Sample Room Coordinator

Christopher Kane is the London label challenging fashion ideologies and notions of beauty since 2006. The ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary when collections that start with autobiographical inspirations are realised using innovative techniques. 

Founded by brother and sister Christopher and Tammy Kane, the label launched following Christopher’s award-winning Central Saint Martin’s MA show. 

London Fashion Week shows such as Domestic Services, Sex in Nature and More Joy are unpredictable and provocative. Each season is diverse yet distinctly Christopher Kane with sensuality, creativity and with ever present. 

Winner of the Vogue Fashion Fund and 4 British Fashion Awards, including New Designer of the Year and later British Fashion Designer of the Year.

Upending expectations of luxury with playful irreverence, the label is the benchmark for those who dress to please themselves.

The sister brand, More Joy, is a daily mantra, a talisman for hope and good karma; a message worth sharing.

First seen on the AW18 catwalk, More Joy by Christopher Kane has evolved into a standalone lifestyle brand with a dedicated community following. Alongside seasonal events and collaborations, the brand offers genderless jersey, homewares and accessories. The brand is managed by the Christopher Kane team.

Location: E8, London

Candidate:

To have a minimum of 3-4 year’s experience in a women’s wear Sample room role and have a sound understanding of the development critical path and on time delivery.   Must include Luxury experience within their employment history and worked across all women’s wear categories.  Good technical knowledge required of construction, in the areas of pattern, fusing, finishing’s and technical print knowledge for placement and technique. Candidate should be a good communicator, highly organized, good at relationship building and maintaining.  

Possess a strong work ethic and multi task personality to grow within the company.

Core Responsibilities:

Working within the framework of the seasonal women’s wear development cycles. Responsible for supporting the Development Manager for delivering the collection within the collection deadlines. Managing your personal and the entire workload of the sample room through freelancers and interns to ensure it all runs smoothly and on time.

General Responsibilities:

Management – Manage the sample room, sample cutters, sample machinists and a team of interns – ensuring they have consistent work flow, are supported in all areas and have directional daily meetings

Stock Control - Ensure that accurate records are kept when using raw materials in the sample room and updates are given to the Raw Materials Developer.

Garment Specifications – works with the Development Garment Tech and Development Manager to ensure that specs are created and regularly updated throughout the development process that matches the garment construction.

Inform all finishing techniques, all trims and linings relevant to the creation of the product. 

New Style Creation - Creates & issues style numbers. Archive all sketches and code them. Add them onto the season line sheet ready to insert allocations.

Fitting – Supports the Development Manager and Development Garment Tech in ensuring there are enough styles to fit when coordinating the Creative Director’s time.  Assists with ensuring that style amendments (Machinists are fully briefed with changes). Ensures deadlines are set with amendments.  Checks over specs and notes prior to cutting garments.

Print Placement - Works with the Print Designer, Development Manager and Head of Design and Development on placement of print on pattern pieces.

Season set up – ensures that Zedonk is set up with new styles.  Regularly updates Zedonk after fit meetings and development changes to ensure that margin information is always up to date and prepares Zedonk ready for the production handover.

Tech Packs for Proto Sampling – Actions the issuing of Tech Packs for processing by the Development Garment Tech and manage all BOM’s. Ensures that within the pack the hardcopy tech sheets have relevant fabric/trimming swatches on them and sends enough fabric, trimming and components for the factory to produce an on-time proto sample.  Development Manager sets deadlines with factories for proto delivery.

Production Handover Meeting – this is a comprehensive hand over of the RTW and Knitwear zedonk once the collection has been priced.  Runs through with production in detail of each style on Zedonk using it as a mutual checking that all is up to date and nothing is missed.

Production Fit meeting – Attends and provides relevant insights and discusses amendments based on Sales campaign feedback.  Should know the garments inside and out.

Seasonal Budget Trackers – Updates weekly the seasonal tracker for spend on Machinists and Sample cutters.  The trackers act as a quick reference tool and spend, but also as a tool for accounts. This is shared with the Development Manager.

Invoices   - Processes the Machinists and Sample cutters invoices and personally checks all details on the tracker and signs off invoices. Liaising with accounts to receive payment confirmations and passing this information to freelancers.  Chasing outstanding payments on behalf of freelancers where necessary. 

Opening/Closing of Season – works to ensure season is opened and closed properly from an administrative and inventory business perspective.

Travel/Factory Visits – Sometimes makes visit to factories as required to hand over sampling instructions and set deadlines as required. 

Touch Points – Fabric and Trims Developer / Garment Tech/ Production / Design / Ecomm / Digital Merch /Sales / Directors/