Design Director, Special Projects

Coach is a global fashion house founded in New York in 1941. Inspired by the vision of Creative Director Stuart Vevers and the inclusive and courageous spirit of our hometown, we make beautiful things, crafted to last—for you to be yourself in.

 

Coach is part of the Tapestry portfolio – a global house of brands committed to stretching what’s possible.

 

A member of the Tapestry family, we are part of a global house of brands that has unwavering optimism and is committed to being innovative and wholly inclusive.

Primary Purpose: The Director will partner closely with the Creative Director and VP to concept and design product for special projects, collaborations and specialty accessories that support unique merchandising, brand, and marketing needs. The Director will collaborate on concepts each season that are fashion driven and reflective of the creative and aesthetic vision of Coach. You will be a part of a dynamic, creative environment where you will collaborate with talented designers, cross-functional partners and external talent in a fast-paced studio.

The successful individual will leverage their proficiency in Design to…

• Research and develop inspiration boards to convey the project vision and inspire the team. Continuously bring new ideas and innovative concepts to enhance the collection.
• Partner with team to refine concepts, materials, hardware, and color palette for all projects.
• Create sketches, product prototypes and finished samples together with the Design, Workroom and Product Development teams.
• Responsible for upholding design integrity, high quality execution, and timeliness throughout the entire development process from concept through engineering and commercialization. 
• Responsible to lead the team to meet all timeline milestones and deadlines; monitor the work of the team to ensure all deliverables are completed accurately
• Ensure all prototypes are available for product presentation and finalization.
• Partner cross-functionally with Merchandising, Materials, Hardware Design, Product Development, local vendors, Design Studio Management, Marketing, Public Relations, Legal, Customer Experience, Creative and all Design teams on regular basis. Participate in meetings with cross-functional category partners. 
• Lead, mentor and develop designers and assistants. Team of 4.

The accomplished individual will possess…

 

• Ability to sketch both technical drawings and freeform renderings
• Understanding of development process from concept through engineering
• Experience managing a team
• A strong fashion sense, understanding of Gen Z and trend interpretation through a brand lens.
• Highly resourceful experience working in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to interact with a diverse group at all levels
• Proven organizational skills with attention to detail and a problem- solving mindset
• Flexibility navigating through change
• Experience working across multiple product categories

 

An outstanding professional will have…

• 10 + years of experience in a creative or fashion field. An equivalent combination of work experience and education will be considered
• Working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Microsoft Office

 

Our Competencies for All Employees

 

• Courage: Doesn’t hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and “actionable” positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.
• Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
• Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with