It’s not quite a gap year but two second year Fashion Design students from De Montfort University (DMU) Leicester are set to live the two-month trip of their dreams when they take up internships at the New York headquarters of global retail giant Gap.
Natacha Fernandes and Natalie Trigwell saw off competition from around 100 UK students to secure their flights to the Big Apple, later this month. This will be the fourth consecutive year Gap has invited DMU Fashion Design students over the pond for a summer placement.
Both opportunities are all expenses paid, with Natacha working in women’s wovens, focusing on tops, skirts and dresses and Natalie going into boys’ wovens, particularly denims and trousers. They will share a Manhattan apartment near to head office, close to Central Park and Broadway and will be working on individual projects which they’ll present to the company at the end of their stay.
Three DMU students who took up summer placements with Gap two years ago are still working in New York, having been offered long term contracts.
“I’ve only just found out I’ve been chosen for this and I really wasn’t expecting it so it’s all been a bit of a whirl booking flights, organising visas and everything,” said Natacha, who grew up beside a Portuguese beach before moving to Rugby, aged 14.
This will be Natacha’s first visit to New York and she had to give up her Glastonbury tickets to take up the opportunity, though she insists she’s not complaining.
Natalie, from Haywards Heath, West Sussex was equally shocked when she found out she’d been selected and is thrilled at the prospect of getting such a well-known brand on her CV.
“I feel completely overwhelmed and very lucky; it hasn’t sunk in yet and I don’t think it will till I get there,” she said.
“It’s not so much the iconic tourism sights I’m looking forward to seeing, more the chance to be there as a New Yorker, going to cool cafes and bars, as well as the shops of course,” she laughed.
Della Swain, who leads the widely respected Fashion Design course at DMU, said: "We are thrilled for Natacha and Natalie who will have a great experience at Gap. It's testament to the skills and subjects we offer at DMU that Gap has offered these placements to our students and I am sure both girls will make the most of this incredible opportunity."
Posted on Tuesday 2 June 2015