BA Fashion Marketing and Journalism student Thomas Gibson says his ‘Devil Wears Prada’ dream has come true after winning a placement at a top London fashion magazine.
Date: 04/05/2012
BA Fashion Marketing and Journalism student Thomas Gibson says his ‘Devil Wears Prada’ dream has come true after winning a placement at a top London fashion magazine.
Thomas is one of a handful of London Met students to secure placements at InStyle Magazine following a visit to the publication as part of their Journalism course.
Thomas and classmate Katie Cross (both pictured) have landed one-month internships with the magazine, which is one of the leading titles in the industry.
“A lot of the people we met at InStyle said they started as interns, so it is a great opportunity,” said Thomas. “I’m really excited. It’s my ‘Devil Wears Prada’ dream come true!
“The placement is really hands-on and we’ll get the chance to do sub editing so we’ll have an impact. It’s going to be a fantastic experience.”
InStyle is owned by magazine giant IPC Media, whose other titles include Horse & Hound, Look and NME.
It was Thomas’s lecturer, Wendy Sloane, who organised the visit to give the students an insight into how a real magazine works.
Thomas said: “Because all the lecturers at London Met have worked in the industry, they have a lot of contacts who come in and give talks or let us visit their offices. Wendy set up the trip to InStyle and really encouraged us to talk to people. We were really surprised when they offered us the internships!”
For Katie, who starts her placement this month, the experience represents a great opportunity to put the skills she’s learnt at London Met into practice.
“What I like best about studying Fashion Marketing and Journalism is the creativity and solid grounding in journalism that it provides you with. We are encouraged to get stuck in and as a result we’re well equipped with skills required to be successful in the industry. I can’t wait for the challenge of working at a busy magazine.”
The visit to InStyle, and the internships that followed, reflect London Met’s commitment to building students’ employability through experience as well as conventional teaching. Katie and Thomas are proof that such an approach can work.
So, where do they see themselves in ten year’s time?
“I’d be really happy just to be writing for an established magazine”, said Thomas. Katie agreed, although with slightly less modesty: “I’d like to be editor of InStyle!” she said.
With such talented, knowledgeable and ambitious graduates entering the job market, perhaps Miranda Priestly should be watching her back...
Find out more about studying BA Fashion Marketing and Journalism at London Met.
