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AKI KANO
426 Sterling Place, Apt. 2C Brooklyn, NY 11238
Email: akikanogreen@gmail.com - Home phone: 347-756-3540 - Cell: 917-406-1785
WORK EXPERIENCE
DKNY JEANS INTERNATIONAL, COMO DESIGN STUDIO U.S.A.
Freelance Accessories Designer
December 2007- Present
Designed handbags, belts, hats, and small goods.
Developed and sourced variety of leathers and fabrics for handbags and belts.
Requested mockups from factories for handles, pocket detailing, side tabs/gussets, and interior compartments of bags.
Researched trends and stores, created mood boards, and presented concepts to design team.
Produced tech packs with CAD, specs, diagrams and trim information using both freehand sketching and AI/Photoshop.
Created custom hardware from first concept to sample approval and production stages.
Daily communication with overseas counterparts on proper execution of samples and bulk.
Responsible for comments and corrections on all samples.
DKNY Jeans International, Como Design Studio U.S.A.
Senior Freelance Knits Designer
January 2007-December 2007
Hand sketched Summer 08, Spring 08, Fall 08, and Holiday 08 lines.
Constantly researched the market by attending fairs, shows and combing through vintage and new boutiques.
Created tech packs with construction details, fabric descriptions, and trim information.
Conducted 1st proto to TOP fittings.
Communicated with in-house tech team and overseas factories to correctly execute samples.
Requested development swatches.
Created production tee-shirt graphics packages. Commented on print strike offs.
Created sequin, embroidery and stud layouts.
Participated in meetings with buyers for Europe and Asia to discover the best and worst selling garments.
L.T.S Textile Design Studio
Textile and Print Designer
January 2006-December 2006
Color matched prints on computer.
Hand printed sample yardages of fabric using in-house digital printers.
Harve Benard
Wovens and Knits Designer
January 2004 January 2006
Designed entire sportswear collections, wovens and knits.
Planned and executed original concepts, trend research, color and fabric selection.
Followed through with detailed hand drawn flat sketches and technical instructions for each garment.
Worked with fit model to assure proper fit and make of each garment.
Reinvented the fashion wheel with new ideas in silhouette, trim, or fabric for each new season.
Attended design and sales meetings daily, working closely with the team to ensure a cohesive merchandising flow.
Lead print selection. Met with over 100 print studios from around the world. Set print direction and became familiar with all trends.
Leslie Fay Sportswear
Associate Wovens Designer
APRIL 2003 - DECEMBER 2003
Created seasonal mood boards by choosing inspirational images from magazines and art books.
Approved lab dips, developed color stories, and chose color standards.
Executed detailed hand flat sketches as well as computer drawings.
Implemented all styles with technical construction and spec measurements.
Worked closely with the CAD room to finalize print creation by pitching and manipulating color combinations.
Polo Ralph Lauren-Collection and Purple Label
Associate Sweater/Knits Designer
JANUARY 2001 - DECEMBER 2002
Learned stitch development, yarn selection, technical elements and flat sketching of sweaters.
Worked with leading, luxury Italian sweater makers, and top hand knitters.
Traveled to Italian factories for fittings.
Worked on CAD computer programs to create motifs and stitch designs.
Made lab dip comments on colors for all sweater divisions of company.
Communicated with factories to assure correct production of prototypes and show samples.
Attended Collection meetings with Mr. Lauren and learned the philosophy of the line.
Assisted with runway shows and line openings every season.
EDUCATION
Fashion Institute of Technology- 2000- A.A.S degree in Fashion Design
The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; School of Art and Design -1997- B.F.A. degree
The Slade School of Art- London, England- Intensive Painting Semester- 1995
Kyoto Seika University- Kyoto, Japan- Summer program in Book Art and Japanese Graphic Design- 1995
COMPUTER SKILLS
Proficient in PC/Mac Photoshop, Illustrator, Stylemanager, Excel, Windows, Web PDM.
OTHER SKILLS
Specing, sewing, draping, flat sketching, apparel/handbag/belts/hats illustration, oil painting, watercolor, figurative drawing. Possesses a strong eye for color. Fluent in Japanese. Conversational Russian.
