Trend & Fabric Specialist

Return to Product Development

Filled

Impact the business as this leading retailer continues to expand their products in volume and complexity.  They are seeking a highly skilled Trend & Fabric Specialist to help move them forward.  As a Trend & Fabric Specialist, you will be responsible for leading the direction on color, fabric, and industry leading trends. Because their product development efforts are currently handled by cross-functional teams, you will also be instrumental in liaising communications with various design teams, sourcing teams, merchant teams and key stakeholders to drive the highest quality product according to specification, delivery, and costing expectations.

EXPECTATIONS FOR SUCCESS

·    Work closely with key stakeholders to align on the strategic initiatives by family of business to capture the brand vision and explore innovative growth opportunities.  

·    Partner with the Brand Managers to interpret consumer behavior, building color, and fabric libraries, which translate into seasonal trends for milestone meetings.

·    Research market trends through comp shopping, runway, fashion publications, web-based services, and trade shows.

·    Coordinate, create, and present corporate seasonal trend presentations across multiple business models with the merchant teams.

·    Collaborate with the Sourcing Managers to leverage fabric opportunities between brands and suppliers, thereby creating cost savings business models to improve gross margin.  

·    Liaise with global business partners for newness in fabric technology to support sustainability efforts.

·    Maintain fabric library and explore efficiencies across business units to capitalize on velocity items.

·    Approve fabrics and color submits to deliver the highest standards for our customer centric audience.

·    Support internal PLM & Gerber WEBPDM resource tools, and maintain departmental color system, along with exceptional digital data management.

KEY ATTRIBUTES

·    Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design or equivalent

·    3-5+ Years’ experience in Apparel Design

·    Expert technical knowledge of fabric/yarn constructions and performances

·    Strong background in PLM software

·    Superior technical knowledge of CAD software and hardware requirements, specifically Adobe Creative Suite, Gerber WEBPDM, PowerPoint, and Excel

·    Outstanding interpersonal, verbal, written and presentation skills

·    Self-starter with excellent project management and leadership skills

·    Ability to collaborate and coordinate across multiple business partners, both internal and external

·    A strong sense of urgency and ability to strategize solutions under aggressive deadlines

·    Must be detail oriented, well organized and thrive in fast pace, dynamic environment