Materials Lead, R&D Fabric

Company Description

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:

RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality. For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company's brand names, which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, Chaps, among others, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands.

At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through:
Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.

• Research new qualities of fabrics, jersey, leathers from suppliers, archives and trade fairs.
• Evaluation of the fabrics proposed for the new collections based on the research carried out by the design team, proposing possible alternatives, more innovative, of the fabrics taken from the archive.
• Final choice of the fabrics that will make the line in collaboration with the design team and the merchandising team, matching the colors for each fabric according to the standards.
• Development of new qualities in direct contact with the mills based on the demands of the design by evaluating the quality, price and characteristics of the fabric during the creation phase.
• Organization of sample orders based on launches to vendors, the number of garments to be produced and timing.
• Launch of lab dip for piece-dyed fabrics before proceeding with the final dyeing of the rolls.
• Inspect all sample pieces to verify the conformity of the fabrics (hand, quality and color tone).
• Matching linings and leathers for the details of the sample garments.
• Evaluation of the problems of the fabrics in the sampling phase and possible proposal of alternative qualities for production.
• Price negotiation.
• Follow up with suppliers.
• Analysis of requests for press and show remakes to define the orders to be increased.
• Support to vendors in case there are critical issues in the making phase that can be traced back to fabric problems.
• Participate in fittings and hand offs at vendors or in showrooms.

• 10 years of experience in similar role in Luxury Brand.
• Has excellent knowledge of fabrics.
• Very good communication skills.
• Fluent knowledge of English and Italian, spoken and written.
• Good knowledge of windows applications.
• Precise, organized, proactive, team player.