Junior Menswear Designer

SSENSE is a global technology platform operating at the intersection of culture, community, and commerce. Headquartered in Montreal, it features a mix of established and emerging luxury brands across womenswear, menswear, kidswear, and Everything Else™. SSENSE has garnered critical acclaim as both an e-commerce engine and a producer of cultural content, generating an average of 100 million monthly page views, and achieving high double digit annual growth and profitability since its inception.

SSENSE backed Designer menswear label, LỰU ĐẠN was launched in January of 2022, from designer’s Hung La & Lea  Dickely, co-founders of luxury label Kwaidan Editions. Referring to a Dangerous Man in Vietnamese,  LỰU ĐẠN is a collectively realized dream anchored by the shared experiences of Asian men, unfettered  by one-dimensional tropes and expectation. Yielding new depth and unalloyed visibility for Asian  masculinity, the LỰU ĐẠN man embraces his heritage and finds pride in his identity in a way that feels  defiant and provocative. He uses his voice to build bridges between the interiority of his world and the  larger, global community and encourages others to do the same.

Reporting into Vice-President, Brand Development, the Junior Designer will work in high collaboration and receive detailed direction from the Lu’u Dan Creative Director. The Junior Designer, Lu’u Dan will have had design experience in menswear from concept creation to realization, and an interest in cultural movements, trends and social behaviors. The Junior Designer, Lu’u Dan will be coordinating input from across design and product development teams, and pitching in where needed. Since this is a rapidly changing environment, passion, resilience and team-orientation are also critical in this role. 

Responsibilities

Design Research & Ideation 

• Present continuous insights throughout the year  based on thorough market research on emerging trends in fabrics, yarns, trims, color, and styling  to the Vice President of Brand Development and the Lu’u Dan Creative Director 
• Design, pose compelling and inspirational ideas inline with Lu’u Dan brand ethos  to the Vice President of Brand Development and the Lu’u Dan Creative Director 
• Launch trials and or studio samples with manufacturers to ensure development and costing feasibility

Concept Development 

• Collaborate with the Creative Director, Lu’u Dan in the execution of concepts
• Create detailed mood, color, seasonal fabric and trim boards 
• Take the briefs from the Creative Director and design and enrich them

Design Execution & Operations 

• Create Cad drawings, tech packs with accurate design sketches, constructions details, specifications and  bill of materials ensuring the smooth creative handover of each garment to manufacturers and the  product development team with minimal clarification needed 
• Adhere to a cross-functional calendar and attend meetings as required 
• Attend fittings, provide input in the direction of fit, update tech packs with fit comments to ensure design aesthetic and overall quality are communicated
• Update Collection Plans and launches
• Take measures and check finishing of garments
• Maintain daily communications with the Product Development team on launches, materials, factory allocations to realize the products

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
• A minimum of 3-5 years experience in a design role
• Meticulous and very precise 
• Takes Initiatives and carries on with minimal instructions 
• Ability to anticipates and work on their feet 
• Knowledge of fashion culture / familiar with Kwaidan Editions or Lu’u Dan references 
• Strong understanding of SSENSE perspective 
• Efficiency and proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, and Microsoft Excel
• Fluent in English, as well as some Italian and or Portuguese a plus
• The candidate must be eligible to work in the UK 

Skills

• Strong hand drawing skills 
• Strong organization and coordination skills
• Strong visual communication & presentation skills 
• Strong technical knowledge in garment construction and understanding of garment finishes
• Graphic Design experience a plus 
• Entrepreneurial spirit and comfortable with hyper growth in a fast paced environment 
• Ability to consolidate a broad set of research into concise presentations
• Creative and analytical thinker: Ability to articulate and present creative ideas
• Resourceful and solution-oriented 
• Independent mindset, forward-thinking
• Strong sense of aesthetics
• Demonstrated ability as a strong internal collaborator  

Application requirements: Digital portfolio