Head of Fashion Design

Armada Group; Dubai; On-site; AED 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fashion company in Dubai is seeking a Head of Fashion Design to lead and elevate the brand's product experience for women. The role requires a strong background in fashion design, excellent leadership skills, and over 10 years of relevant industry experience. Responsibilities include managing design processes, conducting market research, and overseeing photo shoots. The ideal candidate must have a keen sense of trends and style, along with strong organizational capabilities.

Qualifications

• Expert in designing a Fashion Collection.
• Minimum 10 years of Fashion Design experience.
• Experience in exporting fashion industry.
• Knowledge of fabrics, colors, prints, and trims.
• Experience in creating sample lines.

Responsibilities

• Conduct market research to identify trends.
• Manage the full design process with the team.
• Create collections based on defined themes.
• Supervise photo shoots to ensure design integrity.
• Coach and train team members.

Skills

Fashion Design

Trend Analysis

Organizational Skills

Leadership

Sketching

Detail Orientation

Understanding of Merchandising

Education

College degree in fashion design or related field

Tools

Photoshop

Illustrator

Job description

The Head of Fashion Design is responsible for elevating the brand's product experience with a focus on Global Trends for Women. You will deliver and drive brand tools for various categories at brand. You can influence and inform the future of the category look & feel.

Responsibilities (In Order of Priority)

1. Department Strategy & Planning

• Conduct market research to identify new trends, fabrics, and techniques.
• Brainstorm with the Fashion Designers team to select seasonal themes, mood boards, and inspirations aligned with each brand’s DNA.
• Ensure all products are in agreement with the overall business strategy.
• Manage the full design process from conception through to final styling with the Fashion Design Team.

2. Designing

• Prepare the collection (30–50 options) based on the agreed color palette, mood board, and fabric.
• Ensure each collection includes complete outfits covering all categories.
• Present the collection to the MD for approval.
• Review the Senior Designer’s collection and discuss improvements before final MD approval.
• Create pre-designs using CAD along with technical sheets (Tech Packs).

3. Merchandising

• Maintain relationships with current suppliers and build new supplier connections.
• Coordinate with suppliers directly or through the Fashion Merchandiser regarding samples.
• Manage collection planning, reviewing, and ordering to ensure timely arrivals.
• Provide suppliers with detailed requirements (line-up, Tech Packs, sketches, fabrics, colors, measurements, etc.).
• Work on sample fitting after MD approval, giving suppliers feedback on quality and corrections.
• Negotiate with suppliers to achieve the best price while maintaining high quality.
• Oversee revisions of fit samples and ensure corrections are implemented.

4. Studio

• Supervise photo shoots to ensure collections are presented exactly as designed, especially for celebrity features.
• Support stylists in selecting the best match of items and accessories.

5. People Management

• Supervise, coach, and train the team, providing full support as needed.
• Evaluate the performance of each team member.
• Perform any other tasks required by the business.

Requirements

• Expert in designing a Fashion Collection
• A minimum of 10 years' Fashion Design experience.
• Strong sense of trends, style and colour.
• Work experience in exporting fashion industry
• Knowledge of fabrics, colours, prints and trims
• Strong organisational skills
• Experience in creating a sample line for photo shooting / exhibitions / lookbook
• College degree in fashion design or a related field preferred.
• Strong computer knowledge, including Photoshop and Illustrator
• Strong leadership skills required.
• Strong ability to hand sketch.
• Strong attention to detail
• Shape-building skills
• Understanding of merchandising as it relates to sales and store environment.