Head Designer - Womenswear

seek.com.au; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid parental leave

Paid time for preventative health

Early finish Fridays

Job summary

seek.com.au is seeking a Head Designer for its established Australian resort label in Melbourne. You will lead the creative vision, set seasonal direction, and develop briefs across colour, print, and material directions.

You will grow the brand’s DNA while mentoring a small design team and ensuring collections align with market needs and brand strategy. You will partner with leadership, marketing, and production to ensure on-time, on-cost delivery of premium product and cohesive storytelling

Qualifications

• 5+ years of womenswear design experience, including a lead, head or sole-designer role
• Experience leading and developing a small design or technical team
• A clear creative point of view with strong commercial instinct for margin, pricing and what sells
• Technical strength in garment construction, fit, fabrication and costing
• Confidence with tech packs and vector/graphic tools (Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop)
• Experience working with offshore agents, vendors and factories to a critical path

Responsibilities

• Lead the creative vision for the label and set the seasonal direction
• Develop seasonal and monthly design briefs covering colour, print and material direction
• Grow the brand’s DNA and push collections forward
• Present the creative vision and range plans to the leadership team
• Lead a small hands-on design team and mentor junior staff
• Design the collections and build balanced, commercial ranges across categories
• Source fabrics and trims and develop original prints and artwork
• Brief offshore agents and vendors with detailed spec sheets and tech packs
• Ensure collections land on time, on cost and to quality, resolving issues as needed
• Shape the brand beyond product with campaigns, styling and collaboration with marketing and sales
• Align product launches with brand strategy and collection storytelling
• Brief wholesale and ecommerce teams to tell a cohesive brand story
• Use sell-through and customer feedback to inform future lines

Skills

Womenswear design

Team leadership

Commercial instinct

Garment construction

Costing

Offshore production

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Job description

If you love beautiful dresses, this is the role for you.

We’re an established Australian resort label known for effortless, feminine pieces made for long lunches, sunny escapes and every occasion in between. Our dresses are the heart of the brand: easy to wear, beautifully made, and loved by a loyal customer who comes back season after season.

We have a strong online presence & wholesale network and a growing overseas market. We’re part of a women‑led fashion business that backs creative people with real responsibility.

We’re now looking for a Head Designer to take the brand into its next chapter.

What you’ll do

Lead the creative vision

Set the seasonal direction for the label, including concept, mood, colour, print and fabric story

Develop seasonal and monthly design briefs covering colour, print and material direction

Grow the brand’s DNA so every collection feels unmistakably ours, while pushing it forward

Present and articulate the creative vision and range plans to the leadership team

Look for new ways to lift quality and explore premium product opportunities

Lead a small, hands‑on team

Lead and mentor our Design Assistant and Garment Technician/Production, building ranges aligned with brand strategy, pricing and market insights

Set best‑in‑class design and technical standards that strengthen the brand’s identity

Design the collections

Design and build balanced, commercial ranges across categories, from hero pieces to core styles

Build ranges to target margins and deliver to the critical path

Source fabrics and trims, and develop original prints and artwork

Brief offshore agents and vendors with detailed spec sheets and tech packs, and collaborate on material selection

Run fit sessions and sign off protos and SMS against your design intent

Work closely with production so every collection lands on time, on cost and to quality, and resolve issues as they arise

Work with the sourcing team to make sure suppliers meet our standards, and to find new ones with a focus on flexibility, speed to market and sustainability

Shape the brand beyond the product

Lead creative input on campaigns and shoots, including styling direction, hero product and visual tone

Partner with marketing and sales to align product launches with brand strategy

Work alongside marketing on the collection story, content, social and launch plans

Brief wholesale and ecommerce teams so every channel tells the story the same way

Use sell-through and customer feedback to inform what comes next

About you

5+ years of womenswear design experience, including a lead, head or sole‑designer role

Experience leading and developing a small design or technical team

A clear creative point of view, balanced with a strong commercial instinct for margin, pricing and what sells

Technical strength in garment construction, fit, fabrication and costing

Confidence with tech packs and Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

Experience working with offshore agents, vendors and factories to a critical path

Interest in brand, marketing and imagery, not only product

Why you’ll love it here

Real creative control and visibility. Your work goes straight into market and campaigns

A women‑led business that genuinely values creativity

We look after our people with paid parental leave, paid time for preventative health appointments and early finish Fridays

Be careful - Don’t provide your bank or credit card details when applying for jobs. Don't transfer any money or complete suspicious online surveys. If you see something suspicious, report this job ad .