Fourth Floor
Our client, an apparel company, is looking for a Creative Director to join their team!
Responsibilities
- Lead the overall creative vision and brand direction, ensuring all product and design decisions stay true to the brand’s DNA and resonate with its diverse consumer base.
- Deeply understand the aesthetics and customer profiles of mall specialty retailers, as well as key urban sneaker and streetwear accounts.
- Regularly visit stores to analyze trends, competitive sets, consumer behavior, product execution, and visual merchandising, translating insights into relevant and compelling seasonal assortments.
- Direct, mentor, and inspire a cross-functional design team in a fast-paced, highly transactional environment with tight timelines and frequent product drops.
- Oversee concept development, line architecture, fabric direction, print/graphic strategy, and seasonal storytelling across multiple categories.
- Partner with merchandising, production, and sales to ensure creative alignment with commercial goals and retailer needs.
- Support and influence design direction for collaborative or globally designed product lines, particularly special make-up (SMU) programs tailored for the U.S. and Canada markets.
- Maintain awareness of emerging cultural, fashion, and youth lifestyle trends, ensuring the brand stays relevant and competitive.
Qualifications
- 8–12+ years of experience in creative direction or senior-level design within streetwear, youth culture, or lifestyle apparel.
- Strong understanding of skate, surf, streetwear, and urban fashion markets, with proven success creating product that resonates with these consumer segments.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret brand DNA and translate it into cohesive seasonal collections and high-volume, fast-turn product.
- Experience partnering with major mall specialty retailers and/or urban sneaker shop accounts; understanding of their aesthetics, price points, and consumer expectations.
- Exceptional leadership skills with experience managing and developing design teams in a rapid-paced environment.
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable driving multiple concurrent projects from concept through execution.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work closely across merchandising, production, and sales teams.
- Ability to balance creativity with commercial awareness, contributing to both brand-building and high-volume transactional business.
- Familiarity with global design influences and the ability to tailor international concepts to North American market needs.