Director Design Men's

About Gap

Gap has always been about optimistic American style. Starting with our very first store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco, opened almost 50 years ago by Doris and Don Fisher. The thread that’s run through those five decades is the phenomenal people that make up our brand – our employees and our customers. People who are rooted in the legacy that makes Gap what it is, but who are also focused on the future. People who want to leave the world better than they found it.

We’ve built our brand on staying true to our roots while always being out in front of what’s next. If you want to be part of an iconic American brand, and help lead the way for where we’re headed, we’d love to have you join us.

About the Role

In this role, you will work in an energizing, inclusive, and creative environment focused on creating sustainable product that exceeds customers' expectations. Your goal is to partner with cross functional team members who collectively are responsible for ensuring that the product style, fit, and quality are more than worth the price for our customers. You will manage and direct a creative design team that is responsible for setting the overall global design direction for the product line. Must lean into risk taking and be customer curious!

What You'll Do

• Responsible for developing the Gap Men’s line under the direction of the VP of design, including woven tops & bottoms, outerwear, fleece, knits & tees, & sweaters.
• Lead men’s design team through all aspects of the product design process from conception through final production including all follow through. As a leader, must be a good team coach, process driven and focused on developing a motivated, high performing team.
• Conduct in depth seasonal competitive research on fabric, wash and fit. Prepare conceptual presentations with information and inspiration gathered from on- line research, vintage shopping, fabric sourcing, market and social media research. Provide style and line assortment recommendations regarding seasonal themes, edits to line, new concepts.
• Translate trend research into ideas for product designs through sketches using Adobe Illustrator, Miro, Photoshop, etc.
• Develop overall design vision and concept for product areas following merchant line plans & strategies and within assigned price points.
• Support design team, production, and R&D fabric team on seasonal fabric & wash development and preparation. Lead design team in pulling wash standards, curate wash and fabric ranges, & communicate direction each season through concept mapping.
• Lead design team & CAD designers in seasonal print & pattern development and color palette curation.
• Support preparation of seasonal presentations and work with cross functional partners to meet all calendar deadlines and milestones across all men’s product categories.
• Work with technical designers & production partners to ensure design integrity is met and design packages are complete and accurate.
• Manage fittings and work closely with tech team on sample execution.
• Manage men’s design process calendar and communicate expectations and deliverables to design team members.
• Develop strong internal cross functional relationships with Merchandising, Production, Technical design, Gap Inc Sourcing (GIS), Visual Merchandising and Marketing to ensure product concept to store and site execution is a seamless customer experience.
• Responsible for follow through of final decision making, ensuring the department develops within design metrics & meets auc targets each season.

Who You Are

• In-depth knowledge of Men’s apparel construction techniques and processes
• Strong knowledge of fabrics and wash capabilities
• Possess an elevated sense of style, aesthetic, and color and understand how to translate trends through the lens of the customer and brand filter
• BA in Fashion Design or Equivalent
• Minimum 5 years of design management experience
• Excellent leadership/management skills- Ability to lead, influence and develop a high performing team of designers.
• Collaborative, energetic, motivating, and willing to contribute to a team dynamic.
• Ability to set overall creative tone and lead creative design process
• Proven excellent presentation and negotiation skills
• Understanding of merchandising and line plan assortment.
• A great communicator.
• Ability to work in a fast paced, process driven, collaborative environment with the ability to multi-task and shift priorities and product focus.
• Agile and willing to take on new responsibilities and brand projects including but not limited to Brand collaborations.
• Strong computer knowledge including Adobe Illustrator and Microsoft Excel. Able to sketch in Illustrator.

Benefits at Gap

• Merchandise discount for our brands: 50% off regular-priced merchandise at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta, and 30% off at Outlet for all employees.
• One of the most competitive Paid Time Off plans in the industry.*
• Employees can take up to five “on the clock” hours each month to volunteer at a charity of their choice.*
• Extensive 401(k) plan with company matching for contributions up to four percent of an employee’s base pay.*
• Employee stock purchase plan.*
• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance.*
• See more of the benefits we offer.

*For eligible employees