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Design Director
MAGDA KAHN FREELANCE DESIGNER
January 2012 - Present
- Hands on experience on providing clothing guidance and support for private clients.
- Develop presentation boards for private clients, identified key trends, color palettes and silhouettes appropriate for the occasion and client needs.
- Develop hand sketches, collections and initial concepts based on client requirements.
- Effectively managed and directed all aspects of the design process of custom made couture pieces.
- Managed all aspects of garment construction from Initial draping (creation of muslin) to pattern making and fit sessions to sewing techniques to ensure high quality.
- Styling and wardrobe guidance for TV shows and performances. Direct interaction, design direction and wardrobe execution for entertainment artist.

DIRECTOR OF MERCHANDISING AND DESIGN
PEACE LOVE WORLD
September 2015 - August 2016
- Oversee and maintain design calendar and development process to ensure timely completion.
- Work closely with the owner to monitor assortments and maintain consistent brand image.
- Interface with all functional areas of the business (design, sales, sourcing, marketing) to maintain successful workflow.
- Support sales staff in all design related needs. Analyze retail sales with sales team and design team to identify opportunities.
- Keep past, current and upcoming seasons assortment and merch costing sheets updated with latest pricing and margins.
- Oversee workflow in the Design department including technical designer.
- Communicate with overseas vendors on daily basis regarding fabric development, sample status, and bulk production.
- Worked directly with vendors at factories to develop and ensure speed to market as well as new line sample development.
- In charge of opening of a Pop-up retail outlet store at Sawgrass Mills Outlet mall. Responsible for designing and store layout, merchandise assortment and partner with Visual to ensure store set reflects brand aesthetics.
- Successfully developed a Jewelry line as a new brand initiative. Partnered with Design director to effectively translate the brand message on to the Jewelry line.
- Involved from conception on the new brand initiative and partnership between PLW with QVC Broadcast television network. Instrumental on the development and merchandising of the first year line plan.
- Worked directly with QVC merchandiser team, buying team and design teams to develop a brand strategy and translate PLW brand to be sold on QVC channel and website.
- Worked closely with QVC sourcing team in the selection of fabric, yarns and trims. Involved on all fitting and development facets to keep the brand identity and aesthetics intact.

DESIGN DIRECTOR
PERRY ELLIS INTERNATIONAL
January 2004 - July 2012
- Effectively managed and directed all aspects of the design process for several men’s collections retailed at various tiers of distributions such as Kohl’s, JC Penney, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sears and specialty stores; successfully built strong and balanced assortments including multiple categories such as tops, bottoms, outerwear, swimwear and sweaters according to season and customer needs
- Directed and executed the entire product design process including conducting extensive market research and trends, creating mood boards and developing color palettes while also designing and overseeing a design team focused on the development of CADS for both presentation and development processes using software such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Web PDM and U4ia
- Developed and implemented key plans for maintaining the brand identity and supporting merchant’s line plans and assortment strategies
- Ensured all products’ consistency with the business strategy by interpreting concepts and - Directly oversaw all handlooms, knit-downs and lab dip approvals to ensure timely and cohesive sales samples development across the line
- Ensured all product design packages were complete, accurate and on time to transfer to the product development team, technical department, vendors and the company’s offices overseas
- Developed an appropriate style and fit of products by collaborating closely with the technical department, actively attending and conducting fit sessions with technical designers to maintain fit standards and updated fit when needed based on new trends and customer demands
- Communicated daily with overseas offices in China, H.K., Korea, Bangladesh, Taiwan and other countries to ensure product development of prototypes and sales samples while also managing a detailed execution meeting design calendar
- Established and fully trained an overseas product development team in China to execute designs as well as interpret them efficiently to ensure speed to market
- Responsible for the seasonal development of new prints, trims and embroideries
- Collaborated closely with design studios and the creative design team, providing seasonal inspirational boards and trends to ensure strict adherence to the design calendar
- Coordinated and conducted creative design presentations to sales force, merchandising, customers and buyer teams such as Kohl’s, JC Penney, Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart and other major retailers
- Proactively traveled overseas to countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America in order to visit factories, vendors, textile houses and trade shows to identify areas for improvement
- Created and maintained new relationships with manufacturers by working on collections directly at the factories and traveling with the sourcing team to enhance the development process, ensure targeted prices and gain speed to market
Strategically hired, trained and managed direct reports such as assistant and associate designers, interns and product coordinators while monitoring for top productivity and efficiency.

SWEATER DESIGNER
PERRY ELLIS INTERNATIONAL
September 1999 - December 2003

- Effectively managed and directed the design process for several men’s sweater collections retailed at various tiers of distributions such as Macy’s, JC Penney, Target, Wal-Mart, Sears and specialty stores, building strong and balanced assortments of sweaters according to season and customer needs
- Designed and developed sweater assortments in 12gg, 7gg and 5gg from concept through production
- Traveled to Europe, Asia and Latin America each year to source the yarns and develop creative knit patterns and product samples while also attending Pitti Filati in Florence, Italy each year
- Designed and developed innovative and unique patterns in fast-paced, deadline driven environments
- Responsible for sales samples development, creating tech packs and managing yarn size and color approvals.
- Efficiently managed a very large workload and multiple presentations for all brands handled
- Utilized global vision and ability to interpret design direction in the development of creative prototypes
- Developed improved procedures to manage all aspects of inventory management
- Managed all apparel test samples and advised new methods for production