Experience

Ellis Bridals

• United Kingdom
• Retail Apparel and Fashion
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Head Designer

  • Oct 2022 - Present

• Design & Product Manager

  • Nov 2020 - Present

  Carefully analysing sales and store feedback to produce detailed range plans for each season. Presenting trend research and sketches to the Director. Producing thorough tech packs for suppliers for every product. Managing the development of each product to productionManaging the design team to achieve deadlines for all sales materials, marketing, photoshoots & website development as well as over seeing production.

• Designer & Product Developer

  • Mar 2020 - Nov 2020

• Junior Designer & Product Developer

  • Jun 2019 - Mar 2020

  A premium bridal brand focused on the UK bridal market. Offering classic & timeless designs for the British bride. Producing detailed range plans for the collection through the analysis of sales. Producing detailed and clear designs and tech packs for suppliers to follow. Leading sample fit sessions, taking detailed design and fit comments. Producing sample comments and issuing to international suppliers. Daily communication with suppliers through sampling and production. Responsible for overseeing QC and Production checks and issuing production comments to suppliers. Reveiwing size chart and grading rules for production to improve fit and product. Shoot planning and execution.Reviewing copy for both social media and the website, and providing inspiration to the social media team for new assests. Training and managing junior members of the team, ensuring the design room and functions are highly organised and efficent.



Kelsey Rose

• United Kingdom

• Head Designer

  • Oct 2022 - Present

• Design & Product Manager

  • Nov 2020 - Present

  Carefully analysing sales and feedback to produce detailed range plans for each season. Presenting trend research and sketches to the Director. Producing thorough tech packs for suppliers for every product. Managing the development of each product to production.Managing the design team to achieve deadlines for all sales materials, marketing, photoshoots & website development as well as over seeing production.

• Designer & Product Developer

  • Mar 2020 - Nov 2020

  Producing detailed range plans for the 2021 season, designing and presenting research along side design to the Director. Producing thorough tech packs for suppliers for every product. Managing the development of each product to production

• Junior Designer & Product developer

  • Jun 2019 - Mar 2020

  Working on 3 collections within the KR brand: 'KR White', a bridal brand for the modern bride. 'KR Black', a prom and eveningwear brand & 'KR Pink' a bridesmaid brand. All 3 brands have a focus for both the UK and EU market. Fabric sourcing for all 3 brands at Fabric fairs. Researching & designing for all 3 collections. Producing mood & trend boards to share with the rest of the team. Producing detail range plans for all collections based through analysis of sales. Analysing sales history to ensure current & new direction is relevant & commercial. Producing brand direction documents to share with all departments. Producing tech packs for factories to follow, with fabric details, trims and construction details as well as strict target prices to ensure designs are commercial. Daily communication with factories, monitoring the development of new collections. Attending fit sessions, taking technical as well as design notes and changes. Producing and issuing detailed sample fit comments, ensuring they are well understood by suppliers. Overseeing production and QC for all 3 brands. Inspecting incoming stock and issuing production comments to suppliers. Providing brand direction/ social media assest inspiration for the social media team, approving & reviewing copy for the website and posts. Managing and training junior members of the team on product development & general design room processes.



John Charles

• United Kingdom
• Business Consulting and Services

• Head Designer

  • Oct 2022 - Present

• Designer & Product Developer

  • Mar 2020 - Present

• Junior Designer & Product Developer

  • Jun 2019 - Nov 2020

  A luxury occasionwear brand focused on Mother of the Bride/ Groom looks as well as general eventwear RTW clothing. Reviewing sales reports from previous seasons, reviewing customers spending habits & trends. Creating individual reports for specific key customers, ensuring new desings are commerical and cater for their needs.Carrying out market research of competitors to identify where as a brand we could develop and ensuring designs are current & commercial. Managing fabric sourcing: researching trends, attending PV, London Textile Fair & arranging viewings with agents. Assisting with fabric selection, fabric ordering, keeping log of fabric orders, expenditure reports and delivery dates. Managing the team through the shipment of fabric from UK HQ to overseas factories ready for sampling. Commicating daily with various fabric suppliers and feeding back relevant information to internal deparments. Assisting Head of Design & freelance designers during trend and fabric researching & sampling production. Preparing linesheets, swing tickets & colour variation sheets. Producing own designs as well as building tech packs for freelance designers. Issuing tech packs to suppliers ready for sampling ensuring they are understood correctly and answering any queries during sampling.Working closely and learning from a highly experienced Freelance Garment Tech to improve knowledge on production, lay plans, construction & fit. Assisting with shoot planning & execution, hosting casting & fittings. Assisting social media team, advising on copy for the website/ social media platforms as well as providing inspiration for future posts and content.

• Design and Product Manager

  • Nov 2020 - Present

  Producing detailed range plans for the SS2022 season, presenting research along side designs to the Director. Sourcing fabrics and producing thorough tech packs for suppliers for every product. Managing the development of each product to production Producing detailed range plans for the SS2022 season, presenting research along side designs to the Director. Sourcing fabrics and producing thorough tech packs for suppliers for every product. Managing the development of each product to production



WED2B

• United Kingdom
• Retail
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Production Coordinator

  • Jan 2018 - Jun 2019

  Promoted from my previous role by my manager for showing an organised and dedicated work ethic. Managing the Development, Production & QC of approx 170,000 pieces per year, including wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses & accessories. Working on new designs on a monthly basis ready for OTB meetings with the Directors.I produced and distrubuted a Production Manual for all suppliers as well as managing our internal and overseas QC team. During my time managing production and QC, return rates for faulty goods reduced to less than 5%.Researched and designed a succesful capsule collection of flowergirl dresses as well as bridal accessories (veils & jackets/boleros).Attended fit sessions and issuing sample/ pre-production comments to suppliers reguarly, on average working on 15-25 new designs each month.Management:During my time in this role, I was put forward by my line manager for an internal Managment Training Scheme. Managing our overseas Quality Control Manager and QC inspectors. Scheduling & supporting the team through inspections & audits at factories, overseeing expenses, communicating back to the Central Office teams. Working extremely closely with the Logistic & Merchandising team to adhere to planned intake of stock. Working closely with factories and QC teams to relay any delays to production. The bridesmaid collection operated to made to order system. This required an organised and efficent production system to meet customer order and production lead times, with a huge emphasis of communication between all departments.I spent time training and managing Junior members of the team, training them through the QC process and the production of detailed sample comments and thorough checks of products.Working with International Suppliers, communicating effectively and efficently on a daily basis.

• Garment Technologist

  • Jan 2017 - Jan 2018

  From working with in the Store Network for WED2B, my talent, experience and understanding of our customer & sales was recognised by the CEO of the company and I was asked to join the Design Team as Garment Technologist. My experience on the shop floor gave me an invaluable insight into our brides expectations and reactions. I provided valuable information regarding the sales and fitting processes with customers. I believe that by sharing this information with the Design Team we resulted in better and more considered product. Using my previously learned technical understanding & experience of construction, I worked across all bridal and occasionwear product groups. Day to day activities included supporting the Creative Director in developing all bridal and occasion wear products from development stages through to bulk production. This included: Organising and attend regular proto-type fittings, advising technically, but also advising based on my experience on the shop floor and being in fittings with customers. Overseeing fit, construction and the manufacturing process alongside global suppliers as well as quality control in the UK and overseas.Producing highly detailed illustrated technical notes for oversea suppliers, technical specifications & working on Production Manuals for all product categories.Ensuring that all comments are issued to, received by, and understood by all suppliers.Work closely with global suppliers to ensure all samples were delivered on schedule ready for regular fit meetings and design reviews.Daily communication with overseas factories, working closely with them to ensure that all production fit and quality standards are maintained and improved where needed across all 5 brands.Visiting suppliers/factories Worldwide

• Lead Sales Advisor

  • Jul 2016 - Jan 2017

  During my time as Lead Sales Advisor I was put forward for an internal Management Training Course by our Regional Manager. I was inline to become Store Manager, before being asked to join to the Design Team by the CEO of the business.Daily I would manage the store team to ensure we met daily/ weekly & monthly KPI's, improving the stores sale performance. I would hit high KPIs personally, assisting brides through their fittings. Working in a high footfall store, this gave me an invaluable & accelerated insight into the customers bridal experience. Pulling on my previous experiences, during quieter periods in store I volunteered to fix/ alter any damaged stock. I would also support other members of the team in their fittings and advise customers on potential alterations. This furthered my understanding of bridal construction & design.



INAYAH LTD

• United Kingdom
• Retail Apparel and Fashion

• Production Coordinator

  • Jan 2018 - Jun 2019

  Producing designs & CADs, design tech packs & grading overviews for casualwear lines. Reviewing samples for bulk production and providing sample comments. Managing production & QC, implementing Manufacturing Guidlelines reducing return rates due to faults to less than 17% with in 1 year. Managing internal & external QC teams, implementing & continously improving QC systems to maximise production output & quality. Working with International Suppliers, communicating effectively and efficently on a daily basis.



Self Employed

• Real Estate
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Freelance Womenswear Designer

  • May 2014 - Jul 2016

  Freelance designing & creating bespoke Wedding Dresses/ occasionwear for clients. Designing with customers their dream wedding dress, sourcing fabric, drafting patterns & constructing dresses. Freelance designing & creating bespoke Wedding Dresses/ occasionwear for clients. Designing with customers their dream wedding dress, sourcing fabric, drafting patterns & constructing dresses.



Estilo Moda Ltd

• United Kingdom
• Retail Apparel and Fashion
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Design and Production Assistant

  • Mar 2015 - Jun 2016

  Working with customers to design their own bespoke occasionwear dress (Bridal/ bridesmaid/ prom dress). Drafting patterns and constructing wedding dresses, as well as overseeing all fittings and carrying out alterations. Being part of a small team, it was neccessary to have a hands on approach, which allowed me to learn a wealth of knowledge from all aspects of the business. My can-do attitude ensured that any issues I faced, I found a solution for/ trained myself to overcome. Through this mentality I gained a huge wealth of knowledge about the construction of Wedding Dresses.



Royal and Derngate Theatre

• Costume Department Assistant

  • Jan 2015 - Mar 2015

  Cutting, construction, breaking down & fittings for Cyrano De Bergerac Cutting, construction, breaking down & fittings for Cyrano De Bergerac



Royal Ballet School

• United Kingdom
• Performing Arts
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Costume assistant

  • Jun 2013 - Jun 2013

  A brief work experience in the costume department, providing assistance where needed and working on final show costumes and fittings. A brief work experience in the costume department, providing assistance where needed and working on final show costumes and fittings.



Wear Wimbledon

• Daily Dresser

  • Mar 2013 - Mar 2013

  Helping to organise catwalk show with quick changes to showcase the companies stock to potential clients Helping to organise catwalk show with quick changes to showcase the companies stock to potential clients



Wimbledon Studios

• United Kingdom
• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Costume Intern

  • Jan 2013 - Feb 2013

  Working with in Wear Wimbledon's wardrobe: *Reorganising stock *Working with designers to pull costumes *Alterations to costumes *Maintaining stock Working with in Wear Wimbledon's wardrobe: *Reorganising stock *Working with designers to pull costumes *Alterations to costumes *Maintaining stock