V Raw

For the last month since I’ve been a Sweaty Betty intern I’ve dived head first into a crazy pool of fashion, parties and deadlines!

I pop into Betty HQ twice a week to give the hardworking Betty’s a hand and treat myself to a peep around their showroom. With enough clothes to rival the contents of
Carrie Bradshaws wardrobe, their Beaconsfield home houses a buffet of brands that feature weekly in magazine editorial around the country. As the baby Betty, my daily tasks involve sorting through returns, merchandising new stock, assisting with product calls, writing press releases and blogging on the Betty blog.

Last week I was even lucky enough to head along to the launch of the ‘Butchers Hook’ basics range along with industry ‘it’ faces and an escort of Betty’s.
No day is the same at Sweaty Betty HQ, which is exactly how I like it. One minute I’m sourcing accessories for a Gossip Girl photoshoot and the next I’m composing a news snippet on the latest Sex Toy.

I've had such a ball at Sweaty Betty! Thanks so much for the internship opportunity

Judges Roxy Jacenko, Sally Nolan and Bowie Wong deliberated over the Top 10 of the V Raw LiveStyle Designer Search Competition on Thursday and although the competition was tough, Annika Pol, 21 from NSW stood above the rest and will now receive a mentorship from Bowie Wong and $8000 to create a collection for the LiveStyle Fashion Festival in Melbourne, March 2010. Awesome work!

Hats off to you Annika, judging from the designs below it's easy to see why you caught their eyes.

First up is Zoe Sernack, a jewellery designer from Sydney who talks about her Zoemou label.

You can watch with rest of these interviews (with Kati Boyd from Cassette Society and Nikita Sernack of Nookie) on 2thread's YouTube channel.

I've been working at NW magazine for two weeks now, and even though it's hard work I am loving every second of it! So far I've helped out with research and fact gathering on upcoming fashion spreads on everything from 'summer leather' to Australian it-girls of the moment. I've also helped out in the closet doing bags and boxes full of returns of all the clothes called in for shoots, and I even popped down for an afternoon to Dolly magazine who needed help in their closet. I've even got to write a few things like reviews of books and movies and websites for a big fashion spread. Who knows what the next couple of weeks will bring?

Working at NW has really shown me that fashion journalism is the career path for me. It's incredibly tiring but also rewarding at the same time, as issues go to print you can see the contributions that you have made and it's so satisfying! I can't wait to start working in magazines full time, the world is always stereotyped either as glamorous or terrifying, but I've seen neither of those sides at NW. You work hard, and you are congratulated on good, hard work, just like any job. And it's just the way I like it!

Sticking, taping, photographing, dressing, designing the screens that the models walked out to, labelling clothes, working along side models and famous fashion designers were just some of things that I conquered while working at Rosemount Fashion Festival with Jack Bedwani Productions. It was like I was in episode of "The Hills" without so much of the drama. There were camera's clicking, bright lights shining, models rushing around the room frantically changing into their next lot of clothes, ready to grace the catwalk once again in the latest funky designs, journalists interviewing, stylists fixing clothes and famous people, as far as the eye could see. I was bewildered by the experience and loving every moment!

I watched and was involved first hand in the production of the fashion shows, taking place each day. I was dazed by the experience and wished for the fashion festival never to end. But as we know all good things have to come to an end at some stage. However, the experience and the skills learnt from the fashion festival as well as the knowledge gained from Jack Bedwani Productions will not be forgotten.

Working along side the people from Jack Bedwani Productions (especially Jack and Sandra) was one of the best experiences of my life. Completing this internship has allowed me to get an insight into the fashion production industry as well as witness the tough expectations that are demanded from this 'oh so glamorous' job. From start to finish I witnessed the putting together of the shows as well as adapted my journalistic skills to designing and producing. From this fashion festival I learnt that you have to be multi-skilled and be ready for anything- even if that means taking up a task that you've never completed before.

I think everyone should take up an internship. You will learn so much from the experience and you will never regret doing it.

Thank you to the people at Jack Bedwani for allowing me to work with you at Rosemount Fashion Festival and a big thank you to the people at V Raw who created this opportunity.