For those who aspire to work in fashion, landing a gig as an assistant is a great way to get your foot in the door. You’ll gain an incredible amount of knowledge, experience, and awesome industry connections for your future endeavors. It’s a pretty sweet position that a comes with a lot of rewards, benefits, and, most of all, agony.
In a recent article by VICE France, reporter Nilufar Khalessi caught up with several anonymous fashion assistants to explore just how difficult their jobs are.
After reading some of the horror stories, we’re left wondering, “Is it even worth it?”
“This job is an addictive nightmare,” one assistant told VICE. “My relationship with my boss can largely be likened to Stockholm syndrome. I just can't say no to anything they ask, no matter how absurd the demand is. Another stylist I used to work for when I started got me to reply to her boyfriend's sexts.”
But awkward sexts sessions is just the tip of this excrement iceberg. Other assistants admitted to working up to 19 hours a day, attempting to complete lousy tasks like walking designers’ dogs, picking up needles from the floor, and searching for clothing items that didn’t even exist at their bosses’ requests.
It sounds fucking miserable, but all of the interviewed assistants agreed the job had its perks.
“It's not all horrific though: In the same way that relationship is abusive, it can also become really sweet and personal,” one assistant told VICE. “Once, one of them even bought me some Paracetamol because I had a fever. I tell myself that they aren't cruel, they are just people who know what they want. I accept all this because my goal is to be a star […] just like them.”
Eh, that’s kind of understandable. But comparing your job to an abusive relationship? You might want to re-evaluate your life goals.
You can read the full piece at VICE’s website.
