Designer, Wrangler Denim, Tops & Dresses

Kontoor Brands, Inc.; Greensboro (NC); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Parental Leave

Flexible Fridays

Tuition Reimbursement

Discounts on Kontoor apparel

Job summary

Kontoor Brands, Inc. is seeking a Wrangler Women's Designer to shape the next chapter of iconic denim and lifestyle apparel. You’ll translate the brand heritage into a modern, relevant collection, collaborating with senior designers to form a cohesive wardrobe across categories.

You’ll own product from concept through pre-production, develop materials, and contribute to seasonal narratives while mentoring 1–2 junior designers in a fast-moving creative environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional apparel design experience, preferably in women's fashion or denim.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating taste, creativity and a clear design point of view.
• Experience across multiple apparel categories is highly valued.
• Experience leading 1–2 team members with clear creative direction.
• Solid understanding of garment construction, fit, fabrication, trims and development.
• Denim experience is a plus.
• Ability to translate creative direction into wearable product.
• Bachelor's degree in Apparel/Fashion Design or equivalent preferred.
• Strong hand sketching and CAD skills with Illustrator/Photoshop.

Responsibilities

• Design across multiple women's categories with a cohesive seasonal POV.
• Collaborate with Head Designer and design team to evolve the brand vision.
• Own product from concept through pre-production, ensuring fit and quality.
• Create concept boards, CADs and seasonal narratives communicating design intent.
• Lead and develop 1–2 team members with clear creative direction.
• Balance creativity with execution across go-to-market timelines.

Skills

7+ years apparel design

strong portfolio

multi-category design

lead 1–2 designers

garment construction understanding

denim experience (plus)

fashion trends awareness

take direction & contribute ideas

total-collection mindset

hand sketching & CAD

Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop

clear design packages & technicals

collaborative communication

curiosity & initiative

Bachelor's in Apparel/Fashion Design (

Education

Bachelor's degree in Apparel/Fashion Design or equivalent

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Job description

Who We Are:

Kontoor Brands is a portfolio of three of the world's most iconic lifestyle, outdoor and workwear brands: Wrangler, Lee and Helly Hansen. Kontoor Brands is a purpose-led organization focused on leveraging its global platform, strategic sourcing model and best-in-class supply chain to drive brand growth and deliver long- term value for its stakeholders.

Job Posting:

Designer, Wrangler Women's

Design the next chapter of an icon.

Wrangler has always stood for more than what you wear. It represents individuality, confidence, freedom and an unmistakable point of view. As Wrangler Women's continues to evolve, we're looking for a designer who can honor that authenticity while helping imagine where the brand can go next.

We're looking for a fashion-minded, culturally curious apparel designer with a strong point of view and a passion for creating compelling product. Someone who sees the full look, not simply the individual item, and understands how silhouette, proportion, fabrication, wash, color, print and detail come together to create something a woman wants to wear.

This is an opportunity to design across multiple women's apparel categories, bringing fresh ideas to a globally recognized brand while translating Wrangler's Western heritage through a modern, relevant lens.

Reporting to the Head Designer for Wrangler Women's, this designer will work closely with the Head Designer and Senior Design Director to bring the brand's creative vision to life. They'll take creative direction while bringing their own ideas, curiosity and point of view to the conversation, collaborating across the broader Design team to create a collection that feels cohesive from concept through development.

What You'll Do

Bring the Vision to Life

Partner closely with the Head Designer and Senior Design Director to translate the brand's creative vision into compelling women's product. Take direction and build upon it, bringing new ideas and a strong design point of view to help move the collection forward.

Design Across the Wardrobe

Think beyond a single category. Create product and head-to-toe looks across women's apparel, with the versatility to work across denim and non-denim categories while building a cohesive seasonal point of view.

Create as One Design Team

Collaborate closely with the Head Designer and broader Design team throughout concept and development, looking beyond individual category ownership to ensure harmony across silhouette, proportion, color, fabrication, wash, print and styling. Work collectively to make the total Wrangler Women's assortment feel intentional, connected and unmistakably Wrangler.

Know Her World

Stay immersed in fashion, culture, markets and the evolving Wrangler woman. Research emerging shifts in silhouette, styling, color, material and consumer behavior, then translate those insights into ideas that feel fresh while remaining authentic to the brand.

Bring Fresh Ideas

Be curious. Explore what's next and bring new thinking to the creative conversation. Challenge expected solutions, identify white space and find unexpected ways to evolve familiar ideas while respecting the creative direction of the season.

Turn Ideas Into Great Product

Own product from concept through pre-production. Sketch, develop materials, refine details and partner through fittings and sample reviews to protect the creative idea while achieving strong fit, construction, quality and commercial viability.

Build the Story

Create compelling concept boards, design presentations, CADs and seasonal narratives that communicate not just what we are designing, but why it matters. Confidently articulate design ideas and product intent to Design leadership and cross-functional partners.

Lead & Inspire

Lead and develop 1-2 team members through clear direction, thoughtful feedback and an openness to ideas. Help build creative confidence, individual growth and accountability while creating an environment where people are encouraged to contribute and do their best work.

Build Trust & Create Together

Build trusted relationships across Design, Merchandising, Product Development, Technical Design and global teams. Listen, communicate openly and bring a collaborative mindset to the work, influencing through strong ideas and partnership while staying focused on creating the best possible product.

Make It Happen

Balance creativity with execution. Manage multiple workstreams against the go-to-market calendar, move fluidly between big-picture thinking and detail, and deliver work with accuracy and intention.

What You Bring

• 7+ years of professional apparel design experience, ideally within women's fashion, lifestyle or denim.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating taste, creativity, versatility and a clear design point of view.
• Experience designing across multiple apparel categories is highly valued.
• Experience leading, managing and developing 1-2 team members, with the ability to provide clear creative direction while empowering individual ownership.
• Strong understanding of garment construction, fit, fabrication, trims, finishing and product development.
• Denim experience, including knowledge of wash, fabric and construction, is a plus, but not required.
• A strong instinct for fashion, proportion, styling, color and emerging cultural trends.
• The ability to take creative direction, build upon it and contribute new ideas that strengthen the overall vision.
• The ability to translate aspirational ideas into compelling, wearable product.
• A total-collection mindset, with the ability to work across categories and collaborate with other designers to create a cohesive seasonal expression.
• Strong hand sketching and/or CAD skills with proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
• Experience developing clear design packages and technical information.
• A highly collaborative approach with the ability to build trust, influence and work closely across teams and functions.
• Confident visual, verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate ideas and bring others along.
• Curiosity, initiative and the ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-moving creative environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Apparel/Fashion Design or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience preferred.
• Ability to travel as required.

Who You Are

• You're a designer who is as excited by the possibility of what Wrangler can become as you are inspired by where it has been.
• You notice what's happening before everyone else does. You're equally comfortable digging through vintage references, studying a new silhouette, obsessing over the perfect wash or fabrication, and imagining how a woman will style the finished piece.
• You bring a strong point of view, but you don't design in a silo. You know how to take a creative vision and make it stronger, contributing ideas while understanding how your work connects to the bigger collection. You care as much about how the categories come together as you do about the individual product you design.
• You know great design requires collaboration. You build trust, listen, contribute, challenge thoughtfully and bring others along.
• You respect heritage, but you're not constrained by it.
• And above all, you want to make great clothes that women genuinely want to wear.

Leadership Competences Expected for this Role:

Emerging Leader

Global Agility - Open to diverse views, adapts to new ways of working

Purposeful Integrity - Demonstrates ethical behavior, follows through on commitments

Strategic Foresight - Understands team goals, asks strategic questions

Customer Centric Innovation - Suggests improvements from customer feedback, tries new methods

Urgency for Impact - Act quickly and take ownership of outcomes

Bold Accountability - Own your work and deliver consistently strong results

Empowered Collaboration - Share ideas, listens well, collaborates with peers

Why Kontoor Brands?

At Kontoor, we offer a comprehensive benefit package to fit your lifestyle. Our benefits are crafted with the same care as our products.

When our employees are healthy, secure, and well, they bring their best selves to work. Kontoor Brands supports you with a competitive benefits program that provides choice and flexibility to meet your and your family's needs - now and in the future. We offer resources to support your physical, emotional, social, and financial wellbeing, plus benefits like discounts on our apparel. Kontoor Brands also provides four weeks of Paid Parental Leave to eligible employees who are new parents, Flexible Fridays, and Tuition Reimbursement.

We are proud to offer a workplace culture centered on equitable opportunities and a sense of belonging for all team members. Here we have a global workforce of high-performing teams that both unlocks our individual uniqueness and harnesses our collaborative talents.