Director, Footwear Design Development

Michael Kors (USA) Inc; United States; On-site; USD 100,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous Paid Time Off & Holiday Cal

Summer Fridays

Internal Mobility Across Brands

Cross-brand Discount

Exclusive Employee Sales

401k Match

Paid Parental Leave

Thrive Wellness Program

Commuter Benefits

Gym Discounts

Job summary

Michael Kors is seeking a Director of Footwear Design Development to lead end-to-end design for the footwear division, partnering with Merchandising, Raw Material, PD and Costing to deliver market-ready samples on schedule and within cost targets.

This leadership role requires 8+ years in product development in footwear, with strong knowledge of construction, materials and international vendor collaboration; you will drive proto strategy, oversee cross-functional meetings, and translate creative

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive product development and/or material sourcing experience in the footwear industry, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Strong knowledge of footwear construction, materials, costing, and manufacturing processes.
• Experience working with international vendors and factories.
• Extensive experience in materials sourcing and product execution.
• Excellent organizational, communication skills, and leadership.
• Proven ability to manage design and product calendars simultaneously.
• Deep understanding of the luxury or contemporary fashion market, preferably with experience in a comparable footwear brand.

Responsibilities

• Optimize design process through strategic planning and organization during product creation stage that ensures market-ready samples.
• Drive Design’s proto strategy for all tiers of FTW business from concept through sample handoff with PD team ensuring timelines, quality standards, and cost targets are met.
• Liaise between PD, Materials and Designers to implement cost effective engineering and material optimization to help align with internal margin requirements, while adhering to brand DNA and quality standards set by Production team.
• Support Design to translate creative vision into executable, commercially viable product, with special emphasis on material and component innovation.
• Partner with materials and overseas development partners to identify and develop components, trims, and potential manufacturing solutions that support design intent and financial goals.
• Ensure that Design team adheres to the seasonal development calendar.
• Streamlining and overseeing all cross functional meetings to represent Design to ensure consistency between categories.
• Create, implement and maintain design processes that will streamline seasonal development, while aligning with business growth opportunities and budgets.
• Drive continuous process improvement.
• Ensure cross-functional alignment through regular communication with all internal stakeholders, in NY and overseas.
• Translating internal design direction while keeping up to date with industry trends and changing consumer buying trends.
• Analyze product performance, sales feedback, and market trends to inform future development decisions.

Skills

Leadership

Design process

Footwear knowledge

Materials costing

International vendor collaboration

Job description

Michael Kors is always interested in hearing from talented, globally-minded individuals with a passion for fashion. If you enjoy working in a creative, fast-paced environment, then we would love to hear from you!

Who You Are

The Director of Footwear Design Development is responsible for leading the end-to-end design process and timeline for footwear division, with specific focus on early development phase for materials, components and line-building functions. You will be the main liaison within Design team to partner closely with Merchandising, Raw Material, PD and Costing teams to ensure the seasonal market-ready sample executions aligned with brand strategy, cost targets, adoptions targets, and due dates. You’ll play an integral role in delivering high-quality, trend-right products that elevate the Michael Kors customer experience.

What You’ll Do

• Optimize design process through strategic planning and organization during product creation stage that ensures market-ready samples.
• Drive Design’s proto strategy for all tiers of FTW business from concept through sample handoff with PD team ensuring timelines, quality standards, and cost targets are met.
• Liaise between PD, Materials and Designers to implement cost effective engineering and material optimization to help align with internal margin requirements, while adhering to brand DNA and quality standards set by Production team.
• Support Design to translate creative vision into executable, commercially viable product, with special emphasis on material and component innovation.
• Partner with materials and overseas development partners to identify and develop components, trims, and potential manufacturing solutions that support design intent and financial goals.
• Ensure that Design team adheres to the seasonal development calendar.
• Streamlining and overseeing all cross functional meetings to represent Design to ensure consistency between categories.
• Create, implement and maintain design processes that will streamline seasonal development, while aligning with business growth opportunities and budgets.
• Drive continuous process improvement.
• Ensure cross-functional alignment through regular communication with all internal stakeholders, in NY and overseas.
• Translating internal design direction while keeping up to date with industry trends and changing consumer buying trends.
• Analyze product performance, sales feedback, and market trends to inform future development decisions.
• Partner with RM/PD teams to resolve material/component costing issues with vendors.
• Provide alternatives to Design early in the proto process, so that Market samples can meet margin targets without compromising quality or brand integrity.
• Visit trend shows, identify innovative material opportunities to enhance product assortment.
• Manage and organize a seasonal material development strategy in partnership with Materials team, while creating and organizing an efficient material and color library as well as archiving system.
• Research innovation of materials and components based on seasonal trends and business needs based on company’s supplier qualification and on-boarding framework.
• Create and maintain design library for standards, established logic, templates, carryover constructions and lasts.
• Manage and distribute clear Design status and hand-off documents for cross functional teams and factories.

You’ll Need to Have

• 8+ years of progressive product development and/or material sourcing experience in the footwear industry, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Strong knowledge of footwear construction, materials, costing, and manufacturing processes.
• Experience working with international vendors and factories.
• Extensive experience in materials sourcing and product execution.
• Excellent organizational, communication skills, and leadership.
• Proven ability to manage design and product calendars simultaneously.
• Deep understanding of the luxury or contemporary fashion market, preferably with experience in a comparable footwear brand.

We’d Love to See:

• The ability to think strategically, drive results and build a high-performance organization.
• Proven ability to be strategic and tactical in a demanding, fast-paced environment.
• Entrepreneurial, resourceful, out-of-the-box thinker.
• No task too big or too small type of mentality.

MK Perks:

• Generous Paid Time Off & Holiday Calendar
• Summer Fridays
• Internal Mobility Across Brands
• Cross-brand Discount
• Exclusive Employee Sales
• Fav 5 Cards (MK Discount for friends and family)
• 401k Match
• Paid Parental Leave
• Thrive Wellness Program
• Commuter Benefits
• Gym Discounts

The Company is an equal employment opportunity employer. The Company’s policy is not to unlawfully discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, age, military status, disability, genetic information or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state, or local laws. The Company also prohibits harassment of applicants and employees based on any of these protected categories. At Capri Holdings Limited, we are committed to providing a fair and accessible recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation for the interview or application process, please contact our Talent Acquisition team at [e-mail].

In compliance with certain Pay Transparency laws, employers are required to disclose a compensation range. The range for this position will vary based on role requirements, skill set, and years of experience. Please note that for salaried roles, the figures reflect full-time equivalency, while for hourly roles, the figures represent the applicable hourly rate. Compensation Range: 100,000.00 - 190,000.00 USD

Michael Kors is a world-renowned, award-winning designer of luxury accessories and ready-to-wear. His namesake company, established in 1981, currently produces a range of products under Michael Kors Collection, Michael Kors, and Michael Kors Mens, including accessories, ready-to-wear, footwear, watches, jewelry, and a full line of fragrance products. Michael Kors stores are operated in the most prestigious cities in the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Milan, Paris, Dubai, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Rio de Janeiro. In addition, Michael Kors operates digital flagships across North America, Europe, and Asia, offering customers a seamless omnichannel experience. At the center of it all is a designer who has created an enduring and iconic luxury lifestyle brand with a distinctive point of view and global reach. Michael Kors has a sharp focus on providing his customers with accessories and clothes that are consistently polished, chic, relaxed, and glamorous. Kors has also been the recipient of numerous industry awards and accolades within the fashion industry. The fashion designer also focuses on giving back. For more than 35 years he has been a passionate supporter of God’s Love We Deliver, a New York-based non-profit organization that cooks and delivers nutritious meals to people living with serious illnesses in and around New York City. In 2013, in a move to broaden his philanthropic efforts, Michael Kors launched “Watch Hunger Stop,” partnering with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help fight world hunger. Proceeds from annual special-edition products and other targeted initiatives help provide food to children through WFP’s school meals program. To date, Michael Kors has helped WFP deliver over 35 million meals (and counting) to hungry children. For more information on how Capri Holdings Group uses your personal data, please see our Applicant Privacy Notice.