Hello

I’m Shirley, a British Design Lead living in Los Angeles. In my current position as Creative Director at Teddy Fresh, I lead the Apparel Design and Creative teams managing all projects and collaborations and a total of 6 people. During my career, I have lead collaborations with Dr Martens, Crocs, Umbro and Marvel to name a few. I have always worked across departments; menswear, womenswear and accessories, as well as swimwear and lifestyle/homeware product. I have also been heavily involved in digital design at the Independent brands I have worked at including web design and socials.

I research concepts & build plans for collections based on brand identity, future trends and brand aspiration.

I am a passionate manager and like to lead by example, I’m always willing to roll up my sleeves and get involved, Design is my primary background so any chance I get to contribute to design work is a real treat. I am self motivated with a excellent eye for detail, and a strong understanding of commerciality, collaboration, budget and how to achieve great clothes that meet margin and have great sell through.

I feel that people thrive when given honest feedback and updates on progression, I approach leadership from a nurturing and mentoring angle. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my team develop and grow in confidence, and I see this as a marker of being a good leader.

Experience

Teddy Fresh / Creative Director / June 2022 - Present

  • In depth original research, including trend forecasting to build mood decks and monthly collection plans for Designers.

  • Lead Design across Menswear, Womenswear & Accessories and collection design review/selection with CEO.

  • Creation of Design Critical Path enforcing design lead time of 12 months & ensuring calendar is adhered to.

  • Building and reviewing Designers’ techpacks ensuring they are supplier ready, in-depth and clear.

  • Leading model fit sessions, overseeing Design team comments & sign off on changes.

  • Team management of 6 people, writing semi annual reviews, carrying out performance improvement where needed & putting in tools for team & individual development.

  • Building lineplans based on target revenue and range merchandising.

  • Leading communication, briefing, design and presentation with external collaborators, ranging from independent artists to footwear brands or larger licensing deals.

  • Managing team budget for Design and Marketing teams.

  • Leading Marketing team, reviewing socials content/captions. Image retouching where necessary including use of AI.

  • Lead Creative Direction on campaign & Ecom shoots, overseeing styling, location, models etc.

  • Overseeing all content creation for Web & Socials including web design and Ecom.

Lazy Oaf / Creative Lead / March 2017 - June 2022

  • Managing Design, Marketing & Graphics team of 8 people, completing annual reviews. Overseeing team calendars.

  • Leading communication, building pitch decks and design of all collaboration projects, including Crocs, Dr Martens, Umbro, Lava La Rue and Lush.

  • Presentation of collections to internal full team and external partners such as Urban Outfitters and Asos.

  • Leading team research, mood board and color palette building.

  • Designing apparel, accessories, swim and homeware collections alongside my team of designers.

  • Style selection, assigning/creating techpacks, final checks before handing off to product development.

  • Leading fit sessions, ensuring excellent fit across all product categories, with inclusivity around curve sizing at the forefront.

  • Heading up visual identity research & development for web design, digi ads, mailers and socials. Assigning projects to team members.

  • Building calendar for marketing team, initiating content & graphics creation for key moments.

  • Final sign off on all digital assets across web and socials for monthly collection drops.

Fila / Designer / April 2014 - March 2017

  • Leading Designer for Fila Blackline for UK and USA territories, for menswear, womenswear & accessories. Increasing revenue from 1m annually to 3m within my time at the brand.

  • Research and development of designs, with Fila’s authentic position in the sportswear market as key. Visiting the Fila archive in Italy & implementing archival research where fitting.

  • Presentation of lines to key stakeholders, the USA teams as well as wholesale partners (Urban Outfitters, Asos, JD Sports).

  • Creating CADs & Techpacks including specs.

  • Liaising with suppliers, reviewing and approving lab dips, strike offs and knit downs.

  • Attending campaign shoots in both the UK and Italy, assisting with styling and direction.

  • Briefing graphic designers to create original prints for apparel styles.

  • Color palette and fabric selection based off trend research, core brand colors and margin.

  • Creating SMU products for wholesale partners & liaising with team members to align on styles.

Puma / Design Intern / July 2013 - April 2014

  • Assisting Puma Lifestyle Apparel team with techpacks and making CADs.

  • In depth creative and trend research.

  • Implementing general office organization, categorizing samples, tidying fabric library etc.

  • Supporting and preparing for team presentation, attending meetings with senior team members from Germany HQ.

Additional Skills

  • Professional use of the Adobe suite.

  • Skilled in presentation, team management & development strategy.

  • Highly proficient in hand sketching & visual communication.

  • In-depth creative research, with a keen eye for identifying trends as well as the evolution of well performing styles.

  • Highly passionate about design, approaching problems from a solutions based standpoint, and encouraging others to do the same.

  • Organised and efficient with proven track record of time management.

Education

2010-2013 - BA Hons Fashion Design - Kingston University, London (2:1)

2009-2010 - Art Foundation BTEC - Canterbury (Distinction)