Sydney Brice, a merchandising, apparel and textiles senior at Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, spent the summer in New York City completing a raw materials internship with Victoria’s Secret.   

Thanks to her experience in the UK Textile Testing Lab and a well-maintained LinkedIn profile, Brice came to Victoria’s Secret’s attention, and a company representative reached out to her about the summer internship.   

While interviewing for multiple internship opportunities this summer, Brice was most impressed by Victoria’s Secret because it seemed like everyone there was eager to help her learn. That impression was correct, and her coworkers’ openness to teaching was the most impactful part of her internship.   

“My manager and her team genuinely wanted me to learn and set me up for success afterwards,” Brice said.   

Brice expressed interest in lace, for example, so her coworkers set up a meeting with a mill that develops lace. By the end of an hour-long presentation, Brice had learned everything that mill could teach her about how lace is developed.  

Meeting with mills and vendors about new designs, trends and technology was a large part of Brice’s work with the raw materials team, which finds and tests materials to maintain Victoria’s Secret’s standards.  

UK’s Textile Testing Lab was “huge” in preparing Brice for this work. As a student technician, Brice evaluated specifications of materials, such as fabric weight and yarn count. She also tested the aesthetic and functional performance of finished products, including breaking strength and color retention.   

“Sydney was an excellent technician,” said Elizabeth Easter, professor in the Martin-Gatton Gatton CAFE Department of Retailing and Tourism Management and director of the Textile Testing Lab. “I am excited that the experience helped her secure a raw materials internship with Victoria's Secret.”  

Brice said her advice to younger UK students is to take advantage of the opportunities right here in Lexington. In addition to the lab, Brice worked with a local Lexington resident who requested a student’s help with a closet clean-out.   

“Keep your ear out for what's going on around Lexington, and take advantage of your professors and who they know,” Brice said. “Keep yourself open.”  

Though she was willing to move anywhere for the summer, the Indiana, Pennsylvania, native was daunted at first by New York City. But she had a lot of fun in the “fashion hub,” including with her fellow interns.   

The group of interns worked together on market research and trends, and the interns ended the summer by proposing products for next year. Outside of work, Brice and her fellow interns had built-in friends to explore the city with during their 12 weeks there.   

“After being with Victoria's Secret, it really did confirm that I like New York City, and I think I will be staying within the raw materials area for right now,” Brice said. “But I also want to keep exploring and seeing what else is out there.”  

To learn more about the Department of Retailing and Tourism Management at Martin-Gatton CAFE, visit https://rtm.ca.uky.edu.  

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Writer: Bailey Vandiver, bailey.vandiver@uky.edu  

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