Creative Director / Head Merchandiser
hace 9 días
New York
Job Description We are seeking a visionary and commercially driven Creative Director / Head Merchandiser to lead the creative strategy and design direction for our United States office. This role will be responsible for shaping trend-right, market-relevant apparel collections for global customers while aligning with manufacturing capabilities across sourcing and production hubs. The ideal candidate combines strong fashion instincts, deep market understanding, customer-facing confidence, and the ability to convert ideas into scalable commercial products for international retail brands. Category focus is womenswear, menswear, kids-wear, activewear, denim, outerwear. Category focus is on womens, mens, childrens, activewear, denim, outerwear but experience in all categories is not required for consideration. Key Responsibilities A) Creative Leadership • Define and lead the seasonal creative vision, design language, color stories, fabric direction, silhouettes, and category innovation., • Build commercially successful collections and assortments that are aligned to customer needs and emerging market trends., • Ensure all designs reflect brand DNA, consumer preferences, and retailer expectations., • Partner directly with buyers, retailers, and brands across United States, • Leverage our vertical manufacturing capabililties across global markets and present a strong understanding of design briefs and business needs., • Present trend forecasts, seasonal concepts, mood boards, and product ranges to clients., • Drive customer confidence through innovation, speed, and design excellence., • Work closely with merchandising, sourcing, fabric, sampling, and production teams across global offices., • Ensure designs are commercially viable, cost-effective, and production-ready., • Oversee prototype development, fittings, revisions, and approvals., • Balance aesthetics with margin targets, quality standards, and timelines. Team Management • Lead and mentor a team of designers, graphic artists, product developers, and freelancers spread across multiple locations through the globe, • Foster a culture of creativity, accountability, agility, and collaboration., • Build succession pipeline and strengthen creative capability within the organization. Trend & Innovation • Continuously monitor fashion, retail, consumer, and competitor trends., • Introduce new washes, embellishments, sustainable materials, techniques, and silhouettes., • Champion digital design tools, AI-assisted ideation, and speed-to-market innovation. Required Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design, Apparel Merchandising, Fine Arts, or related field., • 15+ years of progressive experience in apparel design / creative leadership., • Prior experience, or at global retailer and US brands preferred. Experience with an export house, sourcing company, apparel manufacturer, • Strong understanding of US retail market, consumer trends, and private label business of big US retailers., • Proven success working with major retailers / brands as design / merchandising senior executive., • Strong portfolio demonstrating commercial creativity and range development. Key Skills & Competencies • Creative vision with commercial acumen, • Strong leadership and team development skills, • Trend forecasting expertise, • Customer presentation and influencing skills, • Strong Networking ability across the US industry, • Cross-cultural stakeholder management, Strong planning and execution discipline, • Familiarly in Adobe Creative Suite, PLM tools, CAD, AI design tools is added advantage Preferred Experience • Experience working with offshore manufacturing teams in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, or similar sourcing markets., • Experience of working at senior positions at various US retailers and Brands,, • Exposure to categories such as womenswear, menswear, kids-wear, activewear, denim, outerwear., • Sustainability-led product development experience is a plus. Work Arrangement: • Hybrid schedule: four (4) days in-office, one (1) day remote, • Staggered hours to support overseas design and production teams. Morning calls are conducted from home, in-office arrival is later in the day, depending on business needs. Travel Requirements: • Domestic travel as required (1-2 nights stays), • Up to six (6) annual trips to the Far East, including India, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. (Vendor Fairs up to two (2) times per year, based on account needs) Compensation: • Annual base salary: $200,000 – $225,000, • Performance Bonus:, • Guaranteed minimum bonus equivalent to one (1) month’s salary, • Opportunity to earn up to three (3) months’ salary, subject to performance and company discretion