Creative Lead – Western Wear

FABINDIA LIMITED · Faridabad, India

Role Overview

The Creative Lead – Western Wear will define and drive the creative vision, textile innovation, and product development strategy across men’s, women’s, and kids’ western wear categories .

The role translates brand ethos, craft heritage, and contemporary trends into commercially viable collections , ensuring alignment with merchandising strategy, costing targets, and business objectives .

The position leads a cross-functional team of textile designers, fashion designers, and product development merchants , guiding the entire process from conceptualisation and trend direction to range development, costing alignment, jury presentation, and final product handover for production and launch .

Position Objective

• Provide creative leadership and strategic design direction for the western wear categories.
• Drive innovative textile and apparel design development aligned with Fabindia’s craft heritage and market positioning.
• Ensure commercially successful collections through strong range planning, costing discipline, and trend relevance .
• Lead end-to-end design processes , including concept development, sampling, range presentation, and production handover.
• Manage and mentor design and product development teams to deliver high-quality, timely collections.

Key Responsibilities

1. Creative Direction & Trend Strategy

• Define the seasonal creative vision for western wear across categories.
• Lead trend research including colour, fabric, silhouette, craft, and surface development trends.
• Translate fashion trends and indigenous craft narratives into relevant seasonal themes.
• Develop seasonal design strategy documents outlining concept, colour palette, materials, and styling direction.
• Ensure creative consistency across all product categories while maintaining brand identity.

2. Market & Consumer Insights

• Conduct market visits and competitor mapping to understand product positioning and design opportunities.
• Analyse consumer behaviour, sales feedback, and retail insights to guide design decisions.
• Review previous season sell-through reports to identify successful products and areas of improvement.
• Collaborate with PH’s, sales, retail, and merchandising teams to incorporate market intelligence into product development.

3. Range Planning & Collection Development

• Lead seasonal range development across categories based on option plans and business targets .
• Develop range architecture ensuring balance across price points, categories, and styles.
• Create range projection sheets with clear design direction and commercial viability.
• Oversee concept boards, mood boards, colour stories, and styling narratives for each collection.

4. Textile Innovation & Product Development

• Guide textile designers in developing fabrics, prints, weaves, and craft techniques aligned with seasonal themes.
• Work with artisans and sourcing teams to develop unique textile bases and surface treatments .
• Ensure textile innovation while maintaining cost feasibility and scalability .

5. Product Engineering & Cost Management

• Work closely with PD merchants and scm teams to align product development with target costing and margin expectations .
• Ensure product engineering and value optimisation without compromising design integrity.
• Review first costings and BOM details to ensure alignment with business margins.
• Guide teams on material selection, construction methods, and finishes to achieve desired cost and quality.

6. Sampling & Development Process

• Oversee sample development across categories , ensuring design accuracy and quality.
• Manage fit development, pattern approvals, and construction detailing .
• Coordinate with PD teams to ensure timely development and sampling schedules .
• Approve final prototypes before production readiness .

7. Team Leadership & Cross-functional Coordination

• Lead and mentor textile designers, fashion designers, and PD merchants .
• Facilitate effective collaboration between design, merchandising, sourcing, and production teams .
• Ensure clear communication of design intent and technical details throughout the development process.
• Manage timelines and deliverables across the design lifecycle.

8. Range Presentation & Jury Preparation

• Prepare seasonal range presentations for internal design and merchandising reviews.
• Lead jury preparation including curated collections, storytelling, mood boards, and key styles.
• Present design concepts, innovation, and product strategy to leadership and buying teams .
• Refine collections based on jury feedback and business alignment .

9. Production Handover & Launch Readiness

• Ensure complete design documentation and spec sheets for production teams.
• Oversee the handover process from design to production ensuring clarity in fabrics, trims, finishes, and technical details.
• Monitor initial production samples to maintain design intent and quality standards.

10. Brand Building & Creative Communication

• Collaborate with marketing teams on seasonal storytelling and brand narratives .
• Support development of lookbooks, campaign direction, and styling guidance .
• Contribute to visual merchandising concepts and retail storytelling .

Qualifications & Experience

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Design (preferably from National Institute of Fashion Technology ) or equivalent.

Experience

• 12–15 years of experience in western apparel design and product development
• Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary design teams
• Strong exposure to textile development and craft-based design

Key Skills & Competencies

Creative & Design Skills

• Strong western design sensibility and textile understanding
• Ability to translate craft heritage into modern fashion
• Expertise in trend forecasting and range building

Commercial & Strategic Skills

• Understanding of fashion business and merchandising strategies
• Ability to balance creativity with cost and margin targets
• Strong range planning and product architecture capability

Leadership & Collaboration

• Team leadership and mentorship
• Cross-functional coordination
• Strong communication and presentation skills

Technical Knowledge

• Textile development and surface design
• Garment construction and product engineering
• Sampling and fit development
• Costing and margin management

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