Senior Fabric Developer

INTRODUCTION

At Burberry, we believe creativity opens spaces. Our purpose is to unlock the power of imagination to push boundaries and open new possibilities for our people, our customers and our communities. This is the core belief that has guided Burberry since it was founded in 1856 and is central to how we operate as a company today.

We aim to provide an environment for creative minds from different backgrounds to thrive, bringing a wide range of skills and experiences to everything we do. As a purposeful, values-driven brand, we are committed to being a force for good in the world as well, creating the next generation of sustainable luxury for customers, driving industry change and championing our communities. 

JOB PURPOSE

Burberry is looking for an experienced Senior Fabric Developer to join our team in London. In this role you will be working in partnership with Design and Sourcing to manage the fabric development and supply according to the design brief whilst respecting the collection guidelines and budget.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• High experience in technical fabric development and research including testing, performance standards and sustainability attributes
• High experience in fabric treatments and finishings on fabric and garment level
• Responsible for building and maintaining effective working relationships with vendors, developing a strong working knowledge of vendor capability and availability to meet demands and given deadlines 
• Research and development of new materials and technologies according to design input 
• Working close with the design team on development and proto launches following the creative directions input 
• Being very reactive and quick in actioning the requested needs by design
• In conjunction with the Product Development and Design teams, keeping the fabric development critical path in mind and ensuring deadlines are adhered to and follow up on all development issues to resolve and drive to completion. Identifying, calling out and making recommendations to mitigate any risks/challenges identified at all stages.
• Support production meetings follow ups at vendors, technical requirements of all proto and samples in preparation for production as well as working closely with fabric buyers and production team to make sure information is being handed over in the most efficient way possible
• Responsible for delivering fabrics to the quality standard, creative input and within cost price range, to achieve target margin in mind 
• Responsible for ensuring functionality (including consistency and standardisation) and ensuring products that are developed are fit for purpose for the customer, brand and business. This includes ongoing risk assessment during the development process and proactivity in taking actions as a result
• Building and maintaining a close working partnership with Design. Acting as the technical partner for design, providing feedback on technical feasibility, brainstorming ideas and solutions to ensure the design vision is translated into product
• Responsible for collaborating with the Product Engineering teams while developing the collections for product testing to relevant standards, leveraging their technical knowledge and negotiating any aesthetic changes to protect the design vision
• Leading a team of fabric developers/assistants and manage their workload and responsibilities 

PERSONAL PROFILE

• Ability to work in partnership with Senior Designers, understanding and interpreting their creative aesthetic and design vision and translating this to teams and vendors
• Experience managing vendor relationships, delivering clear briefs and leveraging relationships to meet demands
• Critical path management ensuring collections are delivered on time, identifying, calling out and making recommendations to mitigate any risks/challenges identified
• Able to manage within a budget with commercial awareness and understanding of product cost, achieving a balance between creativity and commercial implications throughout the product development process
• Demonstrated experience working on site with vendors and operational knowledge of factories, delivering clear briefs and leveraging relationships and availability to meet demands
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to negotiate with credibility, share information effectively, and work confidently with cross functional teams
• In depth knowledge of fashion and products in relevant category –‘fashion sensibility’ - knowledge of trends, the market, the luxury consumer and peer awareness
• Computer skills: PLM, Excel
• Italian language is required