Senior Womenswear Designer

The ideal candidate is a highly creative individual with a comprehensive knowledge about the history of contemporary fashion, with the expertise to draw inspiration from cultural research influences spanning film, music, architecture and photography. We are looking for a professional with a minimum of 7 to 10 years of experience, who is currently working at a senior level and looking to shift to a leading role within a growing UK-based brand.

The Senior Womenswear Designer is part of the Studio Nicholson Design team and is responsible for designing and executing seasonal collections for Womenswear ready to wear. Expertise designing luxury product across all categories is essential, alongside the ability to understand the nuances of the Studio Nicholson aesthetic. The ideal candidate will have the confidence and ingenuity to drive the modular wardrobe forward, using the success of previous seasonal collections as the foundation.

The Senior Designer has a strong understanding of the product they are responsible for and works closely with Creative Director and Product Development team. The senior Designer will also partner with other members of the Design Team to create a cohesive collection that is aligned across product groups with clear storytelling reflecting seasonal concept ideas.
 

Research and Design

• Directly supporting the Creative Director in the creation of the Women’s Ready-To-Wear collection.
• Researching new trends and developing creative proposals that are line with the Brand’s strategy, translating these into product in line with the seasonal concept direction
• Design seasonal womenswear collections according to the seasonal brief given by Creative Director.
• Respond creatively to projects in whichever medium appropriate, drape, collage, maquette mock up.
• Engage in research ensuring our customer focus by constantly evaluating customer types, trends, insights, and tendencies
• Provide a high level of awareness and knowledge of current and future trends and to use this enhance the design quality of the department
• A keen eye for details and attention to the functionality of the product
• Working collaboratively with Fabric on selection of cloths, lining and trims ensuring full depth and breadth of offer whilst remaining price point sensitive as directed by Product Team and for final review of the Creative Director.
• Responsible for creating sketches, technical drawings of external and internal details and specifications.

Commercial Awareness

• Committing to commercial constraints of the brand, responding to comments from the Sales and Merchandising teams.  
• To ensure cost and commerciality is considered when designing
• Present in all fitting womenswear prototypes and samples
• Be able to work to a commercial Range Plan each season, collaborating with the Merchandising team on bestseller management, essential product and seasonal newness

Communication

• Communicate, implement and manage information relating to design in a timely way to ensure smooth handover and achieve on-time delivery of proto and SMS collections.
• Create and implement processes as the business grows for the design team.
• Build strong working relationships with surrounding team on collections and satisfy commercial requirements.
• Support and lead the Design and Development team. Responsible for communicating all relevant and appropriate information clearly and concisely, in a timely manner; to enable the team and the manufacturers to keep within the milestones of the critical path.
• To clearly communicate designs to pattern cutters so they can effectively produce in-house patterns and toiles. Advising priority based on design needs.
• Keeping all seasonal fabric to sketches fully updated at all times, so that all teams can access the relevant and correct information whenever necessary.  

Time management

• Responsible for meeting key design deadlines on time according to the critical path
• Ensure that the meetings required with the Creative Director are arranged in line with the collection needs 
• Capable of mapping out the Womenswear design team needs throughout the seasonal design process
• Work as part of strong and dynamic team 

Reporting to the Creative Director

PROFILE

• 7-10 years of experience in Womenswear Design 
• Ability to translate trends into a commercial collection with a contemporary handwriting

• Excellent hand-drawing skills

• Excellent knowledge of software such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

• Fabric and material knowledge

• Highly skilled in creative research and knowledge of trends and competitors

• Creative, flexible, and determined team player, able to handle stress

• Fluent in English; both written and verbal

• Degree and/or diploma in Fashion Design with excellent knowledge of History of Art, Costume and Fashion

• Previous experience in the luxury sector