Design Director, RTW - Joe's Jeans

Centric Brands Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) matching

Summer Fridays

Generous PTO

Merchandise discounts

Job summary

Centric Brands Inc. is seeking a Design Director for Women’s RTW in Los Angeles to lead seasonal design from ideation to pre‑production. You will collaborate across Creative, Merchandising, and Production to deliver elevated, trend‑right products that align with the Joe’s Jeans DNA.

You will drive concept development, manage sample reviews, and oversee development calendars while balancing creativity, cost, and margin goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Design or related field.
• 7–10 years of experience in women’s ready‑to‑wear design across all categories.
• Strong understanding of woven fabrics, garment construction, patternmaking, and fit.
• Experience in contemporary or premium apparel markets.
• Advanced proficiency in Illustrator, Photoshop, PLM, and MS Office.
• Strong trend awareness with ability to translate insights into commercially successful product.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Passion for product, attention to detail, and eye for color and styling.

Responsibilities

• Drive the seasonal design process from concept through pre‑production, ensuring trend-right, commercially viable outcomes.
• Design and develop women’s woven and knits collections from concept to pre‑production.
• Create technical sketches in Illustrator and initiate specification packages for cross‑functional teams.
• Collaborate with Technical Design on prototypes, fit sessions, and construction details.
• Oversee sample development and liaise with mills, trim vendors, and factories to achieve desired aesthetics and quality.
• Manage design boards, digital archives, and PLM entries for organized pipelines.

Skills

Trend awareness

Communication skills

Organization

Collaboration

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

PLM systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

About Us

Founded in 2001 by Creative Director Joe Dahan, Joe's redefines everyday style with its inherently LA sensibility and distinctive rock + roll point-of-view.

With an emphasis on offering the perfect fit for everybody, the brand takes a revolutionary approach to denim and sophisticated classics, incorporating the very latest in technology to offer product that is beautiful, innovative, and fits flawlessly.

From developing the product strategies to growing our brands, merchandising careers at Centric Brands offer exciting possibilities to grow a career with one of world’s foremost lifestyle brands collectives. From helping develop the merchandise mix to ensuring stores and online site have the right products in the right quantities to creating the long-term brand strategy, a career in merchandising and planning offers you a chance to make a positive impact on our success – and yours.

Specific Responsibilities Would Include

As a Design Director Women's RTW, you will bring a deep understanding of contemporary fashion trends, woven product development, garment construction, fit, and fabric innovation. You will collaborate across Creative, Merchandising, Technical Design, Production, and external vendors to create elevated product that embodies the Joe's Jeans brand DNA and resonates with today's customer. You will be responsible for driving the seasonal design process from concept through pre-production, ensuring each style is trend-right, commercially viable, and delivered on time.

Specific Responsibilities Would Include

Seasonal Concept & Trend Development

• Research and identify trend direction in women's contemporary ready-to-wear, including silhouettes, fabrications, colors, details, and market shifts.
• Create elevated, fashion-forward concepts aligned with the brand's aesthetic and positioning within the premium contemporary market.
• Build seasonal mood boards, color stories, fabric direction, and design concepts for internal and external presentations.
• Collaborate with the Creative Director to define seasonal woven RTW narratives and key seasonal must-haves.

Design & Product Creation

• Design and develop women's hard woven assortments, including jackets, tops, dresses, skirts, pants, and other woven categories, as well as cut & sew and sweaters/fully fashioned knits from initial concept through pre-production.
• Create detailed technical sketches in Illustrator and initiate specification packages as the first step in the cross-functional workflow.
• Partner with Technical Design on prototype reviews, fit sessions, construction details, and product refinements.
• Oversee sample development and collaborate with mills, trim vendors, and factories to achieve the desired aesthetic, quality, and fit.
• Ensure all designs balance creativity, quality, cost, and commercial viability while supporting margin goals and assortment architecture.
• Maintain fabric, trim, and color libraries; partner with suppliers to source innovative materials and development opportunities.

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Production and vendors to achieve price, lead time, and quality goals.
• Collaborate with Merchandising to ensure line sheets and assortments are accurate and aligned with seasonal line plans.
• Maintain strong vendor relationships to drive product feasibility, sample execution, and ontime development.
• Manage all design boards, digital archives, and PLM entries to ensure the accuracy and organization of the design pipeline.

Calendar & Process Management

• Ensure timely execution of all design deliverables against the development calendar.
• Manage workflow for woven product development, ensuring samples, tech packs, approvals, and revisions meet key milestones.
• Prepare and present seasonal collections, concepts, and key categories for leadership, sales, and showroom meetings.

Our Best Fit Candidate Would Have

• Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design or a related field.
• 7-10 years of experience in women's ready-to-wear design, with experience in all categories.
• Strong understanding of woven fabrics, garment construction, patternmaking principles, and fit.
• Experience working within the contemporary or premium apparel market.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, PLM systems, and Microsoft Office.
• Strong trend awareness and the ability to translate market insights into commercially successful product.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Passion for product, attention to detail, and a strong eye for color, proportion, fabrication, and styling.

In return, we provide an industry-competitive salary, along with a comprehensive benefits plan (medical, dental, vision) that includes a matching 401(k), Summer Fridays, generous PTO, merchandise discounts, excellent career development opportunities, and a work environment that reflects our industry leadership.Our social impact program, Centric Cares, focuses on volunteerism to make a difference in communities we live and work in and our D&I committee is shaping the future of diversity, equity and inclusion at Centric Brands though workshops, resources and inspiring conversation.

Salary Range: $145,000-165,000

Be part of our growing community by getting involved with groups, teams and initiatives like Be Green, Be Giving, and Be Celebrated.

Centric Brands is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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