Job DescriptionPurpose of the role
Working in partnership with the multiple RTW departments to manage the fabric deliveries and development according to the seasonal brief.
Responsibilities
- Build a close working partnership with Design, Product Development and Production attending fabric meetings, providing feedback on technical feasibility, brainstorming ideas and troubleshooting when issues arise to ensure the design vision is translated into product
- Responsible for sample orders, leftover management, and price negotiations
- Responsible for all fabric data maintenance across different platforms.
- Responsible for seasonal budget and tracker.
- Build and maintain effective working relationships with suppliers and develop a strong working
- Knowledge of supplier capability and availability to meet demands
- Nurture and maintain strong relationships with suppliers, to secure the best pricing, lead times, and exclusivity when applicable.
- Attend appointments with suppliers, fabric fairs and visit agents for research when needed
- Responsible for purchasing and delivering fabric on time, to the quality standard, and within budget. Including checking invoices for payments and sending to the accounts department
- Upkeep of fabric cards, fabric boards, fabric rails - to be communicated across teams
- “A plus” - Verify certifications for suppliers and ensure all relevant documents to declare them
- sustainable are available
- Source new fabrics with attention to minimums, lead times, prices and sustainable criteria
- Research and development of new fabric concepts and techniques according to brief, pricing all selections:
o Samples
o Colourways
o Collaboration with mills and follow up on new designs/fabrics to ensure correct execution
- Create and maintain a fabric resource library to include core fabrics, and adopted seasonal fabrics
- Continue to build sustainability knowledge in fabrics to support the brand’s efforts to be environment friendly
Measures of Success
- Fabric delivery deadlines met
- Fabric development approval rate
- Fabric development in line with budget
- Data integrity on Zedonk / Airtable
Requirements
- Relevant industry experience in fabrics
- Ability to work in partnership with design, understanding and interpreting creative aesthetic and design vision and translate this into fabrics
- Technical capability and product knowledge with ability to confidently influence the Design team and provide on the spot solutions in:
o fibers & filaments
o fabric & yarn construction
o fabric finishing
- Knowledge of industry standard testing protocols
- Able to manage within a budget with commercial awareness and understanding of cost of fabric, achieving a balance between creativity and commercial implications throughout the development process
- Experience working on site with suppliers and operational knowledge of factories, delivering clear briefs
- Ability to react swiftly and troubleshoot when issues arise, acting with a sense of urgency and diligence to resolve
- Strong drive for results and proven ability to proactively move projects through to completion
- In depth knowledge of fashion and apparel, knowledge of trends, the market, luxury brands and consumer
- Collaborative team player with strong initiative
- Flexible and adaptable
- Computer skills: Zedonk, PLM, Illustrator, Photoshop, Excel