Womenswear Designer
At Crew Clothing, we believe
clothes are about so much more than “just clothes”. Designed with the spirit of
the south coast in every stitch, our crossed oars are a mark of timeless
British style. These are clothes for life’s best moments.
We believe in collaboration, kindness and
creativity, in celebrating our successes and championing our customer at every
step of the way. From ’93 to now, people have been at the heart of everything
we do. It’s in our name – Crew.
We are looking for a Womenswear Designer to come and
join the team and be responsible for the designs and design pack set ups for
all structured woven product on Womenswear (including trousers, denim, shirts,
outerwear & jackets.
Responsibilities:
Trend
& Market Research
- Maintain awareness of seasonal trends
through market shopping, trend research and stay current with
competition. Gain knowledge of multi-market product ranges.
- Create presentation material for
trend, colour and must-have product in your categories.
- Shop trend in retail markets seeking
new merchandise ideas, as needed.
- Create presentation boards
- Work alongside the WW and MW design
team and HOD to forge ahead with cohesive collections, with consideration of
how this all ranges together and provides the customer with wardrobing options
in line with our brands.
Colour,
Print and Fabric Research & Development
- Develop and update seasonal coloured
range boards, maintaining awareness of market colour direction and internal
brand colour stories.
- Research market -identifying specific
fabrics, yarns for the season, work directly with factories, mills & the
buying team to source each fabric to meet the specific pricing needs of the
wovens collection.
- Select each style’s fabric, trims,
materials and colours that fit into the mood board direction and create style
plans.
- Work with team to develop standards
to maintain and grow the internal material library.
Product
Development & Development Packages
- Design for womenswear specified
categories within the design department.
- Prepare range and presentation boards
for range reviews and buyer/product meetings. Create presentation materials for
product range sign -off meetings. Work with the design team to keep up to date.
- Be prepared with proto samples, store
bought samples, fabric swatches, sketches and tears during Development Meetings
- Create flat technical sketches and
packs for design development packages
- Create design development Package
with components
- Manage and maintain all information
through to final approval.
- Manage seasonal range sheets
- Maintain records of range sheets
ensure they are updated and correct for product range selection.
- Suggest colour direction for garments
to properly balance the product and seasonal collections.
- Review and approve proto samples with
technical team.
Team
Collaboration
- Work with technical team to ensure
tech packages are accurate and complete; review with HOD and provide specific
feedback and collaborative direction when necessary.
- Adhere to the seasonal critical path
and action calendars. Work collaboratively with internal and external
supplier, teams, buyers and technical dept.
- Updating all VRP’s and cads for the
design team and own departments. Elevate calendar issues and provide resolution
in order to maintain calendar dates.
- Approve fabric samples, lab dips and
other development materials sent from factories. Work collaboratively with
internal material management teams to provide feedback and clear and concise
direction in order to execute approvals properly.
- Communicate on a daily basis with
overseas offices.
Key Skills and Experience:
- Experience within a designer role
within the fashion industry.
- Excellent illustrator skills,
proficiency in PC operation, Excel, Adobe Photoshop software
- Ability to impact and influence
design team to gain buy-in for product that will influence the Crew customer.
Ideally, experience of working in a global matrix environment.
- Knowledge of how product is sourced,
developed and marketed
- Exceptional communication and
presentation skills and ability to understand how to adapt presentation for
relevant audiences.
- Ability to understand brand
strategies and to work in a collaborative environment.
- Strong design and conceptual skills
- Strong colour sense / print sense
- Ability to quickly understand the
target customer
- Ability to quickly analyse
data/situations and draw relevant conclusions to have positive effects on
business in a complex environment
- Detail-oriented with excellent time
management and organizational skills
- Ability to multi-task, problem solve,
and think outside the box in a fast-paced environment