Working Pattern: Typically 5 days in the office, with core hours flexible between 8am-6pm.
Location: Market Harborough or London Office.
The Role
Little Bird is known for its vibrant, nostalgic, and joyfully eclectic kidswear & womenswear, bringing retro inspiration and bright, playful personality to everyday wardrobes.
As a Womenswear Designer for Little Bird at NEXT, you’ll be at the heart of driving the brand’s unique visual identity and product strategy, making a real difference by bringing playful, high quality womenswear to life.
You’ll translate emerging trends, vintage archives, and colourful print concepts into commercially viable, head to toe womenswear collections that resonate with our loyal, style conscious customers. Working closely with our Buying, Merchandising, and Product Tech teams, you will turn creative concepts into commercial bestsellers.
What You’ll Take On
- Design & Concept Development: Research trend forecasts, vintage womenswear, and colour stories to build cohesive, fun, and forward thinking seasonal womenswear concepts.
- Collection Creation: Produce detailed, accurate CAD drawings, fabric specifications, and tech packs ready for global supply chain production.
- Collaborative Working: Partner closely with Buyers & Merchandisers to ensure range plans strike the perfect balance between distinct brand aesthetic and commercial viability.
- Sample & Fit Reviews: Attend fit sessions with Product Technologists to review prototypes, refine fits for comfort and durability, and ensure the signature Little Bird quality is maintained.
- Market Awareness: Keep a close eye on competitor activity, womenswear market trends, and sales data to continually identify new product opportunities and growth areas.
What You’ll Bring
- Womenswear Passion: A strong background or proven track record in womenswear and/or older girls design, with a deep appreciation for vibrant colour palettes, playful prints, and functional design.
- Technical Proficiency: Advanced skills in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop) to produce clean, high-spec CADs, graphic placements, and technical packs.
- Commercial Acumen: A sharp creative eye coupled with a practical understanding of key volume drivers, price points, and target demographics.
- Organisation & Agility: Excellent time management and organisational skills to handle busy peak periods, manage multiple ranges simultaneously, and hit strict critical path deadlines.
Strong Communication: Great interpersonal skills with the confidence to articulate design ideas, present ranges to stakeholders, and build strong relationships across teams.
-
Portfolios
To help us get a feel for your style, please attach a digital portfolio to your application. We are looking for work that demonstrates a sharp eye for the future of womenswear design at Little Bird, , how your ideas can be commercially viable for NEXT, and showcases your direct design and CAD work. To help you put your best foot forward, we’ve put together a few top tips on what makes a portfolio stand out to our team.
Applications without a portfolio will not be considered.
Sponsorship
Candidates wishing to apply who would require sponsorship for this role will be required to meet the Home Office sponsorship requirements. For further information please see: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa .
We encourage early applications for our roles, as our recruitment process begins as soon as the role is advertised. If we successfully fill the position, this advert may close earlier than planned.
At NEXT, we believe the best work happens when there are no barriers to collaboration. That’s why we are a Google-powered workspace. From your very first day, you’ll be using the full Google Workspace suite; Docs, Drive, and Meet, to stay connected and move fast.
If your previous experience is rooted in other software suites, don’t worry! We’ll point you to a digital Google toolkit the moment you join, packed with handy guides and insider tips to help you transition smoothly and hit the ground running
#LI-Onsite
You know Next, but did you know we’re a FTSE-100 retail company employing over 44,000 people across the Next group. We’re the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer and for Kidswear we’re the market leader. At the last count we have over 450 stores, plus the Next Online and it’s now possible to buy on-line from over 80 countries around the world! So we’ve gone global!
