We are looking for a Freelance Footwear Designer to join our OB Design team. This role will be to work with us for 88 days over a 12 month period.

As a Freelance Footwear Designer at OB you will you will bring our concepts to life using your expertise to develop a collection that our customers will love. You will support to lead along with the senior Bags and Accessories Designer.

Reporting to the Head of Fashion Design, you will work on projects from initial concept through to completion using your practical skills to support both your imagination and visualisation. You will work collaboratively with the Design team as well as the Buyer and Merchandiser, in delivering an authentic and inspirational collection.

In the role you will also inspire our highly creative Footwear Designers, ensuring the top line strategy and design values are met and cascaded through the business.

Our Support Office is based in Tolworth, near Chessington, only a 30-minute journey from London Waterloo.

A bit about us …

At Oliver Bonas (OB), our values of Work Hard, Play Hard & Be Kind are integral to everything we do. Collaboration, imagination, curiosity, and teamwork are key to our success, and everyone has their part to play in making OB a special place to work.

Having fun is key, and a playful and positive approach creates an optimistic environment. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are serious about what we do.

Our team knows their stuff. They’re confident and creative and unafraid to challenge convention to find solutions, taking accountability for their actions, but always with kindness and humility.

More about the role …

An OB Freelance Footwear Designer will:

Design and create Footwear collection from concept through to production, developing the range collaboratively alongside the Design and Buying teams
Create and develop original concepts for the Footwear collection that compliments the Oliver Bonas design ethos
Design a collection that is sympathetic and reactive to sales performance while still driving excitement and newness to the range
Translate themes and trends into ideas and concepts for each season’s collections, including colour palette, pattern, and materials.
Develop and design product with a unique point of difference to ensure we are the world’s pre-eminent British design-led lifestyle retailer
Source and research materials that are in line with the concept and Oliver Bonas handwriting, and correct for seasonality and timing
Support with leading the design and development for Footwear department
Collaborate with the Design and Buying and Merchandising teams to ensure the collection is cohesive
Assist the Head Fashion Designer and Design team in creating seasonal department concepts and themes, colour palettes and trend research that are in line with the brands handwriting and vision
Research and assist the Head of Fashion Design with seasonal colour palettes ensuring the colour palettes work specific for product categories
Suggest and find tones, that work in a cohesive way that are correct for material timing and footwear profiles
Conduct trend research and market analysis resulting in recommendations and new areas of potential business across all fashion departments
Present themes to the company and relevant suppliers when needed
Collaborate with the Buying and Merchandising teams, analyzing and creating new seasonal strategy plans for the department that are in line with the top line strategy plan and company vision
Review and react to the market and social trends to identify emerging product opportunities
Ensure the OB brand values are reflected in all areas of work from design development to production
Review and approve all product specification, final designs, final samples at sign off meetings
Work closely with our supplier base to understand and develop capability
Carry out sourcing and attending inspirational trips, feeding back to teams and business to inspire others
Build ranges and develop collections collaboratively with the Buying team, ensuring the range is balanced and commercial, while maintaining excitement within the collection
Manage supplier communications with product development knowledge across the categories
Co-ordinate and communicate seasonal design themes with the Buying team and fellow design team members

What we look for:

The ability to connect with the OB brand identity and an understanding of the OB handwriting
Relevant Design knowledge and experience
Excellent drawing skills and technical drawing ability
Knowledge of construction and manufacturing processes
Desire to continually learn and develop knowledge and skillset
Expert computer skills including CAD, Adobe Suite, Photoshop, and Illustrator
Big ideas and a strong conceptual imagination
Confident communicator with the ability to influence and persuade
A, fun and flexible approach to how you work
Ambition to be part of a dynamic Design team and create a market defining brand

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at OB

At Oliver Bonas, our promise is to do our bit to make living a joyful experience and give cause for optimism. This promise is central to our work in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). To bring joy to others, we must first ensure everyone at OB feels valued, included and most importantly, can be themselves at work.

It is important to us that our brand reflects wider society and the communities in which we operate. As a result, we welcome all eligible applicants for this role however we are particularly interested in speaking to eligible candidates from the Black, Asian & Mixed Heritage communities.

Oliver Bonas is a Disability Confident Committed employer under the Disability Confident employer scheme.

To read more about our ED&I commitments, head over to the EDI page on our website: https://www.oliverbonas.com/meet-the-team/diversity