Concept & Merchandising Associate

What Youll Do:

Concept Planning

• Develop and maintain the merchandising calendar, aligning seasonal trends, cultural moments, and business priorities to drive monthly concept planning.
• Independently and collaboratively lead the development of monthly concepts, translating trend insights, social listening, and market analysis into clear product directions.
• Create compelling concept decks that define product vision, styling direction, key items, and storytelling while ensuring alignment with brand identity and revenue goals.
• Identify white-space opportunities through trend research, competitive landscape analysis, and consumer insights.

Product & Merchandising Development

• Partner closely with Design and Product Development to translate concept direction into commercially viable products.
• Support the development of each collection by identifying key looks, hero products, and selling points that balance creativity with commercial potential.
• Provide merchandising input on silhouettes, category mix, pricing strategy, and trend relevance to drive strong sell-through and margin performance.
• Track product development progress to ensure concept vision is executed effectively from ideation to final product.
• Provide merchandising support for retail stores, assisting with product selection and assortment alignment.

Collection Launch & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Creative and Marketing teams to ensure concept storytelling and visual direction are clearly communicated across campaigns, content, and site merchandising.
• Support cross-functional alignment across Design, Production, Operations, Creative, and Marketing to ensure successful product launches.
• Provide concept context and product insights that inform campaign narratives, styling, and product storytelling.

Who You Are:

• 2+ years in a Merchandising, Buying, Trend Forecasting, or Concept Design role at a fast-fashion, commercial or contemporary apparel brand.
• Ability to think strategically and act tactically-you see the big picture but can execute the details.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, presentation and problem-solving skills; comfortable pitching ideas and defending data-driven decisions.
• Comfortable in a self-starter environment with limited hand-holding.
• Capable of multi-tasking in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment.
• Commitment to follow-through on all tasks and projects from concept to sell-through.
• Excellent MS Office skills, specifically advanced Excel; experience with PLM or ERP systems a plus.
• Deep understanding of U.S. market and Gen-Z consumer behavior.
• Ability to speak Mandarin a plus.
• Ability to travel domestically, and internationally throughout the year.
• Remote within the US, preferred candidate would be local to the LA area.
• Must show previous conceptual work, or be prepared to do a trend project.