s visibility and outreach (to the college community, the textile and fashion industries and the public). It coordinates museum internships and handles internal and external customer service inquires. The Education and Public Programs Department works closely with other Museum departments in shaping up outreach and educational events. It also collaborates with other departments at FIT in marketing and public relations initiatives.

Museum Media

Internships in Museum Media are in one of two areas: Visual Resources or Web Presence. The Museum Photographer takes and organizes all photographs for documentation, publicity, and promotion. Interns are required to be proficient in Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Powerpoint. The Museum Media Manager maintains the Museum's web presence and online marketing initiatives, by designing websites, producing videos, maintaining a social network presence, writing a monthly newsletter, and working on other online initiatives. Interns may help keep information current on the website, maintain MFIT's social network presence on Facebook and Twitter, and Youtube, assist with web design projects, and update material for the Online Collections. Interns are required to be proficient with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, HTML, CSS , and know how to navigate social network platforms.

Posted by Stephanie Coronado