Urban Outfitters Sr. Designer - Denim, Wash & Structured Products

The Urban Outfitters is seeking a Senior Designer - BDG to join our Women's Design Team.  

As the Senior Designer of Structured, Wash & Innovation, you will be the ultimate tastemaker, driver, and deliverer of world-class fabric, wash, and innovation for all BDG denim and structured products across both Men’s and Women’s divisions. Total BDG centers around a denim DNA; in this role, you will set the stage each season, establishing the foundational handwriting and product elevation necessary to cement the brand as a premier denim lifestyle destination.

Acting as the final filter and decider of excellence, you will merge high-level creative vision with technical wash mastery to lead team execution, maximize margin parameters, and dictate the future of our denim identity

Vision & Tastemaking

• Set the Seasonal Stage: Establish the overarching vision for denim innovation, fabric trends, and wash developments for both Men’s and Women’s lines, translating concepts into industry-leading key items and cohesive outfits.
• Define Brand Handwriting: Own the "Denim DNA" of BDG, acting as the ultimate tastemaker to ensure all structured products reflect an elevated, authentic, and forward-looking aesthetic.
• Raw Material & Innovation Roadmap: Champion seasonal raw material trends and fabric development. Direct the exploration of sustainable wash methods, laser technologies, and innovative textile manipulations to keep the brand at the forefront of the market.
• UO Customer Connection: Maintain a deep connection to the Urban Outfitters customer, forecasting trend evolutions that resonate specifically with their lifestyle.

Technical Execution and Product Excellence

• Filter of Excellence: Serve as the final authority on denim wash, fabric hand-feel, fit, and construction, ensuring every piece meets rigorous standards of premium quality.

• Sample Development & Approval: Provide definitive feedback and final sign-off on all aspects of sample development, prototype execution, and wash iterations before finalization.
• Garment Expertise: Articulate precise technical directions regarding fabric weight, yarn character, indigo shade casting, and wet/dry processing techniques.

Business Acumen & Strategy

• Performance Analytics: Analyze weekly commercial metrics (including Velo data) to deeply understand sell-through, using data to react in real-time to current business trends.
• Strategic Alignment: Work in close partnership with Producton,  Buying and Design leadership to identify white-space opportunities, building a balanced, high-quality assortment within designated margin parameters.
• Calendar & Solution Management: Proactively manage the cross-functional design calendar, anticipating production and wash-house timeline challenges to deliver solutions swiftly.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Partner with cross-functional leadership to align design execution with core business objectives, presenting concepts in a compelling, decisive manner.
• Team Mentorship & Growth: Actively coach, mentor, and create technical learning opportunities for Associate and Assistant designers, building their comprehension of the washing and design process.
• Culture Driver: Foster a highly collaborative, positive teamwork environment that promotes communication, listens to diverse perspectives, and champions a culture of "we".

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in denim design, with a heavy emphasis on wash house development and structured apparel for a major retail lifestyle brand.
• Technical Wash Mastery: Extensive, hands-on knowledge of laundry processes, wet and dry processing, chemical formulations, and sustainable wash innovations (e.g., ozone, laser, e-flow).
• Dual-Gender Scope: Proven ability to design and oversee both Men's and Women's denim categories seamlessly.
• Leadership Capability: Experience managing direct reports, giving constructive in-the-moment feedback, and driving collaborative cross-functional relationships with vendors, mills, and buyers.

• Strong knowledge of relevant fashion trends, customer behavior, and brand vision.

• Strong hand and digital sketching ability.

• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office Suite.

• Experience with AI prompting and generating for creative/presentation purposes (e.g., MidJourney, PromeAI, ChatGPT) is not required, but a plus!

• Knowledge of Tradestone and BOM maintenance.

• Strong communication and analytical skills for effective cross-functional collaboration.

• Highly organized, with the ability to anticipate change and problem-solve.

• Deep understanding of fabric development, raw material trends, and assortment road mapping.

URBN offers comprehensive Perks & Benefits to employees. Availability and eligibility to specific benefits may be subject to your location and employment status. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, PTO, generous employee discounts, retirement savings and much more! For additional information visit www.urbn.com/work-with-us/benefits

URBN celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We are proud to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression), religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship, service in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic as established by law. We believe strongly in fostering a safe, fair and respectful work environment. To ensure compliance with our non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, we offer anti-harassment training to managers and employees.