The FP Movement Creative Director reports to the Chief Creative Officer of Free People & FP Movement overseeing a robust Creative Apparel and Product Design Team and the overall direction and development of all retail segment and wholesale Free People Movement clothing product.
About the company:
Free People is a specialty clothing brand featuring the latest trends and vintage collections for women who live free through fashion, art, music and travel. The eclectic look consists of quality apparel, shoes, and accessories that invoke attributes of femininity, spirit, and creativity with its design.
REQUIREMENTS
Strong understanding of the FP Movement customer and competitive space.
Strong passion for the active apparel and lifestyle space.
Experience leading, developing and inspiring robust creative teams with demonstrated success.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to effectively influence and collaborate with partners in Merchandising, Production, and Design.
Ability and desire to foster a collaborative team environment.
Ability to respond to business objectives with creative, innovative, and cost-effective design solutions.
Expert-level technical knowledge of activewear creative design across a wide variety of categories- both performance and casual.
Expert-level knowledge of materials, construction and trims as well as strong relationships with resources.
Extensive knowledge of manufacturing techniques and processes.
Ability to research and report on industry trend direction, color direction, and fabric innovations.
Ability to recognize and accurately forecast fashion and cultural trends as they relate to the FP Movement customer.
Ability to sketch or to communicate design ideas via computer program, hand-drawing or mocking.
Relocation to Philadelphia, PA required.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Support Design Directors in owning and building their categories cohesively and with a strong strategy.
Manage and develop the FP Movement Design team in a positive and constructive manner while nurturing creativity at all levels.
Build and maintain strong partnerships with the other Design departments, Buying, Sourcing, and Merchandising teams.
Identify your needs to achieve and maintain a strong design team. Recruit, develop and retain Designers who add value to the brand.
Creative Responsibilities:
Take leadership in guiding overall creative vision for FP Movement collections, working closely with concept teams from very beginning to identify trends as well as new opportunities in innovation to set the tone for each season.
Focus on identifying innovation around fabrications, details, fits, etc. by working closely with the Sourcing and Textile teams.
Work closely with Design Directors and their teams, providing inspiration and feedback for each season on a regular basis.
Review the collection as a whole to identify any needs across divisions and balance line accordingly, keeping both creative and business objectives in mind.
Edit collection with design team to present to CEO/CCO and CCO prior to presenting to Merchant teams.
Travel for inspiration as needed and have group meetings to present samples and inspirations.
Coordinate periodic inspiration meetings where all Design members participate regardless of what category they cover.
Special projects as needed. Ex. Annual/Seasonal refreshes of internal designed Movement Accessory product.
