Sternie steps into the fashion world

It's possible that Stern senior Andrew Wong has interned for more clothing designers than the designer labels in your closet. His resume includes Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole and Marc by Marc Jacobs, just to name a few.

"I always wanted to go into fashion," Wong said. "I feel like people don't take fashion seriously."

Wong's choice of industry might seem odd for a marketing and information systems major, but Wong stresses that what's important is the role you play rather than the industry you play in.

Most of Wong's competition is from the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons the New School for Design, so having technical expertise is a huge asset for him. "I think that was kind of my edge," he said.

Wong said he thinks fashion and finance are closely related.

"As artistic as it is, [fashion] is actually about the numbers. In order to be successful, you have to be so plugged in," he said. "You have to read the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, [Women's Wear Daily]."

There is a common misconception that in order to get your foot in the door of a major industry you must have a major connection. This was not the case for Wong, whose first internship was with Rockstar Games.

"For me it was never about who I knew, because I didn't know anybody," Wong said.

Wong admits that he does do some glamorous things for his internships — such as working during fashion week and meeting celebrities. One of Wong's funniest memories from his work involved a run-in with an A-lister :

"I was in the building and one of the interns from Barnard [College] and I were talking, and I was like, 'Oh 'The "Devil Wears Prada" is so fake!' Then the elevator opens, and out walked Anne Hathaway," he said.

But his tasks also include the not-so-pretty aspects of the industry, like writing sales reports, packing merchandise and running errands.

After countless internships, Wong may be finally moving up in the fashion ranks. "I'm in final rounds for a full-time job at Ralph Lauren," Wong said.

Wong advised students looking to work in fashion to intern as much as possible. "It can only help you," he said.

He added: "The busier you are, the more impressive it seems that you're able to do all this. Even if you're just getting coffee, you're still learning."

Allegra Lee is a staff writer.