WELCOME TO NEW YORK CITY
I had the amazing opportunity to spend the Summer of 2021 working as a Fashion and Creative Projects Intern with celebrity stylist, Sam Spector, in his New York City office. This experience was truly remarkable and taught me just as much about the fashion industry as it did about myself.
ABOUT SAM SPECTOR LLC
Sam Spector is a New York-based stylist responsible for the signature looks of some of Hollywood’s leading men and women. Spector works regularly with Neil Patrick Harris, Hasan Minhaj, Ryan Seacrest, Trey Anastasio, Daniel Radcliffe, Billy Eichner, Samira Wiley, Andy Samberg, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Michael Zegen on red carpet, press, personal, and television appearances. Sam’s office also offers personal shopping services, working with some of the leading business executives in the country.
DAILY RESPONSIBILITIES
As the only intern for the season, my responsibilities varied day-to-day greatly. From prepping for and assisting at fittings, to managing sample trafficking, social media content creation, and office administrative tasks, to assisting at clothing pulls and on set of shoots for ad campaigns featuring Sam’s clients, the job was never boring!
EXAMPLES OF WORK
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STYLING: CLOTHING PULLS & FITTINGS
A styling project begins with a client reaching out to Sam with an upcoming event, appearance, or project for which they need styling. After putting together a mood board for the project, Sam and team, including myself, begin pulling samples for a fitting. I contributed to 5 pulls across 20+ stores around Manhattan and 9 fittings for 4 different clients.
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ON SET
As a celebrity stylist with high profile clients, Sam is needed on photo and video shoots where clients are working. This summer, I worked alongside Sam on set for a brand collaboration campaign as well as for a commercial shoot featuring one of our clients. On set, I act as the styling assistant steaming clothes, completing last-minute look changes, assisting the client, and giving Sam any support he may need while working.
My favorite experience I had this summer with Sam was attending the Alice+Olivia Pride Prom at the Parrish Art Museum in the Hamptons. The star-studded event, which benefitted the Ali Forney Center, had attendees such as Drew Barrymore, Lea Michele, Cuba Gooding Jr., AnnaLynne McCord, Tayshia Adams, and so many NYC TikTok influencers. This was an incredible event, and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go!
ALICE+OLIVIA PRIDE PROM 2021
LESSONS LEARNED
From this experience, I learned lessons such as details make or break a creative project, networking is the ultimate way to further your career, New York City is just as fast-paced as they say, and much more. However, the overarching lesson I took from the summer is to be confident— in yourself, your work, your craft, your intuition— no matter the circumstance. Confidence with the lack of self-doubt could not be any more important in a creative fashion field. Everyone has their opinions, but being confident in yours allows you to stand out.