Luxury British fashion label, Alexander McQueen sent out a public apology after news had come about regarding a particularly disturbing internship advertisement a few days ago. The Huffington Post reported on August 1 that Shelly Asquith of the University of Arts London Student Union, had sent a letter of dismay over an advertisement sent by McQueen's office about an unpaid internship lasting 11 months.
According to the news article, a studio manager from the East London office sent a advertisement to fashion design schools claiming an internship post that they hoped to fill urgently. According to the ad, they needed a 'talented knitwear student' to fill an internship post lasting 11 months, five days a week, for 9 and 1/2 hours a day.
Asquith's letter accused the fashion house for 'using and abusing' interns. The letter further comments on their premium pricing strategy referring to a particular jacket of theirs that cost 8,930 pounds, Asquith says, "it is a bitter irony that this is almost as much as the amount of fees a student who may have made it is paying in course fees each year. I was shocked when I first learned just how prolific the practice of taking on unpaid interns was in fashion. Big name designers such as yours use and abuse fashion students to pattern, fasten, cut, and sew in to the early hours and in some cases even use their original designs uncredited. No amount of luxury is worth the slaving away of an unpaid worker. That students are spending months creating these pieces of clothing and not seeing any return is downright disgraceful and the label should be ashamed."
The fashion house has since responded, claiming, "the advertisement in question was issued in error and was not in accordance with our HR policy, for which we apologise. In line with the UK government guidance, Alexander McQueen has a strict policy of only accepting interns where the student is required to complete a placement as part of their higher or further education studies."
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