Fashion Designer

Sundaram Apparels; Kolkata District; On-site; INR 450,000 - 750,000; Full time

Job summary

Sundaram Apparels in Kolkata is seeking a creative fashion designer for women’s wear, focused on export markets. You will develop collections from concept to production, creating mood boards, CADs, tech packs, and detailed garment specs that balance aesthetics with factory feasibility.

You will coordinate with fabric and trim suppliers, sample rooms, and merchandisers to translate buyer briefs into commercially strong, production-ready designs that meet timing and cost targets.

Responsibilities

• Research international womens-wear fashion trends, colour forecasts, silhouettes, prints, fabrics, embellishments, trims, and seasonal themes relevant to export markets.

Job description

Role & responsibilities

Job responsibilities

• Research international womens-wear fashion trends, colour forecasts, silhouettes, prints, fabrics, embellishments, trims, and seasonal themes relevant to export markets.
• Study buyer briefs, reference images, competitor products, target market requirements, price points, and brand handwriting before starting a collection.
• Develop women’s-wear collections for export customers, including categories such as tops, blouses, shirts, dresses, skirts, co-ord sets, jumpsuits, tunics, kaftans, trousers, shorts, and fashion bottomwear.
• Create seasonal mood boards, concept boards, colour palettes, fabric stories, print/embroidery directions, and collection presentations.
• Develop original garment designs, style variations, silhouettes, surface developments, and value-added details while ensuring commercial appeal.
• Prepare hand sketches and digital CADs/technical flats for every style, including front, back, side, and detail views wherever required.
• Create detailed, factory-ready tech packs containing:
  
  • Style descriptions and garment construction details.
  • Flat sketches and measurement points.
  • Measurement/specification sheets and grading information.
  • Fabric composition, GSM, weave/knit construction, colour, and finish details.
  • Trims, labels, packaging, hangtag, button, zipper, elastic, lace, lining, and accessory specifications.
  • Stitch details, seam allowances, seam type, needle/thread requirement, and workmanship instructions.
  • Print placement, embroidery placement, artwork, applique, smocking, pleating, quilting, and other surface-detail specifications.
  • Wash, dyeing, finishing, and special treatment requirements.
• Select and recommend suitable fabrics, linings, interlinings, trims, buttons, zippers, elastics, labels, laces, embroidery materials, and packaging components based on look, performance, quality, availability, MOQ, cost, and production feasibility.
• Coordinate with fabric suppliers, trim suppliers, printers, embroidery vendors, washing units, dyeing units, and sample-room teams for timely design development.
• Develop new print concepts, embroidery layouts, placement prints, all-over prints, repeat patterns, and garment-wash ideas in line with buyer requirements and market trends.
• Work closely with merchandisers to ensure every style meets target FOB, margin expectations, buyer requirements, MOQ constraints, and delivery timelines.
• Coordinate with pattern masters to translate design sketches into correct patterns, garment measurements, fit blocks, and production-friendly construction.
• Supervise and follow up development of proto samples, fit samples, salesman samples, buyer samples, photo samples, size-set samples, pre-production samples, and production samples.
• Conduct sample review and fitting sessions; identify fit, balance, comfort, proportion, construction, appearance, and workmanship issues.
• Provide clear correction comments to pattern masters, sample tailors, merchandisers, and production teams after each sample/fitting review.
• Ensure revisions arising from buyer comments or internal approvals are incorporated accurately into revised tech packs, patterns, measurement sheets, artworks, and sample instructions.
• Monitor sample quality for stitching, measurements, symmetry, fabric defects, colour/shade issues, print placement, embroidery quality, washes, accessories, labels, and finishing.
• Ensure all garments are practical for bulk manufacturing and do not create unnecessary production difficulty, quality risk, excessive rejection, or avoidable cost escalation.
• Work with the production team to resolve technical issues related to fabric behaviour, shrinkage, colour bleeding, seam puckering, garment twisting, print alignment, embroidery damage, fitting, finishing, washing, and packing.
• Recommend alternative fabrics, trims, constructions, or embellishment techniques when the original design is not feasible due to cost, quality, lead time, MOQ, or supplier availability.
• Maintain accurate records of all designs, CADs, tech packs, artworks, fabric swatches, trim cards, sample comments, buyer approvals, and revised style information.
• Build and maintain a seasonal design library containing international trend references, competitor products, silhouettes, fabric developments, print concepts, embroidery ideas, wash references, and colour palettes.
• Prepare design presentations, collection boards, buyer meeting decks, and internal development presentations when required.
• Participate in buyer meetings, sample reviews, video calls, and presentations to explain design concepts, product features, sample changes, and development status.
• Coordinate with the photography, catalogue, ecommerce, and marketing teams for product styling, colour accuracy, garment presentation, lookbook development, and collection launches, if required.
• Keep updated with fashion trends, trade fairs, competitor brands, retail stores, online marketplaces, social-media trends, and changing consumer preferences in women’s wear.
• Ensure all designs comply with buyer requirements, quality standards, export-market expectations, restricted-substance requirements where applicable, labelling requirements, and company quality procedures.
• Work within the agreed development calendar and ensure that designs, tech packs, samples, corrections, and approvals are completed on time.
• Support continuous improvement in design-to-sample lead time, sample accuracy, cost efficiency, value addition, and bulk-production readiness.