Head of Accessories and Bags Design in London

Working at Stella McCartney is a truly rewarding experience. As a luxury fashion company with a strong ethical standpoint, we are leaders and innovators in our industry.

The Head of Bags and Accessories Design leads the Bags and Accessories design team, driving the creative vision and strategy for all accessories lines. This role demands a highly experienced and proactive leader with a strong understanding of luxury fashion, design principles, and market trends, who can thrive in a fast-paced environment. Contributing to and managing all stages of the design process while maintaining composure under pressure and demonstrating a strong understanding of design principles and materials, the role will strategically translate creative concepts into innovative designs aligned with brand aesthetics and market needs.

The Head of Bags and Accessories will be responsible for execution within 2 pre-collections (circa 160 samples per collection) and 2 runway collections for Paris (circa 130 samples per collection), plus capsule collections as well as all other special exclusive collaborations. The Head of Bags and Accessories will be responsible for translating the Creative Director's vision into innovative and commercially successful designs, while upholding the brand's aesthetic and ethical values.

Your Mission:

• Lead and inspire the Bags and Accessories design team, providing clear direction, mentorship, and support.
• Collaborate closely with the Creative Director and RTW Design Director, managing their creative vision and translating it into qualitative product.
• Create and develop mood boards and original inspiration themes to present to the Creative Director for the seasonal collection and colour card proposals, highlighting key combinations for each collection to provide to the developer with clear information.
• Lead design and research efforts to identify emerging trends, innovative materials, and new technologies, ensuring the brand remains at the forefront of the industry.
• Oversee the fabric and prototype archive, ensuring organisation and accessibility for the design team.
• Develop and execute the seasonal design strategy for all bags and accessories categories, creating 10-15 new styles per event.
• Weave new fabrication on key carry-over groups (Falabella, Logo, Ryder, Dartmoor) whilst maintaining the identity and brand of the product with the sustainable priority as the identity of the brand.
• Respond to the BU Director for development, helping the process with the timeline of the collection.
• Collaborate with Merchandiser, understand the structure of the collection and share with them the trend of the season.
• Oversee the entire design process, from concept development and sketching to correcting prototypes, ensuring timely delivery and adherence to quality standards.
• Prepare and distribute design scans and specifications to the Product Manager.
• Maintain good and clear communication with the product development team in Italy following each fitting and design meeting.
• Oversee fabric-to-sketch allocation following the product and merchandiser plan, ensuring effective management of the design team workload.
• Create high-quality renderings of accessories and bags for presentations and internal reviews.
• Develop quick mock-ups of accessories and bags to help the Creative Director visualise designs and construction.
• Record detailed notes during fittings and follow-up presentations, ensuring accurate documentation.
• Prepare materials and presentations for design meetings and concept reviews.
• Ensure adherence to collection deadlines, managing the accessories and bag design team resources effectively.
• Work well under pressure, multitask, and meet critical deadlines that impact the overall business.
• Build strong relationships with other departments.
• Maintain the organisation of the accessories and bags fitting room, ensuring a productive workspace.

Your Talent:

• Trend awareness, keeping up with the latest fashion trends, materials, and styles.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Extensive experience in a leadership role within a luxury fashion house, with a focus on accessories and bags, specifically within handbags, small leather goods, keychains, belts, and accessories.
• Proven ability to lead and inspire a design team, fostering a collaborative and creative environment.
• Strong understanding of the Stella McCartney heritage, ethical values, and brand DNA.
• Excellent design and technical skills, with a deep understanding of materials, construction techniques, and manufacturing processes.
• Ability to create and facilitate appropriate timelines for design, effectively managing changing priorities at short notice.
• Affinity with the values of Stella McCartney, the brand identity, and style of the accessories and bags collection.
• Strong travel budget management and resource allocation skills.
• Experience with CAD software, Adobe Suite, and Photoshop, Illustrator.
• Italian language skills are desirable.
• Knowledge of legal requirements for confidentiality and intellectual property.

Reward:

• Up to 50% discount on Stella McCartney products.
• Matched pension contribution up to 6%.
• Extensive private medical and critical illness insurance, as well as life assurance.
• Annual Health Screening.
• 25 days annual leave (not including Bank Holidays) + 1 day of Birthday leave.
• Flexible working/core hours.
• Enhanced maternity/paternity packages.
• Matched Give as You Earn charity scheme.
• Discounted gym and fitness memberships (Classpass).
• Health cash plan.
• Physical and Mental Wellbeing Support Services.
• Employee referral bonus.
• Optional/Paid Benefits: Season ticket loan, cycle to work and tech schemes, travel and dental insurance, and much more.

We welcome people with disabilities and endeavour to make reasonable adjustments. If you do require such adjustments, please let us know within 48 hours of your interview. At Stella McCartney, we like to be bold. For us, this means challenging ourselves and the wider industry in which we operate. As part of our commitments to inclusive fashion, we have an ambitious strategy to put diversity, equity, and inclusion at the centre of everything we do. Our starting point is to create a workplace where different voices are respected, heard, and empowered in equal measure regardless of factors such as culture and backgrounds, and to influence and disrupt fashion and other industries by providing opportunities for global diverse talent to shine.