Lane Bryant is looking to drive the research and development of seasonal fabric assortments within their quality standards and cost targets.
Requirements
- Solid fabric construction knowledge across multiple specialized areas (i.e. woven, knit, yarn, trim) and general fabric construction understanding in intimate apparel.
- Strong aptitude and understanding of dyeing, printing, and finishing techniques.
- Awareness of fabric trends, direction, and research avenues.
- Strong cost negotiation skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Must have ability to work cross functionally and to communicate at all levels within the organization
- Minimum of 5-7 years experience within design, fabric research & development within apparel fashion retail and/or wholesale industry.
- Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design, Textile Science/Design or related field.
Responsibilities
- Research and stay abreast of aesthetic fabric trends and technological developments.
- Develop fabric options suitable for end-use performance and quality expectations of the brand (and meet our fit-for-purpose requirements in total) and meet costing/IMU requirements seasonally.
- Partner with Design and Sourcing teams to initiate and drive fabric adoption process. Assist in building seasonal fabric concept boards.
- Negotiate fabric costs for all areas of the business holistically and directly with the mills and or vendors to ensure best costs are achieved.
- Document annual fabric consumption by quality and by mill to leverage cost negotiations independently of vendor (including market vendors)-revisit annually.
- Collaborate and problem-solve with the mill and factories on any fabric related issues during development and production.
- Create and maintain fabric library with costs for each department of the business.
Other
- Minimum of 5-7 years experience within design, fabric research & development within apparel fashion retail and/or wholesale industry.
- Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design, Textile Science/Design or related field.
- Applicants to this position must be authorized to work for any employer in the US without sponsorship.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Must have ability to work cross functionally and to communicate at all levels within the organization
- The Company is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from diverse candidates.
