Junior Designer

Temp Assignment: 3 months

Location:Belgium // Antwerp

Kontoor Brands is a global lifestyle apparel company, with a portfolio of some of the world’s most iconic denim brands: Wrangler®and Lee®. We design, manufacture and distribute superior high-quality products that look good and fit right, giving people around the world the freedom and confidence to express themselves.

Associate Designer- Become the Newest Member of Kontoor Brands

This position reports to the Design Director and is responsible for leading all design activities related to MODERN MENS. The focus of this position is delivering a strong mens tops, knits, tshirts & outerwear assortment with an elevated aesthetic and with solid collaboration with the mens bottoms designers. Looking for a great understanding of consumer, sense of market, trend, print, & color, strong understanding of fit & construction, ability to build head to toe looks, and leverage innovation and root design with a sustainable core foundation.

This position is also to have strong collaborative competencies, be able to guide and follow a GTM calendar, deliver to costing targets, understand and translate a merchandising brief, ability to research to understand subtleties of regional needs, while staying true to the Brand DNA.

Key Responsibilities & Essential Skills:

Creative Vision.Responsible for translating the MODERN Brand creative vision to best in class product. Delivers heightened aesthetic from concept to product execution and actual assortment. Strong Creative Contributor:Able to dream beyond current market. Be future facing and always challenge how to build new product ideas & opportunities that do not exist yet. Presentations: Able to help deliver Clear, Strong, Compelling Powerpoint/Keynote visual presentions to Design, Merchandising, Marketing, & occasionally to Sales or collaboration partners. Able to share seasonal trend direction in fit & finish and seasonal concept direction and product ideas with broader audience. Design Skills:Creative & skilled designer who develops and delivers innovative, brand right products which meet category and consumer business needs. Must have strong understanding of fabric, finish, techniques, fit development, and well as costing. Must have Adobe Illustrator and photoshop skills. Browswear 3D a plus. Powerpoint/Keynote, & Excel are also key skills. Product Expert:Review and critique prototypes in conjuction with Design Director, for fit construction, & styling. Discuss and strategize style changes and line enhancements with Design Director in order to present to VP Design & to Regional Merchants. Competitive Understanding:Researches emerging trends in fit, fabric, style, colors, & styling and has strong understanding of influencers and trend setters whether by brands, retailers, zeitgeist leaders. Maintain constant visibility to competition and understanding constant changes in the marketplace while also having and gaining strong understanding of target consumer. Brand Consistency:Ensures all assortments deliver consistent color, trend, and creative direction align with the Brand DNA foundation that is Free, Strong, & True. Problem Solving: Able to have ability to identify issues, collaborate with cross functional team, work towards solving outstanding issues with design & development, timing, and costing in order to maintain calendar deadlines. Collaborator: Able to work well with Designers & Design Director and give clear direction, be open to listen and positive while building strong collaboration across Merchandising & Development.

Experience/Education:

Years of Related Professional Experience:

3+ years experience in apparel design for a brand and being responsible for a product category. Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in fashion or apparel design

We offer;

Flexible working hours and a healthy work-life balance. We value trust and transparency and focus on collaboration and teamwork. We live by our clear Purpose, Mission & Values where we strive for continuous innovation & cutting-edge sustainable technology;

We offer competitive benefits, perks and personal development opportunities;

• Casual Denim dress code in the office and outside of work
• Reimbursement plan for train and public transportation
• Office within 5min walk from Antwerp -Berchem train station
• Discount on our brands; Wrangler® & Lee®