Free People Senior Designer - Dresses

Role Responsibilities

• Lead the design creation, development, and execution of own brand product appropriate for Free People Dresses with a focus on sensibilities ranging from Femmes, Sexy, Effortlessa - Only at Free People styles.
• Forecast fashion and cultural trends and understand how they relate to the Free People customer.
• Collaborate, brainstorm, and present monthly trend direction for your category alongside the Design Director.
• Push new ideas, concepts, and respond to business objectives with creative and innovative designs to move the category forward.
• Attend all fittings and support the Team through problem solving fit issues and communicating with cross-functional and vendor partners.
• Support seasonal development calendar for both Retail & Wholesale deliveries.
• Contribute creatively to the design process including sketching new ideas with the help of procreate and Adobe programs (Illustrator, Photoshop), researching new trends and ideas as well as utilizing ai platforms to increase creative research (such as MidJourney, PromeAi).
• Manage development and execution of all design packages alongside Assistant Designer and participate in all follow-up communication related to each package in partnership with the Design Coordinator & Product Development team.
• Show strong initiative and point of view on design research and staying up to date with industry trend direction, color direction, and fabric innovations that can relate to the Free People target customer.
• Execute original design ideas through sketches and draped & sewn mocks to communicate design’s vision in key meetings.
• Lead and develop 1-2 Assistant Designers.

Role Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design with 8-10 years experience in Dresses Design or related category preferred.
• Creative & Trend Vision: Creativity is a must! Having a strength in pushing new ideas, silhouettes, and design concepts. Demonstrate the vision to identify trends in their early stages and understand their impact to fashion, so we can be one step ahead for the aspirational customer.
• Expertise in taking aspirational ideas, focusing on the key details and make them work for a broader audience. Ability to research and report on industry trend direction, color/print direction, and fabric innovations approximately 9-12 months ahead of season.
• Passionate about dresses and the Free People customer.
• Excellent hand sketching and CAD skills in Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator Ai knowledge/experience not required would be a plus!
• Fabric/Sewing knowledge: Strong understanding of Cut & Sew Knits (Jersey) & Woven fabrications and technical ability to apply that knowledge on to fits and designs Ability to drape, mock and sew. Any knitwear/sweater experience not required but would be a plus!
• Soft Skills: Strong sense of organizational skills as well as passionate of fast speed environment Excellent communication skills to communicate ideas and inspirations to others and to interact with Designers, Buyers and other Cross Functional partners. Collaboration across teams is key at Free People Strong project management skills and ability to manage the whole design process for multiple projects at different production stages Ability to respond to business objectives with creative, innovative, and cost-effective design solutions Some experience with managing 1-2 team members would be added value.
• Proficient in Microsoft platforms (Excel, Powerpoint, Word)
• Ability to work on-site 3-5 days per week at our Home Office (Navy Yard) in Philadelphia, PA.