Inside the Condé Nast Fellowship: Tatler

Being selected for the The Condé Nast Fellowship at Tatler gave me the opportunity to experience magazine journalism far beyond what I could have learned in the classroom.

From the very beginning, no two days were quite the same, and that unpredictability quickly became one of my favorite parts of the placement.

I spent most of my time working alongside the digital team, researching and writing everything from fast-paced news stories to longer-form features for Tatler.com, while also pitching ideas and helping to upload content.

I was also given the opportunity to venture beyond editorial. Working with the beauty team, I helped organize a shoot, called in products from brands, and assisted on set. Seeing the process move from emails and spreadsheets to the finished shoot was one of those moments that made me realize just how many moving parts sit behind the pages of a magazine.

Working at Condé Nast had always existed somewhere in the dream job category for me. I had spent years consuming magazines, following journalists, and imagining what actually happened behind the doors of publications like Tatler, so walking into the Adelphi on my first morning felt slightly surreal.

While popular portrayals such as The Devil Wears Prada often shape perceptions of the fashion and magazine industries, my experience proved far more collaborative, supportive, and welcoming than I had anticipated.

From my first week, I was welcomed into the team with a level of kindness that immediately put me at ease. People took the time to explain what they were working on, invited me into meetings, and, most importantly, listened when I had an idea of my own.

That was probably the biggest change I noticed in myself throughout the placement. At the beginning, I was very conscious that I was the intern, but as the weeks went on, I began to realize that being useful in an editorial office often means thinking one step ahead.

Rather than simply completing a piece of work and waiting for the next instruction, I started asking myself what else might need doing. Could I research another angle? Was there a follow-up story? Could I suggest something for social media? I became much more confident offering ideas and trusting my own editorial instincts.

Writing regularly also changed the way I approached my work. My program at Vogue College had taught me the foundations of journalism, but Tatler taught me the importance of understanding exactly who you are writing for.

A perfectly good sentence was not necessarily a Tatler sentence. I had to learn when to make my writing sharper, when to add humor, and when a story needed that extra detail that would make a reader want to keep going.

The experience also showed me just how varied magazine journalism can be. One moment I could be deep in research for a feature; the next, discussing a news story, uploading copy, or helping prepare for a beauty shoot. I loved that unpredictability.

If there was one question I wanted the placement to answer, it was whether the career I had imagined for myself would live up to the reality.

It did.

The fellowship has cemented my determination to pursue fashion journalism. I loved the pace of the digital team, the constant search for the next story, and the mixture of creativity and research involved. More importantly, the experience changed the way I see my future career.

Before the fellowship, Condé Nast felt like an almost mythical place that existed at the end of a career path I was only just beginning. Spending five weeks inside it made that ambition feel considerably more tangible.

I left with stronger writing skills, a much clearer understanding of how an editorial team functions, and, perhaps most importantly, far more confidence in my ability to contribute to one.

Walking into the Adelphi on my first day, I felt incredibly lucky simply to be there. Walking out at the end of the fellowship, I felt certain that I wanted to find my way back.