Womenswear Fashion Designer/Product Development Manager

Kai Collective is a London-based contemporary brand intentionally crafted to make women feel their most confident. We make unique thoughtful pieces that fill the gap for statement high-quality pieces at an attainable price point. We’re not just creating clothes; we’re providing a conduit for self-expression and self-actualization.

Founded in 2016, we are a bootstrapped lifestyle brand focused on delivering value and achieving consistent yearly growth and profitability.

This role is dynamic, challenging, and exciting, playing a pivotal role in the company's success.

Responsibilities:

• Hybrid role combining fashion design and product development
• Have a great understanding of culture- past and present, and translate that into clothing
• Manage design process from conception to final styling
• Market research to identify new trends, fabric, and techniques
• Collaborate with team members to select seasonal themes and create new concepts
• Create product sketches and technical drawings
• Review product for style and fit, and revise if necessary
• Present story, mood board, colour boards to the team
• Work with founder to decide design direction of the brand each season
• Ability to communicate with manufacturers daily and effectively
• Oversee and manage product life cycle from inception through to final- update sample tracker and critical path
• Create product listings on website and know all products extremely well
• Work with merchandiser to analyse sales performance to inform design direction
• Lead all fittings: schedule fittings based on when items are received from manufacturers, gather necessary models or team members for try-ons, review product for style, measurement, fit and fabric revisions. Clearly and expertly document, and communicate all feedback accurately to the manufacturers.
• Document and archive all work on the drive in an organized and structured manner
• Test quality of samples (wash tests, all day wear test etc.) to ensure that the fabric and sewing of the garment are excellent

Who You Are:

• Able to sketch digitally and freehand
• Multitasker
• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent organisation and admin skills
• Must have a great eye and an excellent sense of style and colour
• Trendsetter and non-conformist
• Identify opportunities and think outside of the box
• Exceptional work ethic and comfortable with hard and pressured work
• Your designs demonstrate a love for structure, detail and maximalism

Requirements:

• Must have an excellent portfolio. Applications without a portfolio will not be accepted
• Must write a cover letter
• Highly proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud – specifically Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator
• Proven understanding of trend and colour forecasting

Benefits and renumeration:

• Competitive salary
• Clothing discount
• Beautiful office in Shoreditch
• Fun, intellectually stimulating and exciting working environment
• Opportunity to make a huge change in a small brand with a great purpose
• Tuesdays WFH most of the time

To apply for this role, please send your CV along with cover letter and portfolio to careers@kaicollective.com. Applications without a cover letter and portfolio will not be considered. Only successful applicants will be contacted.