NYC Alliance seeks a highly skilled Design Director with extensive experience in Sweaters to lead our 525 America brand.
This role will oversee the creative development of knitwear collections, driving innovation in yarns, stitches, and silhouettes while ensuring alignment with brand identity and customer needs. The ideal candidate combines strong technical knit expertise with a sharp fashion perspective and a deep understanding of the contemporary market.
Key Responsibilities
• Establish and drive the creative vision and seasonal direction for the Women’s Sweaters category
• Design and develop trend-driven knitwear, with a focus on yarn development, stitch innovation, and silhouette evolution
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of designers, promoting creativity, collaboration, and high-quality execution
• Partner with Product Development, Merchandising, and Marketing teams to deliver cohesive assortments that meet brand and business goals
• Research and interpret market trends, yarn technologies, and knit techniques to inform design direction
• Oversee the creation of detailed tech packs, including knit specifications, gauge, stitch construction, and yarn details
• Participate in fittings, providing guidance on fit, proportion, and knit construction to ensure optimal garment performance
• Collaborate closely with mills and vendors to develop exclusive yarns and innovative knit structures
• Manage timelines and workflow to support on-time development and production
Requirements
• Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design or related field
• 8+ years of design experience, with a strong focus on sweaters/knitwear
• Proven experience leading and developing design teams
• Strong expertise in knit construction, yarn development, and sweater engineering
• Ability to translate brand vision into commercially successful knitwear collections
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Microsoft Office
• Excellent understanding of garment fit, construction, and manufacturing processes specific to knitwear
• Strong organizational, communication, and leadership skills
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
Benefits
- Competitive compensation packages
- Medical, Dental, Vision, FSA
- Retirement Savings Plan Match
- Summer Fridays
- Discounts and More!
- Annual Salary $175,000
- The offered salary for this position will vary based on role requirements determined by NYC Alliance, skill set and years of experience.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Fashion Design or related field
- 8+ years of design experience with a strong focus on sweaters/knitwear
- Proven experience leading and developing design teams
- Strong expertise in knit construction, yarn development, and sweater engineering
- Ability to translate brand vision into commercially successful knitwear collections
- Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Microsoft Office
- Excellent understanding of garment fit, construction, and manufacturing processes specific to knitwear
- Strong organizational, communication, and leadership skills
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
What We Do
Founded in 2008, NYC Alliance is a privately owned woman’s multi-platform apparel company. We are design centric, with superior quality and competitively priced. Our focus is on diversified product classifications catering to the needs of a woman’s lifestyle in sweaters, knits, wovens and active. Our reputation for being trend-right is built on seven in-house design teams creating original designs for Missy, Petite, Plus, Girls and Juniors. Our cross-functional teams are innovative and agile from sourcing raw materials to our manufacturing and distribution capabilities. Our end-to-end supply chain allows us to impact the market place with the highest quality and flexibility to produce over 40 Million Units annually. Our corporate philosophy has enabled us to continuously diversify our portfolio and adapt our business profile and product offerings in vertical manufacturing seasonally. We are committed to strong visual identity, quality assurance, and value delivering products that inspire loyalty.
