More Information
Work Experience
DESIGN INTERN |STEVE MADDEN / TOPLINE CORP. May, 2015 – July, 2015
| Seattle, WA
• Conducted market trends search through on-site visits and online resources; provided a comprehensive survey report, which helped in line building of Spring/Summer (SS), 2016 collection.
• Gathered relevant customers’ information through line review, sales and buyer’s meetings for the SS-2016 Women’s range.
• Facilitated speedy development of SS-16 line by sourcing of laced fabric and trim suppliers.
• CAD revisions, color updates, technical packages, graphics, prints and trim details.
• Coordinated, organized and maintained seasonal materials, color standards and presentation boards.
• Collaborated with the Design, Development and Operation teams on mold details, construction, pattern, costing and fit.
SENIOR DESIGNER + MERCHANDISER|BIOWORLD MERCHANDISING May 2011 – Dec 2011 | India
• Led design team for market research, competition analysis, brand positioning, target customer, product selection, conceptualizing, designing, concept approval, sample request, tech-pack & developments.
• Conceptualized, designed, developed and procured a series of commercial footwear ranges for kids, men & women within launch timescale; followed product through all stages (from concept to production) within domestic & overseas market.
• Monitored industry trends, evaluated competition and executed merchandising strategy including product collection and development.
• Factory selection, negotiation, production, quality assurance and dispatch till warehouse for both domestic & imports.
• Strategized and improved internal processes and integrated new practices in India and China office.
• Partnered with Sales to increase sales revenues by 12% from previous year’s (2010) business.
• Designed & developed character merchandise (footwear) for licensing brands like: Marvel [Spider-Sense Spiderman, Marvel Heroes & Marvel Comics], Warner Bros. [Superman & Batman], DC comics, Mattel [Barbie & Hot Wheels], WWE, Disney, Nikelodeon, Hanna Montana and Virtis Footwear.
DESIGNER | RELAXO FOOTWEARS LTD. May 2006 – May 2011
| India
• Introduced a novel double-color EVA-midsole and rubber-outsole series of sporty-sandals for the brand SPARX which was a huge design success.
• Led design and commercialization work-flow for range of footwear (sport-shoes, canvas-shoes, casual-slippers), in particular, summer 2007, Economy and SPARX Spring–Summer 2008 Series, leading to great market acceptance and large export order stimulation. Retail accounts went up from 10% to 80%, including 3 seasons of orders that came exclusively in girls’ sneakers.
• Identified right vendors to source the products, materials, accessories, etc.
• Executed design, look & value enhancements on existing products.
• Conceptualized, designed and executed interior decors of the design department.
INDUSTRIAL INTERN | REEBOK INDIA LTD. Jan 2006
| India
• Sample development of three ankle boots involving various shoes constructions, color and composition, material science and leather technology.
• Composed color swatch-books and tech-packs for commercialization of above-mentioned samples
Research Experience
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT|WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY Aug 2014 – Present |Morgantown, WV
• Research on ways of advancing product development through elicitation of consumer needs in today’s retail economy.
• Scoping of non-Newtonian and bio-degradable footwear materials towards a U.S. Defense (Natick Div.) research proposal.
• Review article on Footwear Technology for Military Personnel submitted for publication.
• Teaching Merchandising, Planning & Control course to WVU UG students.
• Developed an IMC plan for Home Depot including creative implementation of structuring a campaign via SWOT analysis
DESIGN INTERN |STEVE MADDEN / TOPLINE CORP. May, 2015 – July, 2015
| Seattle, WA
• Designing a package of innovative women’s footwear for the test production in upcoming Spring, 2016 through insights from trends forecasting and prevailing European trends as inspiration.
• Developed an understanding about design/service demands of various clients like Lane Bryant, Express, Ross, NY&C, Amazon, Payless, Dolce-Vitta, Billa-Bong, Kohl’s, Charming Charlie, Maurices, Cato, Christopher Banks, Nordstrom, Macy’s and other house labels like Steve Madden and Report Footwear.
Skills
MERCHANDISING
Market Analysis >> Fashion & Trend Forecasting >> Costing Negotiation with Vendors >>Establish and Approve Pricing Strategy >> Sales Evaluation >> New Material Introduction >> Merchandise Selection and Procurement >> Forecasting Consumer Buying Patterns
DESIGNING
Footwear Line Building >> Color Combination & Composition >> Mood boards >>Sampling >> Product photography >> Reviewing >> Tech Packs >> Pattern and fitting corrections >> Last and Mold designs >>Technical Documentation (Costing Analysis, Norm Sheets Consumption, etc.)
VISUAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Ability to build compelling stories through visual mediums, 2D & 3D, analog and digital
SOFTWARE SKILLS
2D & 3D CAD/CAM (ShoeMaster) >>Autodesk Fusion 360 >> Rhino >> CorelDraw >>
Illustrator >> Adobe Photoshop >> MS Office
Education
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
M.S. IN DESIGN & MERCHANDISING Expected May 2016 | Morgantown, WV
Cum. GPA: 4.0
COURSES: Visual 3D Modeling & Rendering >>Research Methodology>>Creative Economies>>Statistical Data Analysis>> Retail Management>>Integrated Marketing & Communications>> Literature review paper on Military boots
FDDI (Footwear Design & Development Inst.)
B.S. IN FOOTWEAR TECHNOLOGY May 2006 | India
Cum. GPA: 3.92 / 4.0
IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open Univ.)
B.A. IN ENGLISH (HONORS) Dec 2014 | India
Cum. GPA: 3.5 / 4.0
CERTIFICATIONS
DESIGN: CREATION OF ARTIFACTS IN
SOCIETY
University of Pennsylvania | Coursera July, 2014
INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
Wharton Business School | Coursera Dec, 2013
AFFIALIATIONS
ITAA (International Textile and Apparel Association)
MAGIC Trade show, Vegas
