This job has expired, please see additional jobs below
Design Director
Cole Haan
New York, NY, United States
Job Details - this job has expired, please see similar jobs below
Design Director, Women's Grand Footwear
Mission/Role
This position will work under the direction of the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) to lead the ideation, creation and development of inspirations, stories, vision and innovative product solutions that help drive the Cole Haan Grand & Sport Lifestyle Footwear business (Zerøgrand, Øriginalgrand, Grandprø). This individual will be at the forefront in the creation of industry leading seasonal product which will be informed by expertise and knowledge of women's sport and casual footwear and popular culture including, style, sport and fashion trends, art and music.
CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES:
Create innovative, proprietary, industry leading Grand and sport lifestyle product solutions that reflects Cole Haan's design ethos of craft, style and engineering and connects to the female Cole Haan consumer.
Lead and drive the seasonal direction and strategy for the Grand category in partnership with the CCO, Men's design team and merchandising in alignment with marketplace trends and the brand direction.
Partner with CCO and Design Directors to disseminate and execute design strategy throughout category and cross-functional teams.
Present and create professional level presentations of seasonal stories, thematics and concepts; from initial concepts to detailed renderings to digital presentation, and verbally presents category strategies with clarity and expertise.
Direct and create technical specs within groups and the timely completion of corrections as needed to align with the Go-To-Market deadlines.
Actively participate in footwear proto reviews in New York and New Hampshire ensuring design integrity is maintained through to final sign-off.
Direct, coach and mentor team members across product, process and presentation.
Special projects as assigned.
***Please submit applications with link to online portfolio or work samples***
Requirements
• Bachelor's Degree in Design with 8+ years' relevant experience in the footwear design
• Minimum of 3 years of management of a design team and direct reports
• Strong experience in concept creation, color strategy, technical footwear expertise, and product execution
• Strong knowledge of fashion and market trends with an understanding of Cole Haan product aesthetic, image and quality
• Must have traditional hands on footwear development skills (material specs and tech packs)
• Able to convey design details to manufacturers
• Must be able to travel both domestically and internationally; role requires frequent travel to and from New York and New Hampshire
• Must have a high degree of proficiency with Digital Design Platforms (expert 2D abilities in Adobe Illustrator) and hand sketching ability
• Working knowledge of Macintosh systems, Microsoft Office, Outlook, and PLM
• Ability to work under deadlines, manage multiple priorities, work independently, take initiative, and pay close attention to detail
• Enthusiastic about design, inspiring, creative, forward-thinking and energetic
• Organized, structured, and pushes oneself to exceed expectations
• Adaptable versatile, and able to work under pressure to tight deadlines and able to multi-task
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
About Us
Cole Haan is a pioneer in inventing and reinventing modern dress footwear, bags and accessories through our ZeroGrand and GrandSeries product lines. Customers who seek style, versatility and comfortable function in their products come to Cole Haan.
Cole Haan is rapidly growing in the United States and abroad. The brand is sold in more than 45 countries through 110 branded retail stores within the United States, 200+ branded store and shop-in-shop locations internationally, on our global digital flagship, colehaan.com, and within leading department store and specialty retail partners throughout the World.
Our headquarters is in Greenland, New Hampshire. We have offices in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, Amsterdam and sourcing offices in Asia.
We seek hard-working employees who are entrepreneurial-minded, solutions-oriented team players who accept and own accountability, model integrity, value individuality and diversity, encourage teamwork and inspire creativity.