Fabric Lead, Women's Polo

About the Role

The Fabric Lead, Polo Women's is responsible for leading the fabric strategy, research, development, and execution across the Polo Women's business. This role serves as the key partner driving seasonal fabric direction, innovation, and commercialization. The Fabric Lead collaborates closely with Design, Product Development, Sourcing, and Production teams to deliver fabrics that support the Polo Women's aesthetic while achieving business objectives related to quality, cost, sustainability, and speed to market.

Responsibilities

• Lead seasonal fabric strategy, research, development, and innovation across Polo Women's categories.
• Partner with Design and Product Management leadership to develop fabric direction that supports seasonal concepts, customer needs, and business objectives.
• Identify and drive new fabric opportunities through trend research, competitive analysis, market insights, and supplier partnerships.
• Present seasonal fabric concepts, recommendations, and innovation opportunities to leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Oversee fabric development from concept through commercialization, ensuring alignment to quality, cost, and calendar requirements.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with global mills and suppliers to support innovation, quality, and execution.
• Partner with Product Development, Sourcing, and Production to ensure successful fabric execution and issue resolution.
• Champion sustainable material innovation and support the company's sustainability goals.
• Establish and maintain physical and digital fabric libraries to support seasonal development and organizational knowledge.
• Lead, coach, and develop talent while fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in textile research, fabric development, sourcing, and raw material innovation within apparel.
• Strong understanding of fabric construction, development processes, commercialization, costing, and sourcing.
• Experience partnering with global mills and suppliers to develop innovative fabric solutions.
• Strong understanding of product development calendars and the apparel product lifecycle.
• Knowledge of sustainable materials and emerging industry trends.
• Proven ability to influence and collaborate effectively across Design, Product Management, Development, Sourcing, and Production teams.
• Strong leadership, communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities and drive results in a fast-paced environment.

Pay

Salary range: $85,000 - $161,444 annually