Fashion & Lifestyle – Designers
Fashion and lifestyle businesses ask Encore Recruitment to help them hire designers.
Fashion and lifestyle professionals ask us to help them find designer opportunities.
We find, assess and recommend people they’d want to work with.
Key Takeaways
- Designer recruitment across fashion and lifestyle: We recruit from Graduate Designer to Creative Director roles for brands, retailers, suppliers and importers across fashion, accessories, footwear, beauty and homeware.
- Understand, find and filter: We understand what you’re trying to achieve, find people who could help, and filter what we find through that understanding.
- Assess, qualify and recommend: We assess and qualify who remains before deciding who we’re prepared to recommend. We make the recommendation. You decide what happens next.
Designer Recruitment Starts for Different Reasons
For businesses and designers, the reason for recruiting or moving helps define what needs to be different next.
What if Your Product is Starting to Feel Familiar?
A collection can continue selling while gradually losing its sense of direction.
You may need a designer who can bring fresh ideas, challenge established thinking or help product evolve alongside changing customer expectations. Understanding whether you need creative change, commercial consistency or both helps shape the search.
What if a Senior Designer is Leaving?
Replacing a long-standing designer can mean protecting category knowledge, supplier relationships or a design handwriting customers recognise.
Alternatively, their departure may create an opportunity to change direction. The job title may remain the same while the expectations of the person replacing them change considerably.
What if You're Ready to Influence More Than Product?
A designer considering their next move may want ownership of a wider product area, greater involvement in range direction, responsibility for junior team members or more influence over commercial decisions.
Understanding what you want greater responsibility for helps determine which opportunities are worth exploring.
What if Your Ideas Rarely Make it Beyond the Mood Board?
A move may be about greater creative ownership, closer collaboration with decision-makers, broader category exposure or seeing more ideas become finished products.
Knowing what you want to change about your current environment matters as much as knowing the title you want next.
Designer Careers, Responsibilities and Salaries
What Does a Designer Do?
Designer responsibilities vary according to product category, business model, team structure and seniority.
They can include trend research, CAD development, colour direction, fabric selection, print creation, range building, sample reviews, supplier collaboration and customer-focused product development.
Design careers can progress through:
- Graduate Designer
- Junior / Assistant Designer
- Designer
- Senior Designer
- Design Manager
- Head of Design/Creative Director
As careers progress, responsibilities can extend beyond product creation into range direction, team leadership, customer insight, commercial responsibility and wider business influence.
H3: How Much Do Designers Earn?
Designer salaries vary according to experience, product category, commercial responsibility, business size, location and market demand.
Typical salary ranges across parts of the UK fashion and lifestyle sector include:
- Graduate Designer: £25,000–£26,000
- Junior/Assistant Designer: £26,000–£32,000
- Designer: £32,000–£40,000
- Senior Designer: £40,000–£60,000
- Design Manager: £60,000–£80,000
- Head of Design/Creative Director: £80,000–£100,000+
Salary ranges updated August 2026
Salary ranges are indicative. Any salary offered must reflect contracted hours, the applicable age band and UK National Minimum Wage requirements.
How We Approach Designer Recruitment
The Design Remit Matters as Much as the Title
We first establish what the designer will be responsible for creating, influencing and owning.
For a client, that means understanding the product category, customer and team alongside responsibilities such as trend research, CAD development, colour and fabric direction, print, range building, sample reviews and supplier collaboration.
For a designer, we explore what you create now and what you want greater responsibility for next. That could mean product ownership, creative direction, customer influence, leadership or seeing more of your ideas reach finished product.
Those differences influence who we find and which opportunities we consider.
Designing for a Retailer, Brand or Supplier Can Require Different Experience
Where a designer has worked affects the experience we need to consider.
A supplier working from customer briefs may require designers who can interpret different customer requirements and respond to commercial priorities. A brand may place greater emphasis on product identity and developing a recognisable direction. A retailer may require designers to combine trend awareness with customer understanding, product performance and margin expectations.
Product categories matter too. Moving between categories can involve different technical requirements, product knowledge and commercial expectations.
We consider what someone has designed, who they have designed for and the environment in which they have done it.
Discover how we approach our Process.
Creative Experience Alone Doesn't Determine a Recommendation
We assess relevant design experience alongside the product, customer, commercial and working context of the role.
That can include category experience, creative responsibilities, customer understanding, supplier collaboration, commercial awareness and leadership. We also consider what the designer wants from their next move and whether the opportunity provides it.
Relevant experience does not automatically lead to a recommendation.
The opportunity is recommended to the designer first. We only represent them to the client with their agreement.
Read the guidelines behind our Recommendation Standard.
What Happens After We Recommend a Designer?
When we recommend a designer, we explain why we believe they should be considered.
The client decides whether they want to meet them. The designer decides whether they want to continue exploring the opportunity.
If both do, we support interviews, feedback, offer discussions and preparation for the start date. If either decides not to continue, what we learn can help determine what happens next.
FAQ
What's the Difference Between a Designer and a Product Developer?
Designers generally focus on product concept, trend interpretation, aesthetics and range direction. Product developers are typically more involved in product execution, supplier communication, development timelines and moving approved designs towards production.
Compare this role with a Product Developer.
Can Designers Move Between Product Categories?
Yes. Transferability depends on the categories involved, technical requirements, product knowledge, commercial expectations and what the business needs from the role.
H3: What Helps Designers Progress into Senior Positions?
Progression can involve greater commercial awareness, product and customer understanding, leadership, supplier collaboration and responsibility for range direction and decisions beyond individual products.
Hiring a Designer?
Start a conversation about what you’re looking for. You can either Submit a Vacancy→ or Contact Us→
Considering Your Next Designer Role?
Start a conversation about where you’d like to go. You can either View Jobs→ or Contact Us→