Image credit: Liz Sunshine

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For the fashion obsessed, a job on Vogue’s fashion team is what dreams are made of. Being surrounded by racks of couture, spending days on cover shoots, attending fashion shows to mine inspiration for the next issue—it all sounds very glamorous. But, like every job, there is far more involved in a job on a fashion team than the glossy pages might suggest. 

From running across the city for returns, to alarmingly early call times for shoots, if there’s one prerequisite for working on Vogue’s fashion team, it’s a get up and go attitude—something Isabella Mamas, Vogue’s fashion assistant, has in spades. Having started as Vogue’s fashion assistant in late 2021, Mamas’ role spans organising pieces for shoots, coordinating interns, styling, liaising with brands—and that’s not even half of it. It’s a role that keeps Mamas on the move, from morning to night, and one that is coveted by fashion fanatics the industry over. 

In the interest of pulling back the curtain on what it’s really like to work in fashion, we’ve recruited Isabella to take us with her on an average day in her (Chanel) shoes. Expect rushing here and there, emails aplenty, and couture for days—be warned, it’s not for the faint of heart. 

"My day starts off with a dramatic 5:30 am, followed closely by 5:35 am and 5:40 am alarm, because there is no way I'm getting up at that hour without a fight. I prepare all my Pilates gear the night before because I have had one too many close calls getting dressed in the dark. Pilates in the morning generally takes place three to four times a week, pending mood, temperature, and how many shoots we have that week. I put on 800 layers and pop on over to my 6am class. Moving my body in the morning really sets me up for a good day, and gives me that hour and a half of time before getting into the chaos of work."

"Post-Pilates I head back home, shower, make breakfast and duck back into bed to sneak in a little more TikTok time before getting dressed. I’d like to say getting dressed is the easiest process of the day but I always struggle; How cold will it be? Are there meetings today? What events do I have on tonight? There are always so many factors to consider."

"Today it's P.Johnson trousers my partner made for our anniversary, my favourite slingbacks from Chanel, Maggie Marilyn top, Yu Mei tote bag and my new ride or die piece—a coat from Stone and Hyde. Not to forget vintage earring clip-ons I found for a bargain at Kirribilli markets a few months ago.

I grab a coffee from a cafe near home and start my drive to work. The first thing I do is pop into the fashion cupboard and check on the interns, and give them the tasks we need to do for today. Priority this morning was picking up a shipment and re-delivering it, getting all the returns out of the cupboard, checking in some pieces for an upcoming shoot and saving all the runway shows for resort 2024 to share with our fashion editors!"

"After briefing the interns I head to my desk, which I'm currently hotspotting from our Junior Fashion Editor whilst she's somewhere on the other side of the world jumping from one cover shoot to the next. I start by going through all my emails—we are currently on deadline, our July issue goes to print on Friday so the most important thing for me to focus on today is ensuring all the crediting for the issue is up to date and sending it. This essentially entails emailing every brand we have shot for the magazine and requesting prices and credit information. There are 12 stories I'm currently captioning which need to be sent off to print by Thursday, including the cover shoot (possibly my favourite shoot yet!)."

"For lunch I go to my old trusted favourite sushi spot just up the road from the office, then head back to my desk to reply to some more emails. I spent the afternoon ordering more stickers for our return packaging, and doing a general replenishment of our cupboard supplies with things like garment bags, tape and DHL bags! Super fun, and super exciting stuff.

We jump on a production call at 4 pm which includes a breakdown of the whole issue, speaking to the whole editorial team to ensure everything is running smoothly and everything for the next issue is starting to tick along."

"I have recently become our editor-in-chief’s executive assistant, so before I head off the day I write an agenda of things to address, and send that off to discuss in production. Both men's fashion week and couture fashion week are fast approaching and I want to ensure everything is in order for this."

"Post-production I gather all my things and head to Sydney Modern for Nagnata’s ‘Future Movements’ fashion show, which was an incredibly gorgeous display of talent with a beautiful dance performance, new swimwear and amazing knitwear in bright greens and deep reds which are now on my to purchase list for my Pilates mornings. The show wraps up at 7:30pm and it's time for me to grab some Thai take-away and head home." 

"A few more international emails ahead before I finally hit the hay and call it a day. 

Then up again tomorrow to start all over again."

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