Top 5 luxury brand internships in 2022

From Louis Vuitton careers to Gucci stints, internships with luxury brands can set you up for some of the best jobs today — or at the very least, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not all the best things in life are free and not all luxury brands sell overpriced items to feed your snobbery or increase your status. There are good reasons some luxury brands have lasted centuries: really quality goods.

Think generations-old Patek Philippe watches or Chanel bags that use only the finest artisans. Interning with the people behind these iconic goods gives you a good glimpse into this world that few other people can say they have.

This sneak peek could be your entry point to future Louis Vuitton careers or with any other of these brands listed below. Competition will still be fierce but an internship could be just what you need to make the right connections to put you in the running.

Below is what’s in store for you if you land a coveted internship with the top five luxury brands of 2022:

1. Gucci

Expect exposure to various areas of a luxury retail environment. You may tackle issues related to hospitality, help with inventory, replenish stock and deal with clients, among others, according to a job posting for a Gucci Retail Internship in Mumbai. Prepare to serve as a “Gucci Ambassador” too — this means “promoting the philosophy and values of the brand in all their interactions.”

Think you don’t look like the typical Gucci model? Worry less. Gucci has launched Gucci Equilibrium to “generate positive change for people” which includes awarding scholarships to people of colour pursuing fashion and humanities.

Don’t go too avant-garde with your application too. Save it for your cover letter or portfolio, advises Eugenia Mirri, former talent acquisition specialist at Gucci. “If they are too creative, [they] will not [be] understood. [Recruiters] will receive thousands of CVs and you need to catch the main information,” says Mirri to Business of Fashion. “If [you] have work experience, [that] information [should be] at the top, from the most recent to the oldest; the same with education.”

2. Dior

“Whatever you do — for work or pleasure — do it with passion! Live with passion,” said Christian Dior. Dior offers internships — mostly in France — for positions in Business Development, Digital Content, Product Management and many more. You’ll need to fulfill certain requirements. For example, the Product Mangement internship requires you to be a student in a business school with significant experience in the world of fashion or luxury, mastery of Microsoft Office and “perfectly written, read and spoken English.”

3. Chanel

If the best things in life are free, the second-best things are “very, very expensive.” You can get up close and personal with them if you land one of the many internships the French brand offers. They span areas like IT, Media, Sales, Supply Chain, Business Analytics and more. A six-month Media Assistant Internship in Dubai, for example, will require you to help in Campaign Planning and Activation, Social Media and Budgeting. Great English and Arabic communication skills are mandatory.

Great Louis Vuitton careers start with great connections. Source: Julien de Rosa/AFP

4. Louis Vuitton

The first step to Louis Vuitton careers? An internship with “the donkey brand” (as it’s nicknamed in China as the Chinese character for donkey is read as “lv”). No farming skills are necessary, however. Instead, what it’s looking for are applicants “invested in their company,” as a former digital merchandising intern tells Business of Fashion.

“They need to know that you understand what it is they expect, what they pride themselves on; they want to know you’re serious, not just about an internship, but an internship at their company.”

French designer Veronique Nichanian acknowledges the audience at the end of the Hermes Menswear Spring Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, on June 25, 2022. Source: Julien De Rosa/AFP

5. Hermes

The “creator, craftsman and merchant of high quality objects” offers internships in France (no surprises there) but also Hong Kong, the UK, and Italy. For the six-month Digital Intern role in Hong Kong, responsibilities include managing the daily e-commerce operations, researching the best practices of competitors and the daily launching of assets by e-retailers. You’ll need to be in Year Two or Year Three of a Computer Science degree.