How to become a fashion editor

What to expect on the job

It's not all sample sales and town cars. Internships are typically unpaid, or on the low side, and assistants earn in the high teens or low twenties. Entry-level jobs in the fashion magazine industry are also mindless and menial. "It's going to be pretty unglamorous," a former assistant at Vogue told me. "Mostly you end up steam-cleaning clothes for shoots, answering phones, opening mail." After interning at Sassy, Atoosa Rubenstein's first job was as a fashion assistant at Cosmopolitan – she had to keep the fashion closet (where all clothes and accessories are kept between shoots) neat and tidy.
Paying your dues means never giving any attitude when performing trivial tasks. "Don't sigh. Don't roll your eyes. This is a social game, people notice," an editor warns. "Also, you shouldn't kiss ass too much. It's better if people think you're cool." Enthusiasm is infectious – and can lead to bigger things. Nancy Roth, an NYU graduate who interned and worked as an assistant at Harper's Bazaar, followed that with a stint as a market editor for Allure, and was recently made a Senior Fashion Editor at Mademoiselle at 24. Roth was notorious for her dedication – she was reported not to have missed a day of work as an intern, even during finals.
As an assistant, you're responsible for the magazine's relationships with the showrooms. "You can't be careless," a Vogue assistant says. "If you say you'll have a sample from a shoot back at 4pm, you should make sure it goes back at 4pm. You have to keep to your word and respect their job and their obligations to other magazines." Usually, several magazines need the same sample, so a bad reputation can mean others in the fashion clique won't be so ready to help you out during deadline time.
The endlessly catty environment is also something you will have to adapt to – quickly. This is no career cliché. Fashion magazines are typically estrogen-heavy environments, and things can get nasty and competitive faster than you can say "Bitch on heels." One former Hearst staffer says, "If I wanted to join a sorority, I would have joined one in college. But you just can't take it personally." On the plus side: unlike the stiffness endemic to the typical office jobs, life at a magazine is less rigid, and sitting around and gossiping all day is allowed during slow moments. Still, the creative industry does breed its share of tyrants. It's common knowledge that several Vogue editors are notorious for their less-than-appealing behavior, but the sisterhood regularly warns other junior assistants about which editors to avoid.
Where are the goodie bags?
So your colleagues are hormonal and the pay isn't anything to write home about (or in most cases, to live on), but the perks – oh, the perks.
"You get a lot of free clothes," an editor admits. "Depending on your rank. You get a good amount of stuff at different levels. But you have to be careful not to get too greedy." Taking advantage of your position is a definite no-no. "People will notice. But it's hard – it's a strange thing. It's partly friendship and partly bribery – and things can definitely get out of hand." While some working fashion journalists are not allowed by their publications to accept gifts – e.g. the New York Times and the New York Observer – in the rest of the business it's a free-for-all.
Assistants can also view the fashion show circus first-hand, usually in their boss' place. "I remember when I was at Bazaar," says Cosmopolitan's Ruth Basloe recounts, "I went to my first show because my boss couldn't go. It was the Enrico Coveri show, and they sat her in the front row. I was so used to sitting in the back for Redbook. Of course I'm there 20 minutes early and I'm waiting. Ivanka Trump is modeling. And who sits next to me but Donald Trump!" Basloe laughs. "I was horrified! All the photographers started going nuts and I just wanted to hide underneath my seat."
Not for long, of course. Once they get through the door, few fashionistas want to step back outside. After all, a fashion editor's job is what every style addict craves.
"When I was a teenager, I cried, when I saw the Harper's Bazaar with Linda Evangelista on the cover. I cried, it was so beautiful," says Rubenstein.
"I was 8 years old and my family went on this cross-country train ride," remembers Basloe. "We were supposed to look at the scenery – that was the purpose of the trip. I totally missed it because I was immersed in my copy of Vogue. My family still teases me about that. But that's what I am. I'm a magazine and fashion junkie."

The importance of interning

Dressing for your interview