From the creative department at Tory Burch, to Teen Vogue, to her very own photography company, Alissa Pollack is a force to be reckoned with in the creative field. Sitting down with Pollack at Starbucks, she talks casually about experiences working for some of the industry leaders in fashion with complete humility.
Pollack is a graduating senior who has not only started her own company, but has created her own major “Individual Studies”. This specialized major allows her to have a concentration in fashion, photography and 2D media, but is uniquely challenging because she must get every single class approved by administration. She paves the way making connections in the fashion industry, working alongside a small group of only 15 other seniors in this major.
Pollack plans to move to New York City after graduation and work for a fashion company. Through her internships, she found that, although she loves photography, she takes a special interest in the behind the scenes work of a photo-shoot. During her time as a Styling and Creative Intern for Tory Burch, she worked behind the scenes with photo-shoots utilizing “look-books”, which creative departments use to lay out different looks based on the mood and style for the season.
“What most people don’t know, is that all of these decisions are both creative and business driven, a lot of data goes into this process,” Alissa says.
Alissa says her advice to those aspiring to enter the fashion industry is to keep up with connections constantly, make a list of companies you are interested in and find people you can network with— Miami alums are especially useful. She adds, “I’m constantly on LinkedIn. I love it.”
Scroll down to view some of Alissa’s work.