Design Director - Apparel

We’re seeking a seasoned Design Director to lead the creative apparel product vision and bring fresh, innovative ideas to life while staying true to the Criquet DNA. Reporting directly to the Chief Product Officer, this leader will shape the future of the brand through creativity, collaboration, trend insight, and entrepreneurial energy.

The ideal candidate has design leadership experience within a high-growth menswear brand. They are curious, forward-thinking, and hungry to push Criquet into the future of apparel design.

• Lead Creative Vision: Own product design direction from concept through customer experience. Own seasonal concept, thinking in terms of product launches and drops to create a cohesive collection. Design into seasonal line strategies that balance innovation with commercial needs (sales data, AUR, SKU productivity, channel requirements), collaborating closely with Merchandising and Product Development throughout the development process. Create a through-line from inspiration and market research, to seasonal concept and collection, to marketing handoff and customer experience.
• Trend Forecasting: Translate fashion, lifestyle trends, and cultural insights into compelling, consumer-relevant products. Anticipate what’s next while protecting our brand identity and differentiating from our competitors. Balance trends and vintage nostalgia with modern fabrics and fit.
• Customer-centric approach: Center every design decision on what the Criquet man would prefer, how he would wear it, and why he would purchase it. Approach design with curiosity and “what don’t we know?” Take swift action on both internal and customer feedback, and apply learnings from sales results.
• Product Excellence: Have a mindset that the quest for the perfect shirt is never complete. Lead fabric and trim selection with a focus on comfort, ease of care, consistency, and elevated quality. Lead color assortment and artwork development to balance trend and historical data. Own expression of fit of garments and liaise with fit team to ensure fit, quality, end use, and construction details follow design intent.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with technical design, sourcing, production, and merchandising to deliver on calendar milestones, financial goals, and quality. Develop strong internal cross-functional relationships with Merchandising, Product Development, Sales, and Marketing to ensure the process from product concept to product launch is built on collaboration, common strategy, and working toward the same goal.
• Communication and Presentation: Own and lead design milestone meetings, including content, format, and timing of meetings. Win support and buy-in from executive and cross-functional teams on product design, color assortment, and seasonal collection. Drive for results, partnership, and effective decision-making in these meetings.
• Team Development: Mentor, inspire, and grow the design team (currently one direct report of Designer, with Associate Designer and Assistant Designer reporting into her). Set high creative standards while fostering curiosity, collaboration, accountability, continuous learning, and innovation.

• Experience: 10+ years in menswear design, with at least 5 years in a leadership role. Experience at a DTC/omni-channel brand preferred, with proven growth results. A broad apparel design background across multiple product categories and fabrications is required.
• Education: Degree in Apparel Design or a closely-related creative field.
• Location: Must be based in (or willing to relocate to)
  Austin, TX
  , and thrive in a hybrid collaborative team office environment.
• Technical Proficiency: Expert in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator/Photoshop) and PLM systems
  . Experience with cloud-based collaborative design tools such as InDesign, Miro, or Figma is a plus. Proficiency in 3D design software and AI-assisted creative tools is a major plus.
• The "Criquet" Lens: An elevated eye for color, pattern, and silhouette with a deep appreciation for vintage menswear and golf culture. Keen understanding of and curiosity about consumer shopping patterns, outfitting, and end use.
• Communi…