Senior Designer -The Frolic- Mat cover 9-12 month contract in Altrincham

About the role:

We are on the lookout for a Senior Womenswear designer to join our design team on a fixed term basis during an exciting period of growth for the brand. The Senior Fashion Designer leads the creative direction of collections, ensuring brand consistency across all ranges. This role works cross-functionally with key departments — including buying, marketing, and garment technology — to drive commercial success while mentoring and developing junior members of the design team.

Your Responsibilities:

• Set the overall creative direction and vision for collections, ensuring consistency with brand strategy and long-term goals.
• Lead seasonal concept development, including shoot concepts and storytelling.
• Approve final line-ups, ensuring product range aligns with customer needs and commercial objectives.
• Evaluate market trends, consumer behaviour, and competitor activity to drive future design strategies and direction.
• Lead high-level supplier relationships and negotiate key developments independently.
• Oversee collection planning, ensuring design workstreams align with critical path and business priorities.
• Mentor and develop junior designers, providing guidance on both creative and technical aspects.
• Collaborate with senior members (Buying, Marketing, Merchandising) to align creative direction.
• Lead design reviews and present collections to leadership with clear rationale and vision.
• React strategically to trade and performance feedback, driving quick-turn updates or edits to enhance sell-through.

Requirements:

• Extensive experience in fashion design, with a strong track record of designing commercially successful womenswear collections.
• Demonstrated ability to set and lead creative direction across multiple product categories, with a deep understanding of brand identity and customer profile.
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills, with experience managing, coaching, and developing junior designers.
• Proven experience conducting market and trend research, with the ability to translate insights into commercially relevant, brand-aligned collections.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign), and confident in producing high-quality CADs, moodboards, and presentation materials.
• Strong technical skills in garment construction and product development, including creating and reviewing detailed tech packs and prototypes.
• Experience negotiating with suppliers and managing high-level vendor relationships with confidence and professionalism.
• Confident in presenting collections and design rationale to leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Excellent organisational and project management skills — able to manage multiple deadlines, oversee the critical path, and balance creative output with business priorities.
• Collaborative approach with cross-functional teams (Buying, Merchandising, Garment Tech, Marketing), ensuring alignment at all stages of the design and development process.
• Resilient, adaptable, and solution-oriented, with a forward-thinking, trend-led design approach.

Benefits:

• Birthday day off
• 25-day holiday
• Flexible hours
• Vibrant team
• 40% off staff discount
• Team socials
• Competitions
• Hybrid working - 4 days in the Altrincham office