Trading in her textbooks for textiles, Berry College student Sydney Hulebak spent part of her summer with nationally-known fashion designer Billy Reid.
Hulebak is a communication major with a concentration in public relations and an eye for well-designed clothes.
She is from Huntsville, Ala., not too far from Reid’s studio in Florence. She decided to apply for the internship on a whim with the expectation that she would never hear back from such a posh designer. Reid's fashion is described as "the modern approach to American work wear and cultured Southern dandyism."
GQ and the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Reid the Best New Designer in America Award in February 2010. In November 2010, he won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award, becoming the first designer to win both prestigious awards in the same year. In addition to being featured in Vogue and GQ, Reid has also been included in Elle, Esquire, Details, Lucky, and The New York Times, among others.
Hulebak took inventory of fabrics, assisted in shipping products around the world and cut cloth for a pair of pants to be featured in Esquire magazine.
“Personally, this is something I have always dreamt of doing. Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to work in fashion,” Hulebak said. “I came into college thinking that I wanted to be a fashion journalist, which I would still love to try, but really discovered that I love the hands-on process too much to not give it a shot.”
At Berry Hulebak has worked as the outreach coordinator for Berry College Volunteer Services, as a 2011 SOAR Leader and in the Dean of Students office. She said each position has prepared her, both directly and indirectly, for her work at Billy Reid.
“My positions at Berry gave me a drive and a confidence to strive for an internship in fashion,” Hulebak said. “The positions taught me to think ahead and work hard.”
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