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Fashion design alumni reveal what life as an intern at Urban Outfitters in New York is like

With just over four months left of their internship, Leanne and Natasha share with us how they’ve spent the last six months working at the leading lifestyle speciality retailer and wholesaler.

    Urban Outfitters interns
    Leanne (left) and Natasha in Philadelphia

    Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) BA (Hons) Fashion Design alumni, Leanne Westbury and Natasha Flannery jetted off to the Big Apple in September last year to embark on the highly sought-after URBN international placement programme.

    The two interns won the Urban Outfitters competition in 2017, which involved a live project where final year NTU fashion design students had to come up with a concept, develop their designs from research and create a five-outfit line-up appropriate for the Urban Outfitters customer.

    Based at the Urban Outfitters’ Head Office in Philadelphia, Leanne and Natasha seem to be having an eventful and inspiring time so far.

    Leanne told us: “I’m absolutely loving it here – the team have been amazing from day one. It’s a small team specialising in menswear, so it’s been really great to integrate not only into design, but to work so closely with concept, print, product development, and buying on a day-to-day basis.

    “I’ve been very lucky to have been mentored by the Design Director for the duration of my internship. I’ve learnt so much, I wouldn’t even know where to begin; from designing and developing products, responding to sales analysis, and sourcing and developing raw materials, to working with buying to respond to the need to balance our own brand with external brands.”

    I’m absolutely loving it here – the team have been amazing from day one." - Leanne Westbury

    In recent months and going forward, Leanne has had and will continue to have a key role in designing the men’s shirts and jackets category.

    She continued: “Philadelphia is great too – there’s so much to do, and I live right in the heart of the city. The URBN campus is crazy; it’s located in the navy yard and each building has a totally different interior which you can find all over Instagram under the hashtag #urbnspaces.

    “We’re about an hour and a half away from New York and I’ve been lucky enough to go there on business trips as well as personal visits. After only a few months of being here, I was sent on a work trip to Los Angeles to attend a music festival called Camp Flog Gnaw, which I still can’t believe I got to do as an intern.”

    URBN is a leading lifestyle specialty retailer and wholesaler with sales over $3.3 billion, and their key brands include Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain and BHLDN.  

    Visit www.urbn.com/work-with-us to find out more about their internship opportunities.

    Published on 21 June 2018
    • Subject area: Art and design
    • Category: NTU Arts; School of Art & Design