Stella

Senior Menswear Design Manager

“Everyone is willing to help out their colleagues when they need it.”

• What does a good day look like in your role?

  A day when I get to tick more things off my to-do list than I add to it! AllSaints is alway fast paced, which is what keeps things interesting, but it's still satisfying to complete a task such as sending out all my tech packs on time.

• What does a challenging day look like in your role?

  Probably a day when multiple new tasks, with short deadlines, appear when you are already working to a tight deadline. Sometimes it can be hard to prioritise when everything appears to be a priority, but normally keeping a cool head gets us through.

• What do you get up to in a typical day/week?

  A typical week would normally involve a few meetings with other departments such as weekly sales with the buying team, and garment fitting with the garment techs. There’s always a fair amount of email communication with our factories to keep track of our incoming prototype samples and production approvals. If we are in the development stage of the critical path then I will be researching, sketching and developing new fabrications, then setting up tech packs to issue instructions to our factories.

• What’s the best thing about working for AllSaints?

  It’s definitely the people. There’s a great culture in the design team where everyone is willing to help out their colleagues when they need it, and also have a bit of fun together. But this is also true of the wider business; everyone I work with in other departments makes everyday a pleasure.

• What’s the most surprising or unexpected thing about working for us?

  Perhaps how much we care about every detail. I think with every department and every role there’s so much attention to detail, and everyone really cares about their part of the bigger picture. That might not be what you expect of a fashion brand.

• Why AllSaints?

  Because it’s a cool brand with a great team and a great working environment. Who wouldn’t want to work in Spitalfields, East London?

• What’s not in the job description but something you’d tell a friend if they were looking to join the brand?

  AllSaints has been really forward-thinking with hybrid working in the last year which everyone has found to be a huge boost to morale and productivity. There are also so many training opportunities which not only allow you to develop soft skills, but also meet new people from other departments.

• Tell us about your journey with AllSaints so far.

  I’ve been really lucky to have been with AllSaints for my whole working career, since university. I started as assistant designer on mens knitwear and jerseys, then progressed to knitwear designer followed by senior knitwear designer. Most recently, when I thought perhaps my career progression might be over, an amazing new opportunity opened in the new role of menswear design manager. I now do this alongside my responsibilities as senior knitwear designer. It has been a challenge to juggle my multiple responsibilities, but I love being able to still design the category I love, whilst also helping to organise all things menswear.