Fashion Design Director Jobs

Description:

Consuela is a fashion and lifestyle brand creating products and experiences that inspire individuals to find joy in the journey. Consuela embraces vivid color and prints based on The Art of the Unmatched™, which blends purposeful contradictions that yield the unexpected. Inspired by our partnerships with artists and makers around the world, our products are as tough, versatile, beautiful, and resilient as the individuals who wear them.

PURPOSE OF JOB

• Lead the Design team to best interpret inspiration and direction from Founder/CEO into on-brand, timely, women’s accessories made in Mexico that meet aesthetic, assortment and business goals. This position helps excite and motivate our employees and customers through product design. The ideal candidate for this role will be able to blend creative vision with team leadership and development.

JOB DUTIES

• Partner with Founder/CEO and design team to ensure alignment with design intent and assortment goals during prototyping phase and throughout the entire design process.
• Maintain a high level of communication and collaboration with Founder/CEO, design team and peers to ensure continual progress toward timely, accurate and cohesive assortment completion.
• Facilitate timely approvals on completed proto samples to ensure that desired aesthetics are translated to finished product.
• Maintain all seasonal spec trackers, ensuring information is conveyed clearly to the team executing the seasonal spec.
• Travel to Mexico for inspiration and to work with internal teams, suppliers and factories (approx 4x per year)
• Drive the completion and accuracy of master specs.
• Develop and inspire the design team with a focus on individual and team development, continuous improvement, and reward and recognition.
• Partner with Product Development, Merchandise Planning and Marketing leaders to align and collaborate at key process milestones including the design calendar, priorities and approvals.
• Ensure spec accuracy through regular and timely reviews, notifying cross-functional teams of changes/errors.
• Drive the design team and key external partners to ensure that milestone deliverables and deadlines are achieved according to the calendar.
• Build a collaborative team and actively encourage a positive work environment for the team along with open and honest dialogue that helps support an overall company culture of collaboration, creativity and fun.
• Responsible for maintaining regular touch bases with Founder, VP of Product, Director of Development and all direct reports.
• Champion the Consuela aesthetic, quality expectation and innovative mindset.

Requirements:

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE

• 5+ years of experience managing a team of designers required
• Bilingual preferred (English/Spanish)
• Preferred Bachelor’s Degree in Design or Fine Arts or equivalent
• 10+ years of product design experience at a high-growth handbag, shoe or accessory company required
• Experience working in a founder-led company in a design role preferred

KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS

• Strong communication skills, written, verbal, listening and presentation skills
• Must be able to switch rapidly between projects in a fast-paced environment. Strong ability to clearly communicate and align on priorities, timelines and objectives.
• A strong sense for color, texture and print
• A solution-oriented mindset
• Category knowledge on handbags, small leather goods and accessories in both leather and synthetics
• Proficient in MS office, Illustrator, Photoshop and PLM systems
• Strong people management and leadership skills including translating vision into actionable objectives
• Excellent ability to listen, comprehend and communicate aesthetic and conceptual intent with a particular focus on brand objectives and production capabilities

COMPETENCIES

• Expertise in handbags with a focus on achieving aesthetic form and mechanical functionality
• A proven ability to define and achieve departmental objectives, strategies and develop plans with achievable timelines
• Strong communication skills with a proven ability to build cross functional partnerships to make effective decisions collaboratively
• A strong ability to build cross functional partnerships and work collaboratively
• A growth mindset: track record of leveraging past learnings, encouraging new ideas and smart risk taking in self and others
• Solid understanding of technical specs, ability to create, interpret and ensure their accuracy

Consuela is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, or any other status protected by federal state or local laws.