Global Head of Visual Merchandising

Maison Margiela is a Paris-based fashion house founded in 1988 by Belgian designer Martin Margiela. Celebrating unconventional aesthetics and embracing the philosophy that fashion is an art of expression rather than a cult of personality, Maison Margiela offers haute couture, ready-to-wear for women and men, contemporary line MM6, footwear, interior design, and accessories, including leather goods, fine jewelry and fragrance.

In 2002, the French house became part of OTB. Along with sister brands of the group, Maison Margiela continues pushing the boundaries of modern fashion while preserving its distinctive identity and heritage.

Reporting to the Global Director of Architecture and Visual Identity, the Global Head of Visual Merchandising is responsible for the development and implementation of Visual Merchandising strategies inside Maison Margiela and MM6, ensuring that brands’ vision and objectives are met, strategically and aesthetically.

• Lead Visual Merchandising creation, strategy, and development for the two brands.
• Assist the Global Architecture and Visual Identity Director in the conception and development of launch and permanent VM, planogram and display strategies, working with cross-functional teams (Marketing, Creative, Sales) to ensure that visual execution and assets support the global 360 program.
• Communicate directly with the brand Artistic Director to define the visual strategy and seasonal concepts.
• Create the design and full launch of temporary VM to provide activation for specific products and continue the brand story.
• Create the design of permanent VM, storytelling, artistry, and accessories to enhance and amplify brand expression and experience.
• Support wholesale expansion with dedicated creative projects and visual strategy.
• Continuously evolve the brand’s VM using creative exploration and market trends.
• Generate competitive intelligence by ensuring up-to-date analysis of competition as well as current and upcoming market fashion trends; travel as necessary, complete in-store visits to observe stores in action.
• Partner with Architecture, Global Marketing, Merchandising Wholesale and Retail to ensure that the in-store experience is consistent and relevant for our client to drive commercial sales.
• Increase our creative capabilities, drive innovation at store level.
• Oversee Visual Merchandising execution across all regions for the two brands.
• Supervise merchandising project management, including workflow from inception to execution while maximising productivity and efficiency, and meeting deadlines.
• Work closely with our designers and suppliers to negotiate pricing and ensure that materials are produced on time and to the highest quality.
• Maintain excellent relationships and conduct weekly conference calls with regional merchandising counterparts (EMEA, Japan, APAC, US) to ensure corporate direction is communicated and properly executed in each market.
• Supervise development of VM guidelines.
• Make sure that Launch 360 VM guidelines are created on time for each product activation, deployed and fully respected to ensure brand consistency across all markets.
• Ensure that Permanent VM guidelines are created and regularly updated.
• Analyse and report specific market needs to optimise VM guidelines.
• Integrate specific events into global workflow.
• Work with the store design team to ensure that specific events such as the Global Marketing Meeting, art shows, pop-up stores and exhibits (Art Basel, Fiac, Frieze, etc.) are included in the overall design schedule.
• Manage Global VM team.
• Manage, organize, and motivate a team of 4 VM, ensuring consistent growth in creativity and skills and constant optimization of work tools and processes.

• Minimum 8 years’ experience in VM for a luxury brand, preferably in a global environment, with excellent knowledge of regional and local point of sale features (FSS, department stores).
• Deep understanding of brand DNA and codes.
• Highly creative skills in graphic, POSM design and launch in the VM field, artistically minded.
• Excellent knowledge of graphic printing, POSM and scenography production and execution methods.
• Strong leadership skills, goal-oriented and results-driven personality, ready to push own limits.
• Ability to work transversally and engage collaborative processes.
• Strong communication skills.
• PC/Mac software: Adobe Suite, InDesign, MS Office, 3DS Max, etc.
• Fluent in English and French.