Senior Designer - Topshop - Jersey & Knitwear

TOPSHOP and TOPMAN are iconic British fashion brands with 60 years of heritage. Headquartered in London, the Brands have over 2 million customers across the globe through the ASOS platform and generate brand sales of c£200m. Our mission is to unlock the best of fashion for everyone, with creativity and innovation at our core.

Following the formation of a Joint Venture between ASOS and HEARTLAND in October 2024, ASOS is creating a standalone cross-functional team dedicated to unlocking the growth potential of the TOPSHOP and TOPMAN brands. The brands will benefit from ASOS infrastructure and resources while enjoying the creative freedom and agility of standalone brands. The next 12 months will see the expansion of the brands’ offline and online retail presence with the launch of Topshop.com and new wholesale partnerships.

The Senior Designer on Topshop wholesale plays a critical role in the brand and this role is key across multiple categories including Knitwear & Jersey, driving the success of the brand through delivering best-in-class product. Working collaboratively with the wholesale team across Design, Merchandising, Buying, Sourcing and Technical, the role is responsible for delivering the Topshop collection for our wholesale business and for the global Topshop customer.

You will identify and contribute to the wholesale product strategy for the categories with the wider design team, working collaboratively with the wider wholesale team to deliver a commercial and trend-led range. You will be collaborative, organised, and strategic, delivering trend direction and product that ensures Topshop stays ahead of the market in newness and trend, always looking to push the range for our global markets forward. The role will contribute to design direction and ensure that product design is aligned to the strategic vision and focused on delivering a compelling and commercial offer appropriate for our target customer.

Responsibilities:

• Researching & developing trends to deliver wholesale collections for Topshop by identifying & developing Jersey and Knitwear big deals, key seasonal shapes, with focus on newness in fabric, yarn, pattern, stitch and silhouette for the Topshop customer.
• Developing new and unique product to deliver a range in line with the Topshop wholesale strategy, balancing across customer profiles and end-uses including volume pieces, key items of the Season and stand-out hero pieces.
• Delivering product design for wholesale collection across Jeans & Denim, Casual Outerwear and Casual Bottoms categories.
• Presenting key looks and styling for the wholesale collection with the wider wholesale design team to deliver a cohesive range.
• Sourcing new fabrications, techniques and trimmings with the wider Wholesale design team.
• Anticipating the needs of the Topshop customer using sales data, customer profile analytics and trend research to deliver commercial product ranges.
• Working closely with in-house wholesale buying teams to create new product each season and shape the product direction for the department, ensuring alignment to the brand wholesale strategy.
• Working with the Technical team on fits weekly, identifying and helping create new silhouette blocks for the department and producing a commercial range.
• Building relationships with suppliers and advising factories on product direction, silhouette, construction, key details, fabrics, trimmings and artworks.
• Managing, developing and motivating more junior team members, providing them with clear direction and regular feedback.
• Collaborating with other functions to deliver the Topshop wholesale strategy, ensuring ranges are cohesively presented.
• Motivating and engaging the wider design team through role model behaviour.

Qualifications:

• High level of multi-product experience in jersey & Knitwear is a requirement with experience of working with Far East, Mauritius, India and European manufacturers and sourcing.
• Ability to deliver world-class product driving creativity as well as commercial interpreted pieces for must-have items of the Season.
• Strong trend research and inspirational direction with the ability to interpret this inline with the Topshop wholesale brand strategy.
• Experience in Knitwear and Jersey development both Long and Short lead time with experience in formal & casual jersey as well as jersey basics.
• Experience in yarn, stitch and pattern design across Far East and European manufacturing is essential.
• Has a strong eye for Print, graphics, knit pattern, embroidery & embellishment direction.
• Has experience of fabric & yarn sourcing across multiple sourcing territories to bring new direction to the collection.

Benefits:

• Employee discount (hello ASOS discount!)
• Employee sample sales
• 25 days paid annual leave + an extra celebration day for a special moment
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Private medical care scheme
• Flexible benefits allowance - which you can choose to take as extra cash, or use towards other benefits
• Opportunity for personalised learning and in-the-moment experiences that enable you to thrive and excel in your role