Role Summary
A Senior Menswear Designer leads the creative development of seasonal collections, ensuring alignment with brand identity, market trends, and commercial goals.
Role Responsibilities
* Be the custodian of the creative vision for FatFace Men's wear
* Create seasonal design strategy in collaboration with the design team
* Ensure the product strategy always reflects and re‑enforces FatFace style whilst pushing for innovation and newness
* Lead design projects as required including the development of new product ranges or collaborations
* Collaborate with Creative & Marketing leads to deliver vision
* Align self to company social and environmental mission and champion any actions that you can directly impact at all times’
Design
* Identify season trends appropriate for the FatFace brand through trips, research, competitor visits and reviews of past performance.
* Category design ownership, creating product specifications, fabric/yarn sourcing and developing with suppliers.
* Providing design direction and updates at department level to ensure the best product possible is selected and successfully signed off working in collaboration with buyer & merchandiser
* Monitor supplier and market activity to update knowledge with latest trends, techniques and washes to ensure FatFace products are up to date, high quality, pushing our sustainability strategy forwards and meeting the current and future customer needs
* Keep up to date with company, department and product sales performance and trading activity and feed into the design process
Lead
* Inspire, motivate and lead the mens wear design team
* Provide the team with clear accountabilities and direction
* Ensure the team understands and buys into the FatFace visions and strategy
* Build an effective team through coaching and feedback
* Manage timelines to ensure all critical dates are met
* Develop and maintain effective relationships with product teams, creative & marketing teams and companywide managers to ensure all functions operate as a team working towards achieving common objectives
Skills and Experience
* Commercial acumen
* Ability to react quickly in a fast‑paced environment, redefining goals where necessary.
* Instinctive taste level and leadership skills to inspire, motivate and suggest ways to make improvements to their team, to deliver a cohesive and inspiring brand experience.
* Understand market trends to ensure FatFace develops business performance. Balance of creative and process skills to manage deadlines and continually seek ways to improve working practices.
* Understands the FatFace style, customer and thrive to deliver the best ranges possible.
* Strong team player and people manager with the ability to gain trust, respect and confidence quickly & effectively.
* Builds relationships with suppliers to deliver product vision
* Strong presentation skills, ability to present at board level with confidence & leadership
* Understands and works within annual budget guidelines
* Collaborates with the creative and marketing teams to deliver successful PR and press events/initiatives
Key Contacts and Relationships
* Internal: Product team
* Internal: Creative & Marketing team
* Internal: VM
* Internal: People Team
* Internal: Finance
* Internal: FF Directors
* Internal: Retail ops
* External: Freelance Designers
* External: Industry contacts
* External: Industry fairs
Accountable for Resources
* Budget – freelance spend
* People plan and development
* Represents the brand image and handwriting – impacting on a wide area of customer facing brand collateral and seasonal communications. The visual proposition of these assets can strongly effect sales, plus both brand integrity and customer brand loyalty.
* Critical Illness Income protection/ Death in service (for salaried colleagues)
* Pension scheme – with net deduction and salary sacrifice options
* Dental insurance (colleague funded)
Discounts & Perks
* 60% off FatFace products
* 25% discount at Next stores (across full price products)
* Discounted gym membership
* Cycle to Work scheme (for salaried colleagues)
* EV vehicle scheme (for salaried colleagues)
* Perkbox – our online platform offering:
* Day‑one access
* Exclusive brand discounts
* Home workouts and more
* Specsavers eye care scheme
* Eye tests and contributions to glasses
* Free period products
* EAP support 24/7 via UNUM, Retail Trust, and Fashion & Textiles Support
Learning & Development
* Day‑one access
* 1,000s of learning resources
* Sabbatical leave (in line with service)
* Enhanced family‑friendly policies – including enhanced maternity leave
* Flexible Working Opportunities – flexible working requests can be made from day one of employment and are considered on an individual basis.
* Refer a Friend scheme
Equality and Inclusion
Equality and inclusion isn’t an aspiration but the standard. We promote and drive equality within our workforce to ignite an inclusive foundation for us all to build from and truly connect with our customers, colleagues, and communities alike. You play a key part in creating an environment free from prejudice, racism, sexism, harassment, bullying and any other form of marginalisation in our workplaces.
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