Senior Knitwear Designer - Ladieswear

Job type:Permanent

Town/City:Leicester

County:East MIdlands

Role:Designer

Job ref:455

Post Date:02.06.26

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Meet Our Recruiter

Lucy Ratoff

Co-Founder & Recruitment Director

07795 978730

Lucy.Ratoff@encorerecruitment.co.uk

About the Role

Senior Ladies Designer - Knitwear

Leicestershire - Hybrid

Our client is a UK-based apparel supplier with over 50 years of experience working with leading retailers including Next, Urban Outfitters, River Island and others. Specialising in knitwear, supported by a global network of partner factories across countries such as Turkey, India and China.

The UK studio delivers design, development and sampling with industry-leading speed. As they continue strengthening their product development capabilities, we are looking for a talented Ladies Knitwear Designer to help drive new ideas, product innovation and commercial design across key customer accounts.

The Role

We are looking for a Senior Knitwear Designer with strong commercial awareness and a passion for product development.

This role will work closely with in-house sample unit, customers and overseas factories to develop knitwear collections from concept through to production.

You will be responsible for:

• Creating commercially relevant knitwear designs for major UK retailers
• Developing concepts, colour palettes and seasonal ranges
• Working closely with the in-house sampling team to develop prototypes
• Collaborating with factories, mills and yarn suppliers
• Managing critical paths and sample development timelines
• Presenting designs and collections confidently to customers
• Supporting bulk approvals and product development through to production

What We Are Looking For

• 5+ years professional knitwear design experience
• Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end design development
• Experience working directly with factories, mills and yarn suppliers
• Strong command of colour, layout and composition
• Advanced skills in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator and Photoshop)
• Experience managing critical paths and sample rounds
• Ability to balance customer needs with commercial business goals
• Confident presenting ideas and explaining design rationale
• Positive attitude, strong work ethic and high productivity

Why Join

• Opportunity to shape the creative direction of knitwear development
• Work closely with an in-house sampling unit for rapid development
• Exposure to major UK retailers and international supply partners
• Stable, long-term opportunity within a growing team
• Collaborative and experienced in-house environment

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