Designer, Outlet Handbags

Tapestry, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401 (K)

Paid Paternity and Maternity leave

Commuter Benefits

Disability insurance and Tuition`

Job summary

Kate Spade New York is seeking a Designer, Outlet Handbags to conceptualize and develop fashion-driven handbag designs reflecting the Kate Spade aesthetic. You will join a dynamic team collaborating with designers and cross-functional partners to bring concepts to production.

The role requires 4+ years of design experience, a fashion design degree, and hands-on skills in CAD, hand sketching, Adobe Illustrator, and AI tools; candidates should understand materials, construction, and trend

Qualifications

• 4+ years design experience.
• College degree in fashion design or a related field.
• Experience designing handbags/leather goods.
• Experience utilizing AI tools.
• Strong computer knowledge, including Adobe Illustrator.
• Strong ability to hand sketch.
• Strong design and conceptual skills.
• Strong sense of trends, style and color.
• Knowledge of raw materials, as well as construction techniques.
• Graphic design and experience working with prints a plus.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Understanding of merchandising as it relates to sales and store environment.

Responsibilities

• Participate in seasonal trend, market, and material research to support the overarching design concept.
• Assist the Senior Designer in managing the design process from conception through production
• Create and maintain detailed CADs and technical specification packages to accurately communicate design intent, construction details, and material usage to our factories and PD partners.
• Ensure that product is of high quality and consistent with market trends, as well as business strategy
• Work with technical design and product development partners to ensure design packages are complete and accurate
• Support the preparation of design presentations, mood boards, and visual tools for key milestone meetings.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners in Merchandising, PD, Hardware Design, Tech Design, and Print Design teams to support the design process from concept through to final production.

Skills

Handbag Design

CAD Skills

Illustrator

Hand Sketching

Trend Analysis

Materials Knowledge

Communication

Organizational Skills

Education

College degree in fashion design or related field

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

AI tools

Job description

Since its launch in 1993 with a collection of six essential handbags, Kate Spade New York has always been colorful, bold, and optimistic. Today, it is a global lifestyle brand that designs extraordinary things for the everyday, delivering seasonal collections of handbags, ready-to-wear, jewelry, footwear, home décor, and more. Known for its rich heritage and unique brand DNA, Kate Spade New York offers a distinctive point of view and celebrates communities of women around the globe who live their perfectly imperfect lifestyles. Kate Spade New York is part of the Tapestry portfolio – a global house of brands committed to stretching what’s possible. A member of the Tapestry family, we are part of a global house of brands that has unwavering optimism and is committed to being innovative and wholly inclusive. Visit Our People page to learn more about Tapestry's commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity.

Job Title: Designer, Outlet Handbags

Primary Purpose: The Designer, Handbags is responsible for conceptualizing, creating, and developing fashion driven handbag designs that are reflective of the creative vision and Kate Spade aesthetic.

You will be part of a dynamic, creative environment where you will collaborate with talented designers and cross-functional partners in the business. The successful individual will leverage their proficiency in Handbag Design to...

• Participate in seasonal trend, market, and material research to support the overarching design concept.
• Assist the Senior Designer in managing the design process from conception through production
• Create and maintain detailed CADs and technical specification packages to accurately communicate design intent, construction details, and material usage to our factories and PD partners.
• Ensure that product is of high quality and consistent with market trends, as well as business strategy
• Work with technical design and product development partners to ensure design packages are complete and accurate
• Support the preparation of design presentations, mood boards, and visual tools for key milestone meetings.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners in Merchandising, PD, Hardware Design, Tech Design, and Print Design teams to support the design process from concept through to final production.

• 4+ years design experience
• College degree in fashion design or a related field; a combination of education and work experience will be considered
• Experience designing handbags/leather goods
• Experience utilizing AI tools
• Strong computer knowledge, including adobe illustrator
• Strong ability to hand sketch
• Strong design and conceptual skills
• Strong sense of trends, style and color
• Knowledge of raw materials, as well as construction techniques
• Graphic design and experience working with prints a plus
• Strong communication and organizational skills
• Understanding of merchandising as it relates to sales and store environment

Our Competencies for All Employees

• Courage: Doesn’t hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and “actionable” positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.
• Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
• Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.
• Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
• Drive for Results: Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
• Interpersonal Savvy: Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
• Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything.

Our Competencies for All People Managers

• Strategic Agility: Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; is able to create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
• Developing Direct Reports and Others: Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments; holds frequent development discussions; is aware of each person’s career goals; constructs compelling development plans and executes them; pushes people to accept developmental moves; will take on those who need help and further development; cooperates with the developmental system in the organization; is a people builder.
• Building Effective Teams: Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in their team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.

Kate Spade. is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and we pride ourselves on hiring and developing the best people.

All employment decisions (including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, transfer, training, discipline and termination) are based on the applicant’s or employee’s qualifications as they relate to the requirements of the position under consideration.

These decisions are made without regard to age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic characteristics, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship, disability, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or any other legally-recognized protected basis prohibited by applicable law.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Tapestry, Inc. will provide applicants and employees with reasonable accommodation for disabilities or religious beliefs.

If you require reasonable accommodation to complete the application process, please contact Tapestry People Services at 1-855-566-9264.

Base Pay Range $85,000.00-$105,000.00

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• 401 (K)
• Paid Paternity and Maternity leave
• Commuter Benefits
• Disability insurance and Tuition assistance

Our Work Experience is the combination of everything that's unique about us: our culture, our core values, our company meetings, our commitment to sustainability, our recognition programs, but most importantly, it's our people.

Our employees are self-disciplined, hard working, curious, trustworthy, humble, and truthful. They make choices according to what is best for the team, they live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference, and they make us the #1 Top Workplace in the area.

At Tapestry, we bring together the iconic brands of Coach and Kate Spade New York—uniting bold ideas, diverse voices, and boundless creativity to stretch what’s possible. Driven by dreamers and makers, we turn passion into progress.

By embracing differences and pushing boundaries, we create with purpose, uplift one another, and shape a more inclusive, sustainable future—together.

Our Brands Spark Personal and Emotional Connections Our brands go beyond products—they inspire confidence, encourage self-expression, and build lasting emotional connections with consumers. Through constant innovation and deep customer insight, we anticipate where shoppers are headed and adapt to meet them with personalized, seamless experiences. Our digitally powered, unified shopping journey allows our brands to become part of people’s lives—meeting them when, where, and how they choose to shop.