Role Overview The Creative Lead – Western Wear will define and drive the creative vision, textile innovation, and product development strategy across men’s, women’s, and kids’ western wear categories . The role translates brand ethos, craft heritage, and contemporary trends into commercially viable collections , ensuring alignment with merchandising strategy, costing targets, and business objectives . The position leads a cross-functional team of textile designers, fashion designers, and product development merchants , guiding the entire process from conceptualisation and trend direction to range development, costing alignment, jury presentation, and final product handover for production and launch .

Position

Objective - Provide creative leadership and strategic design direction for the western wear categories.

- Drive innovative textile and apparel design development aligned with Fabindia’s craft heritage and market positioning.
- Ensure commercially successful collections through solid range planning, costing discipline, and trend relevance .
- Lead end-to-end design processes , including concept development, sampling, range presentation, and production handover.
- Manage and mentor design and product development teams to deliver high-quality, timely collections.

Key Responsibilities 1.

Creative

Direction & Trend Strategy - Define the seasonal creative vision for western wear across categories.

- Lead trend research including colour, fabric, silhouette, craft, and surface development trends.
- Translate fashion trends and indigenous craft narratives into relevant seasonal themes.
- Develop seasonal design strategy documents outlining concept, colour palette, materials, and styling direction.
- Ensure creative consistency across all product categories while maintaining brand identity.
- Market & Consumer Insights - Conduct market visits and competitor mapping to understand product positioning and design opportunities.
- Analyse consumer behaviour, sales feedback, and retail insights to guide design decisions.
- Review previous season sell-through reports to identify successful products and areas of improvement.
- Collaborate with PH’s, sales, retail, and merchandising teams to incorporate market intelligence into product development. 3.

Range





Planning & Collection Development - Lead seasonal range development across categories based on option plans and business targets .

- Develop range architecture ensuring balance across price points, categories, and styles.
- Create range projection sheets with clear design direction and commercial viability.
- Oversee concept boards, mood boards, colour stories, and styling narratives for each collection. 4.

Textile

Innovation & Product Development - Guide textile designers in developing fabrics, prints, weaves, and craft techniques aligned with seasonal themes.

- Work with artisans and sourcing teams to develop unique textile bases and surface treatments .
- Ensure textile innovation while maintaining cost feasibility and scalability . 5.

Product

Engineering & Cost Management - Work closely with PD merchants and scm teams to align product development with target costing and margin expectations .

- Ensure product engineering and value optimisation without compromising design integrity.
- Review first costings and BOM details to ensure alignment with business margins.
- Guide teams on material selection, construction methods, and finishes to achieve desired cost and quality.
- Sampling & Development Process - Oversee sample development across categories , ensuring design accuracy and quality.
- Manage fit development, pattern approvals, and construction detailing .
- Coordinate with PD teams to ensure timely development and sampling schedules .
- Approve final prototypes before production readiness .
- Team Leadership & Cross-functional Coordination - Lead and mentor textile designers, fashion designers, and PD merchants .
- Facilitate effective collaboration between design, merchandising, sourcing, and production teams .
- Ensure clear communication of design intent and technical details throughout the development process.




- Manage timelines and deliverables across the design lifecycle. 8.

Range

Presentation & Jury Preparation - Prepare seasonal range presentations for internal design and merchandising reviews.

- Lead jury preparation including curated collections, storytelling, mood boards, and key styles.
- Present design concepts, innovation, and product strategy to leadership and buying teams .
- Refine collections based on jury feedback and business alignment . 9.

Production

Handover & Launch Readiness - Ensure complete design documentation and spec sheets for production teams.

- Oversee the handover process from design to production ensuring clarity in fabrics, trims, finishes, and technical details.
- Monitor initial production samples to maintain design intent and quality standards. 10.

Brand

Building & Creative Communication - Collaborate with marketing teams on seasonal storytelling and brand narratives .

- Support development of lookbooks, campaign direction, and styling guidance .
- Contribute to visual merchandising concepts and retail storytelling .

Qualifications & Experience Education Bachelor’s Degree in Design (preferably from National Institute of Fashion Technology ) or equivalent.

Experience - 12–15 years of experience in western apparel design and product development

- Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary design teams
- Strong exposure to textile development and craft-based design Key Skills & Competencies Creative & Design Skills - Strong western design sensibility and textile understanding
- Ability to translate craft heritage into modern fashion
- Expertise in trend forecasting and range building Commercial & Strategic Skills - Understanding of fashion business and merchandising strategies
- Ability to balance creativity with cost and margin targets
- Strong range planning and product architecture capability Leadership & Collaboration - Team leadership and mentorship
- Cross-functional coordination
- Strong communication and presentation skills Technical Knowledge - Textile development and surface design
- Garment construction and product engineering
- Sampling and fit development
- Costing and margin management Interested candidates please share resume at [email protected]

📌 Creative Lead - Western Wear (Faridabad)
🏢 FABINDIA
📍 Faridabad