Design Head - Footwear
Summary
Design leadership role (via consulting firm, for a client): heads the footwear design function end-to-end — setting the brand's design vision, leading seasonal collections, managing and mentoring the design team, and working with merchandising, sourcing, and manufacturing to commercialize products. Based in Gurgaon/Gurugram.
Job Description:
Hiring for a Design Head in Footwear for one of our client.
Lead the footwear design function end-to-end, shaping the brand's product vision, design language, and seasonal collections. Own the balance between creative innovation, consumer relevance, commercial viability, and execution excellence.
- Define and evolve the overall footwear design vision, design language, and product architecture in line with brand strategy.
- Lead seasonal design concepts, collections, and key launches from trend research and ideation through final commercialization.
- Build and mentor a high-performing footwear design team, fostering creativity, ownership, and strong design craft.
- Partner closely with Product, Merchandising, Marketing, Sourcing, Development, and Manufacturing teams to translate concepts into commercially viable products.
- Drive trend, consumer, market, material, colour, and silhouette research to identify relevant opportunities and whitespace.
- Establish design standards across aesthetics, functionality, fit, materials, colour, detailing, and construction.
- Review and approve design concepts, prototypes, samples, and final products while ensuring consistency with the brand vision.
- Develop relationships with material, component, manufacturing, and external design partners to enable innovation and improve product execution.
- Track collection performance and market feedback, using insights to continuously improve future product direction.