Working Pattern: 3 days per week (Core hours flexible between 8am to 6pm; ideally 1 day in Head Office)
Duration: 3 days a week for 3 months
Start Date: ASAP
Day Rate: £300 per day
The Role
Next Sourcing is seeking a talented Freelance Womenswear Designer to join our in-house global design hub on a 3-month contract, driving ranges for the iconic Laura Ashley brand.
As our Freelance Womenswear Designer, you will be the creative lead responsible for designing commercial, elevated womenswear collections for the Laura Ashley brand. Covering everything from structured outerwear, tailored pieces, and premium denim to day-to-occasion dresses, skirts, and blouses, your work will directly shape key seasonal capsules.
Collaborating daily with Sourcing Specialists, Garment Technologists, Buyers, and Pattern Cutters across global hubs (including Istanbul and Shanghai), you will translate heritage-inspired aesthetics into modern, commercially viable garments.
What You’ll Take On
- Design Multi-Category Womenswear: Develop end-to-end multi-category ranges for Laura Ashley, covering outerwear, tailoring, denim, day/occasion dresses, skirts, and soft blouses.
- Translate Brand & Market Trends: Research global runway trends, street style, and vintage textile archives, adapting them into commercial "must-have" ranges for the NEXT and Laura Ashley customer.
- Master Fabrications & Construction: Apply a deep understanding of garment drape, denim washes, tailoring structures, and fabric behavior to deliver premium quality at key commercial price points.
- Drive Rapid Design Cycles: Turn fast briefs into accurate, high-quality CADs, clear range plans, and creative mood boards under tight seasonal deadlines.
- Partner with Global Teams: Collaborate closely with overseas suppliers, Buyers, Technologists, and Pattern Cutters to align design aesthetics with production capabilities and target margins.
- Ensure Tech-Pack Accuracy: Produce detailed technical specification packs and CAD layouts for international factories to guarantee precise execution in production.
What You’ll Bring
- Womenswear Design Expertise: Proven design experience across multi-category womenswear, with strong attention to silhouette, fabric drape, pattern details, and finishing.
- Design Software Mastery: Expert proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to deliver detailed CAD renders, factory callouts, and clean tech packs.
- Technical & Fabric Knowledge: Clear understanding of garment construction, denim finishing, tailoring, and how woven and jersey fabrics handle during sample production.
- Industry & Brand Awareness: Experience working within high-volume retail or established fashion brands, with a solid grasp of delivery calendars and commercial range planning.
- Collaborative & Resilient Demeanor: Strong communication skills to pitch concepts to Buyers and Product Managers, paired with exceptional organization to manage multiple product categories simultaneously.
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 for Laura Ashley , 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!
