Description
As an Assistant Footwear Designer for the Laura Ashley & Next Main Range, you will play a vital role in bringing high fashion, trend-driven designs to life across our footwear and accessories ranges.
Working closely with our established womenswear non-clothing team at Next, you’ll help design commercial, elevated ranges that align with brand identities while delivering real market appeal.
You will collaborate daily with designers, buyers, merchandisers, technologists, sourcing teams, and offshore suppliers. Whether you're turning around fast-paced design briefs or supporting major seasonal collections, you’ll help ensure our products are on-trend, high-quality, and hit strict commercial price points.
Responsibilities
- Design Support & Range Creation: Assist in designing and developing compelling footwear ranges across womenswear portfolios.
- Fast-Paced Brief Execution: Respond quickly to design briefs, delivering fast turnaround, high-quality CADs and visual concepts without compromising on creativity.
- Trend Research & Translation: Identify key global trends and translate them into commercially viable, elevated products tailored to our target customer.
- Tech Packs & Supplier Briefing: Create detailed, accurate tech packs and directly brief factories and offshore manufacturers to ensure design vision becomes physical sample reality.
- Costing & Value Engineering: Design within specific price point guidelines while maintaining the quality, style, and finish expected of our brands.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with buyers, merchandisers, technologists, and suppliers to keep product development on schedule and to exact specifications.
- Project & Range Support: Balance day-to-day main range development alongside fast-turnaround project-based capsule collections.
Requirements
- Relevant Design Experience: Proven experience designing footwear, ideally womenswear or older girls' footwear experience.
- Technical Knowledge: Hands-on experience creating technical packs, specification sheets, and briefing offshore suppliers/manufacturers.
- Software Expertise: Advanced proficiency in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for creating professional CADs, renders, and trend boards.
- Commercial Eye: Strong trend forecasting skills paired with an understanding of commercial price structures and high street manufacturing.
- Collaborative Mindset: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong working relationships across internal teams and factory partners.
- Adaptability & Organisation: High level of organisation with the ability to manage multiple priorities, work efficiently under tight deadlines, and thrive in a fast-paced retail environment.
- Industry Background: Previous experience working within a retail brand or supplier environment is highly advantageous.
Benefits
- 25% off most NEXT, MADE, Lipsy, Gap, and Victoria's Secret products.
- Company performance-based bonus.
- Sharesave scheme.
- On-site Nursery available.
- 10% off most partner brands & up to 15% off Branded Beauty.
- Early VIP access to sale stock.
- Access to fantastic discounts at our Staff Shops.
- Restaurants with great food at amazing prices.
- Access to a digital GP and other free health and wellbeing services.
- Free on-site parking.
- Financial Wellbeing - Save, track, and enhance your financial wellbeing.
- Apprenticeship - Grow and develop on the job whilst gaining a qualification.
- Direct to Work - Discount online and in-store, collect your items the next day for free from your place of work or local store.
- Support Networks - Access to Network Groups to empower and celebrate each other.
- Wellhub - Discounted flexible monthly gym memberships, with apps, PT sessions, and more.