Vice President - Design

Li & Fung•New York, NY

21h

About The Position

We are seeking a Vice President – Design to lead the creative vision and strategic design direction for our key private label apparel customer. This design leadership role will oversee the development of innovative, trend-driven product across multiple apparel categories, with a strong focus on elevated brands, denim, sweaters, and other key growth areas. The Vice President will partner closely with the customer and internal leadership teams to drive creative innovation, strengthen customer relationships, and support the continued growth of the business through compelling product and market-leading design.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Fashion Design or a related field.
15+ years of progressive apparel design experience, including senior leadership experience within private label apparel
Proven success leading design organizations supporting major national retail customers.
Extensive experience across multiple apparel categories, including strong expertise in denim, sweaters, elevated fashion, and contemporary product development.
Strong understanding of apparel product development, sourcing, garment construction, fabrication, and manufacturing.
Demonstrated ability to build executive-level customer relationships and influence strategic business decisions.
Exceptional creative vision with strong commercial awareness and business acumen.
Proven ability to build, mentor, and lead high-performing creative teams.
Excellent presentation, communication, collaboration, and leadership skills.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment while managing multiple priorities and driving strategic initiatives.

Responsibilities

Lead the overall creative vision and design strategy across multiple private label apparel categories for a key customer.
Drive seasonal product direction and innovation across elevated brands, denim, sweaters, and other strategic growth categories.
Serve as the executive design partner to the customer, building trusted relationships and presenting seasonal concepts, trend direction, and long-term design strategies.
Identify emerging fashion, consumer, and marketplace trends and translate them into commercially successful product assortments.
Partner closely with Account Management, Merchandising, Product Development, Technical Design, Sourcing, and global teams to deliver innovative product that meets customer expectations and business objectives.
Lead the development of seasonal assortments from concept through commercialization, ensuring design excellence, product quality, and successful execution.
Champion innovation in silhouettes, fabrications, color, print, trim, washes, and product development while balancing customer needs, commercial viability, and profitability.
Drive category expansion and identify opportunities to grow the customer's private label business through new concepts, trend initiatives, and product innovation.
Build, mentor, and develop a high-performing design organization, fostering creativity, collaboration, and continuous professional growth.
Present seasonal design strategies, trend forecasts, and product concepts to executive leadership and customer partners.
Develop strong partnerships with global design teams, sourcing offices, and manufacturing partners to ensure best-in-class product execution.
Collaborate with senior leadership to support long-term business strategies, customer growth initiatives, and organizational objectives.