neil coles: Senior Designer / Manager – Men’s Wear in milwaukee, WI

Senior Designer / Manager of the Men’s General Merchandise division. Responsible for the design and execution of all men’s apparel, Knits, Woven, Sweaters, Pants, Outerwear and Accessories product areas. Presenting to CEO, GM and category leadership during milestone meetings. Researching markets through competitor shopping, attending rallies, festivals, trend shows, and online business services. Creating seasonal concepts, trends, color palettes, key silhouettes and direction for the apparel line. Ensuring apparel vision both compliments and aligns with the brands Motorcycle product offering and cross functional product areas. Partner with Merchandise and Sourcing teams on building a line that protects key business areas whilst developing the line / assortment to identify product that is trend driven to appeal to a wider audience and develop new opportunities. Work closely with in house and freelance graphic and print and pattern designers on trend and brand relevant art for surface interest, pattern and branding. Managing the design calendar, seasonal deliverables and cross functional needs. Responsible for designing a premium seasonal collection for Jason Momoa that is a brand ambassador. Providing inspiration, color direction, styling and adhering to clients wishes on product whilst keeping the brands heritage. Working closely with the sourcing team to develop product that is American made and has the details and elevation expected for the collaboration. Continue relationship with client through fit sessions to final product, including branding and packaging. Partner with Harley Davidson license team on the kids wear line, seasonal projects and collaborations with outside brands. Creating initial inspiration decks for collaborations / partnerships on product line to build brand awareness to new and existing customer base. Attending meetings to give feedback on proposed designs and working closely with outside design teams to align on brand appropriate product that speaks to both brands. Work seamlessly with marketing and sales departments on product storytelling, photo shoots, styling, copywriting and sales catalogues. Manage, coach and mentor direct reports, identifying individual’s goals for self-development and growth opportunities. Setting appropriate check ins and yearly performance evaluation.

Senior Designer / Manager of the Men’s division, overseeing Men’s Knits, Sweaters, Men’s Bottoms, Tailored and Swim. Managing direct reports to complete entire process from initial sketching through to production of seasonal collections. Travel for seasonal production, trade shows, market shopping and trend research. Keep abreast of the market and interpret fashion and market trends to brand appropriate product. Compile seasonal color palettes and quarterly concept presentations. Work closely with print and pattern team on developing seasonal prints to drive newness in retrospective business areas. Presentation of the line to senior management and CEO during milestone meetings. Build relationships with merchandising team to develop a quarterly product line that meets business objectives whilst adhering to the company calendar. Managing fit sessions with cross functional partners to maintain the design aesthetic. Ensuring silhouette, fit and styling reflect designs vision whilst remaining on brand. Identifying opportunities for new business and growth areas whilst protecting core business areas. Partner with sourcing teams to constantly challenge cost and design into a cost effective product to improve product IMUs. Manage, coach and mentor direct reports, identifying individual goals for self-development and growth opportunities. Setting appropriate check ins and yearly performance evaluation. Work with licensed product and third party vendors on collaborations and product to enhance and grow the brands visibility.

Senior Designer / Manager for Kids apparel both Boys wear and Girl’s wear. The role reports directly into the VP of design. In my role I am responsible for the development of seasonal concepts and color pallets through trend research and competitive shopping. Interpreting the current trends into brand appropriate product for the Lands’ End customer and presenting to CEO and Leadership teams. Working closely with cross functional partners on innovation, new fabrics, treatments and styling. Introducing new fits to the line and being current with the marketplace. Staying brand relevant by attending pre-season and follow up fit sessions. Collaborating with cad and graphic design departments on both print and pattern as well as graphic designs. Working outside the kid’s department, collaborating with other team leaders with in Men’s, Women’s and Home to align on brand synergy and family messages. Creating key looks and outfits and communicating to the merchant and visual teams, following through to the blueprint of the Lands’ end catalogue, retail and online interface. Leading a team of six designers, managing individuals to direct and prioritize their workload to enable the department to meet crucial company calendar deadlines. Providing mentorship to team members, drawing from own personal experiences and transferring to develop and grow their own personnel skills and abilities. Setting yearly goals and objectives to be met with scheduled check ins. Team leader of Lands’ End Heritage task force to manage a team to research, document and prepare presentations of Lands’ End vintage product for both internal and external meetings with prospective collaborations.

Senior boys wear designer for all product areas including cut & sew knits, woven’s, denim, outerwear and sweaters. Report directly to VP of design and work closely to achieve design objectives. Responsible for conception through to production of the entire kid boy product. Seasonally focusing on sweater design using extensive sweater knowledge and experience to design appropriate range of brand appropriate sweaters. Compile seasonal trend boards and color pallets and present to leadership. Give inspiration to both graphics and cad designers on art and print and pattern direction. Managing and mentoring associate and assistant designer on a daily basis to ensure their growth and that company calendar and objectives are met in a timely manner. Meet with merchants and cross-functional partners to ensure product is followed through to deliver on designs vision. Seasonal travel both domestic and international for inspiration and competitive shopping.

Senior men’s wear designer / manager for all knits, fleece, sweaters and outerwear product. Compiling seasonal kick off presentation and delivering to leadership Identifying key new trends and creating season appropriate color palette direction. Directing seasonal graphic, print and pattern direction. Research and concept knit sweaters, developing new sweater yarns and knit techniques seasonally. Working with sweater mills and vendors in the far east to achieve cost effective sweaters that deliver on design brief. Collaborating closely with both the senior woven’s designer and girls wear designer to create cohesive product range across both areas. Fully responsible for managing knits design team, ensuring design brief is followed and market appropriate product is achieved. International and domestic travel for both inspiration and market evaluation. Travel for pre production to ensure designs are executed correctly and to develop new fabrics, yarns and trims for each season. Creation of tech packs and attending working fit sessions to ensure product meets expectations. Working closely with senior knits merchant on a daily basis to ensure company objectives and deliverables are met.

Senior boys wear designer for the entire knit and sweater product including outerwear. Overseeing the woven product to produce a cohesive range. Inspirational and competitive shopping both domestic and international. Creating and presenting new trend and concept boards to leadership. Designing seasonal ranges to roadmap and CC count, from new key silhouettes to value basics. Working closely with the graphic and CAD designers to produce seasonal graphics and print/pattern. Managing and directing woven’s designer and assistant designer on a daily basis to ensure deadlines are met and that product meets and exceeds expectation. Attend fits for each season ensuring new silhouettes execute correctly along with ensuring our fits compete with competition in the marketplace. Working daily with Senior Merchant to ensure that both company and product area deadlines are met. Meeting daily with production to follow initial designs through to final product to reach stores. Travel for pre-production to ensure designs are executed correctly and to develop both new fabrics and trims for each season. Covered for the Design Director while on maternity leave

Senior boys wear designer for all knit products. Responsible for seasonal brand appropriate collections for all of the boy’s knits, tops, bottoms sweaters including outerwear. Role requires presenting initial concepts and color pallets to CEO through the mocking up of vintage samples gathered from inspiration trips and vintage fair shopping. Working with internal washhouse and over seas factories to develop new fabrics, trims, washes and dye techniques. Managing a designer and an assistant on daily basis ensuring time is located on correct areas to ensure deadlines are met as a team Working closely with graphics to add brand relevant artwork to the garment designs. Develop print and pattern direction and work closely with the cad designers on execution. Developing a relationship and partnering closely with merchants and cross functional partners on a daily basis to ensure final product meets design brief and is achieved in a timely manner following our design calendar. Prepare relevant tech packs through PLM for product samples. Work with garment tech on fits, construction and details. Seasonal Travel for inspiration, attend trade shows and vintage fairs for samples and for market evaluation.

Garment and graphic designer for Junior’s product and Men’s Lounge wear. Responsible for identifying key trends and color direction. Designing ranges and following through from sample stage to finished garments. Producing graphics and branding for product. Working closely with buyers and merchants to ensure critical path is maintained. Inspiration travel for trends and market research. Traveling on Far East and European production trips and liaising with factories on new print/ application techniques.

Boys wear Garment and Graphic Designer for boys product area, tops bottoms and outerwear. Producing mood / trend boards and color palettes for each season and briefing out to external suppliers. Working closely with buyers and merchants on to ensure design challenges are met and company critical path is followed. Producing product designs both garment and graphic to enhance ranges developed by external suppliers. Seasonal Travel for inspiration and to attend trade shows for market evaluation.

Both boys wear and girls wear garment and graphic designer for Knits, fleece, jersey, woven’s and board shorts. Responsible for creating and presenting mood / trend boards and color palettes for each season and interpreting them into the Fat Face handwriting. Briefing freelance graphic designers on each season’s themes and working closely with them whilst developing some of my own graphics. Designing appropriate product for the Fat face brand and working closely with merchandiser and buyer to ensure that product is developed and delivered in line with the company calendar. Travel to Far East to work with factories on developing new product and ensuring design challenges are met. Development of new fabrics / washes / trims. Seasonal Travel for inspiration and to attend trade shows for inspiration and market evaluation.

Head of graphics for men’s wear. Responsible for all graphics and branding across all areas, presenting trend / mood boards for each season and developing appropriate graphics and marketing. Production trips to Far East and European factory visits to ensure correct product is delivered ensuring new and up to date techniques are used. Designing knits and jersey garments based on trends for each season and following them through to production as well as applying the graphics. Seasonal Travel for inspiration and to attend trade shows for market evaluation.

Boys wear Garment and Graphic designer for Jersey wear. Creating designs for both store and Next Directory catalogue for 4-16 year old boys. Responsible for researching current trends, both garment and graphic. Developing ideas and seeing them through to final production stage. Production travel to Europe and Far East to source fabrics, trimmings and to put samples into work from our Hong Kong office. Responsible for carrying out factory visits to keep up with new developments and techniques.