A fashion week collection begins long before the runway. It takes fabric, samples, tech packs, hand sewing, production files, last-minute repairs, and a team of people who know how to turn an idea into something a person can wear.
For Pratt fashion students, internships can offer behind-the-scenes involvement in this process. Working with New York–based designers and brands, students have the opportunity to contribute to upcoming collections while learning how the industry operates beyond the finished look. Some of their experiences were recently highlighted in a feature by Gothamist, airing on WNYC on Morning Edition. This season, their work includes developing samples, creating fabric yardage, preparing factory packages, managing production charts, and helping pieces make their way from the studio to the public.
Sophia Marquez, BFA Fashion Design ’27, is interning with SC103, founded by Pratt alumna Claire McKinney and Sophie Andes-Gascon, both BFA Fashion Design ’15. Marquez is supporting the brand’s Spring/Summer 2027 development through apparel and accessory sampling, fabric manipulation, hand sewing, and trips to the Garment District. Recently, she created striped fabric yardage by combining two different colors of cloth. The material was then used to make a series of bias-cut tops.
“I’ve been working on a range of things—from sample development and hand sewing to making Links totes and picking up production runs in the Garment District,” Marquez said. “Seeing pieces that I contributed to come to life in the final collection will be really special.”
Marquez originally considered architecture and industrial design, but felt that fashion offered a more direct way to experiment with materials and make something tangible. “I delight in the process and experimentation that working with textiles affords me,” she said, “as well as being able to hold a final product that I made with my own hands.”
Her time in New York has also expanded her personal style, which she describes as traditionally preppy. Beyond discovering thrift stores and new designers, she has been able to wear pieces from previous internships, bringing her professional experiences into everyday life.
India Pruss, BFA Fashion Design ’27, is also working with SC103, where she is in her second year as an intern. Her role has become increasingly hands-on and creative, involving sewing and making pieces for the upcoming collection. At 6397, where she works as a studio and production intern, she supports samples, tech packs, and other production tasks.
For Pruss, the opportunity offers a close look at the different roles that contribute to a collection.
“While in school, it is important to have professional experience,” she said. “Fashion Week offers a condensed taste of what working in fashion looks like.”
Pruss learned to sew at age six, inspired by her mother and grandmother. Sustainability, a value emphasized by her family, continues to inform her approach to fashion. Living and studying in New York has helped her identify the kinds of companies, materials, and collaborators that align with her interests, including a growing interest in knitwear.
“Having access to so much has helped me find the network of people I resonate with,” she said. “Through teachers, friends, and coworkers, I know that I have people who can help and support me.”
For Parul Sharma, MFA Fashion Collection + Communication ’27, this season is taking shape through a production internship at Naeem Khan. Her responsibilities include updating production and sampling charts, documenting design information in a product lifecycle management system, coordinating overseas factory shipments, and conducting quality control on incoming samples.
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![A young woman sits on a stool, smiling, in front of a fabric backdrop adorned with various fabric swatches and paper samples pinned to it. She wears a black shirt and blue pants, and her feet rest on a small, patterned chair. The setting appears to be an art or design studio, with grey walls and a concrete floor.]()
Parul Sharma working with fabric swatches -
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Sharma in her studio
Sharma hopes to volunteer backstage and find a way into the production environment she has long admired. A torn page from Vogue has stayed with her for years. It shows a team repairing a broken zipper backstage at an Alexander McQueen show moments before a model walks onto the runway.
“That, to me, captures what it is like being in fashion, working backstage,” Sharma said. “It’s the adrenaline rush of getting your model dressed in time, appreciating the nuance and the craftsmanship in the construction, and the quiet thrill of being able to say, ‘I dressed that.’”
Kalani Ramirez, BFA Fashion Design ’27, recently completed a summer production internship with Willy Chavarria, preparing factory packages, creating production files, and organizing the office. The experience gave Ramirez the chance to learn from mentors while seeing how a brand can build its identity around the designer’s personal culture and experiences.
Originally from New Orleans, Ramirez hopes to bring the stories of the city into his own work. He sees fashion as both creative and practical, as well as a way to share perspectives that are not always represented in the industry.
“This semester, I really want to dedicate my work to my experiences in New Orleans,” Ramirez said. “I don’t see that many Southern designers of color, and I hope that people can relate with my perspective.”
With five Fashion Weeks already behind him, Ramirez approaches the season with growing confidence. After volunteering at events during his first and second years, he now feels more prepared for the pace and constant change of the industry.
“It’s New York,” he said. “The unexpected is expected.”
For these students, New York Fashion Week is a chance to contribute to rarefied runway experiences and understand the many people and processes that make fashion possible.