Free People Associate Designer- Foundations & Seamless

About the position

Free People is seeking an Associate Designer - Foundation & Seamless to support the development process of private label product and assist the Designer/Design Director with both market and in-house developments for the Foundations & Seamless product line, with a strong emphasis on fitting, sewing, and bringing new ideas to life. This position will work closely with the Senior Designer to facilitate the design process and ensure a smooth workflow leading up to key meetings and presentations.

Responsibilities

• Support workload during design process and contribute to the creation, development, and execution of own brand product appropriate for Free People Intimates team across Foundation bras, soft bras, undies and seamless range.
• Contribute to the design process including sketching new ideas with the help of procreate and Adobe programs (Illustrator, Photoshop), researching new trends and ideas as well as utilizing ai platforms to increase creative research (such as MidJourney).
• Execute original design ideas and specific design development projects as assigned by the Design Director thru sewing, draping, and mocking, bringing key ideas to life.
• Set up spec sheets for all private label product & assist Designers with all developments & communication as needed.
• Participate in research and report on industry trend direction, color direction, and fabric innovations that can relate to the Free People target customer as assigned by the Senior Designer & Design Manager.
• Thrive in a fast-paced environment, flexible and agile are key strengths as well as being able to support Design Director & collaborate closely with entire Intimates team leading up to monthly presentation in supporting workload and jumping in where needed.
• Maintain an active role in the weekly Design Flow Meetings. Take notes and follow up on all outstanding issues.
• Manage development and execution of trim/ development packages, set-up spec sheets, technical sketches, and communicate fit and construction details to Technical Design & cross functional partners as needed.
• Assist in the preparation and organization of weekly development packages to be sent to the vendors.
• Partner with PD on the status of styles in development daily to ensure product execution meets design specifications and are on track in style development process.
• Exhibit understanding of business goals in relation to product designs.
• Review incoming garments with Designer and PD partners to ensure they are correct and in line with original intent as well as brand standards.
• Assist in sample preparation for monthly sales review meetings by collaborating with Designer on innovative presentations that effectively communicate line to Buyers and Brand leaders.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design preferred.
• Minimum of 3+ years in Intimates Apparel Design strongly preferred.
• Excellent hand and computer sketching/ CAD skills in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop as well as Procreate.
• Ability to sew, mock/ drape are essential for the role.
• Strong sense of technical design understanding and passion for technical portion/construction and making of foundation garments as well as undies and seamless.
• Knowledge across cut & sew knits and woven fabrications within bras and undies are a must!
• Proactive and self-motivated is a must for this role.
• Strong sense of organizational skills and proactiveness, great communication skills and ability to multi task.
• Proficient in Microsoft platforms (Excel, Powerpoint & Word).

Nice-to-haves

• Ai knowledge/experience would be a plus!
• Seamless background and knowledge would be added value.

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• PTO
• Generous employee discounts
• Retirement savings
• And much more!