Life as an intern for Isaac

In "The Devil Wears Prada," Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is the epitome of a person one would imagine as an important figure at the top of the fashion industry: tyrannical and demanding. She shoots out hundreds of requests for her assistant, such as: "Pick up the Polaroid's from the lingerie shoot," "Where's that piece of paper I had in my hand yesterday morning," and "Get me Isaac."

Gallatin sophomore Matt Ulrich is an intern for the Isaac (Mizrahi, to be clear) who Ms. Priestly yells for. But Ulrich describes the fashion world as "welcoming and positive."

"The stereotype of the uptight and pretentious fashion house is totally shattered by Isaac's studio," Ulrich said.

Last semester, Ulrich began his first fashion internship with Isaac Mizrahi. He works for the creative director, who helps put together looks for Mizrahi's collections, from Isaac Mizrahi New York to Liz Claiborne.

"She [the creative director] is also in charge of helping Isaac create a vision for his collections and, therefore, our team does a lot of research in an attempt to find inspiration for the various collections," Ulrich said.

Ulrich said there is no such thing as a "typical day" at the studio. He takes on a wide range of tasks, from aiding his employers in the creation of looks for shoots to scouring books for images that could be relevant to Mizrahi's vision.

Among a number of incredible experiences, one highlight of his internship was the fall 2009 Liz Claiborne ad campaign.

"The photo shoot was incredible because we were working with Arthur Elgort, who is one of the fashion industry's most revered photographers," Ulrich said. "It was amazing to watch the entire process of setting up for the shoot, and how much time and energy went into producing a handful of useable images."

Another one of Ulrich's favorite experiences was working at Mizrahi's spring 2010 show during Fashion Week.

"The preparation for Fashion Week was very intense and my bosses were working insane hours up until the show, but to see it all come together was pretty amazing," he said. "I thought the collection was very strong and I was proud to see it come to fruition."

Drawing from studio art, art history and business courses, Ulrich plans on creating a Gallatin concentration that will provide him with a strong foundation in an array of design fields. Although he was always passionate about art and architecture, he recently started developing a stronger interest in fashion, and is hoping to gain further experience at a fashion publication in the near future.

"I think that if you appreciate art in design in general, you can appreciate and enjoy various artistic mediums," he said.

Lana Lee is a deputy news editor.