A trio of talented students at the University for Creative Arts in Epsom (UCA) were selected to edit the world’s biggest fashion magazine.

Sophia Chemaitelli, 20, won the intern role of picture editor for the October edition of Elle magazine, alongside Mariella Agapiou, 23, who won the features editor position, and Carly Allen, 24, was appointed art editor.

The fashion students were one of 11 winning interns who were given the opportunity as part of competition launched by Elle in June, Edited by the Interns 2012, to search for the country’s best work experience students who were then paid to edit an edition of the magazine.
 
The initiative, designed to nurture new talent and help the next generation of fashion and media stars to launch their careers in publishing, is the first time Elle has handed over its magazine in this way.

Ms Chemaitelli said: "It was amazing and scary to be putting an edition of Elle together knowing that it was going to be seen by hundreds of thousands of people.

"It was such a sense of achievement to build a feature from scratch with all of the different teams in the office.

"The highlight for me was holding the published issue in my hands for the first time - words can't describe the feeling.

"If I wasn't doing my degree at UCA, I wouldn't have built up the knowledge needed and confidence in myself to believe I could win the competition."

Ms Agapiou added: "I learned so much about the production and planning that goes into making such a fabulous title.  I’m certain those skills will be with me throughout my career but help me land my dream job."

Ms Allen agreed and said putting the pages of Elle together had been "inspiring".

Elle’s editor-in-chief, Lorraine Candy, praised the efforts of the interns selected for the "once in a lifetime" opportunity.

She said: "The interns have worked extremely hard and it’s fantastic that they’ll be able to share their experiences with Elle readers."