What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Designer position at Food Management Search?
Lead Women's Contemporary Designer
Occasion & Lifestyle Collection
About the Brand
We are an established women's contemporary fashion brand known for refined occasionwear, modern femininity, and elevated design. With a strong presence at leading retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, along with a growing direct-to-consumer platform, the brand continues to expand its reach and evolve into a full lifestyle destination.
The Role
We are seeking a visionary and detail-oriented Lead Designer to help define the next chapter of our brand. This individual will bring a distinctive creative perspective, strong market awareness, and the ability to translate inspiration into commercially successful collections.
The ideal candidate has a sophisticated understanding of women's contemporary fashion, with a passion for luxurious fabrics, thoughtful prints, impactful color palettes, and flattering silhouettes. Experience designing elevated occasionwear and lifestyle collections is highly valued.
Responsibilities
- Establish and execute seasonal creative direction in alignment with the brand's vision and growth strategy.
- Develop compelling collections across dresses, separates, and expanding lifestyle categories.
- Create cohesive seasonal concepts through color, print, material, and silhouette development.
- Identify emerging trends, customer preferences, and market opportunities to influence product direction.
- Balance creativity and commercial strategy to deliver products that resonate with the target customer.
- Collaborate with merchandising, product development, sales, and other internal partners from concept through final product.
- Present seasonal concepts, design ideas, and collection strategies to leadership and cross-functional teams.
- Support and mentor design team members while fostering a collaborative and inspiring creative environment.
- Introduce innovative ideas that strengthen brand identity and support future business growth.
Qualifications
- 7 years of experience designing women's apparel within a contemporary, premium, or luxury fashion environment.
- Strong expertise in occasionwear, special event dressing, or elevated women's categories preferred.
- Exceptional eye for color, print, fabrication, proportion, and overall aesthetic direction.
- Advanced understanding of fashion trends, customer behavior, and market positioning.
- Strong illustration, sketching, storytelling, and presentation abilities.
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite.
- Strategic thinker with the ability to combine creative vision with business objectives.
- Highly collaborative, organized, and capable of managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
The Opportunity
This role offers the chance to directly influence the evolution of a recognized women's fashion brand and help shape a growing lifestyle collection through innovative design, strong creative leadership, and a clear point of view.