You might want to talk with the photograhers with whom you'll be working as an intern/apprentice. From a purely practical aspect, it would make sense for you to be able to use the same lenses and accessories and therefore try their gear (if they let you) before buying your own. Beyond that, Canon and Nikon both offer cameras that are under a $1000. There are other options but I've met less than a dozen fashion photographer who didn't shoot Canon or Nikon....Those rare exceptions shot medium format Hassleblad, Mamiya, or Pentax 645 type cameras with one actually shooting large format, view camera for some projects.