Senior Menswear Designer PROFESSIONAL PROFILE CONTACT 150 E. Gates Street. Columbus, Ohio 43206
614-749-6138
Contemporary and product driven designer with a wealth of knowledge and experience in a variety of Menswear Categories and Women’s Sportswear across both woven and knit fabrications. Drawing inspiration from Heritage and Current influences to result in a handwriting that is not only functional but reflects my keen interest in Fashion, Vintage Clothing, Sports and Cultural Trends
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE holly_verso@hotmail.com
EDUCATION
October 2010 - November 2018 During my time at A&F I have had the opportunity to work in different departments and also take part in an enormous change within the company so much so that within one company I have been able to work within multiple apparel design brands. This has enabled me excel and gain valued experience in my career, a career which I am so passionate about.
University of Westminster 2006 - 2010 - BA Hons Fashion Design
Senior Designer. DeMontfort University 2005 - 2006 - BTEC Art Foundation
EXPERTISE +
Menswear Design
+
Sportswear
+
Trend Forecasting
+
Fabric & Trim Development
+
Concept Development
+
Production Management
Abercombie Mens Outerwear & Swim August 2015 - May 2017 Hollister Guys Knits & Polos May 2017 - November 2018 During this time was where the company took on the enormous challenge of improving the brands notoriety and of course, sales. Senior Management had gone through some serious changes which reflected whole heartedly in the product. Whilst Senior Designer in Outerwear & Swim the department had gone through a major change away from the brands signature handwriting. This change was not so successful. The following year, the department was under my direction and I made the decision to utilize the structure of previous successful collections that the brand was so well known for and advance the designs for a new era of Abercrombie. This resulted in a highly successful Winter 2017 season. So much so that many of the products are still in the line today. Following this, I switched to the very fast paced and highly successful department of Hollister Guys Knits & Polos to expand my knowledge within the Knits world which included a very successful chase calendar During both these roles my responsibilities were similar it was just the case of switching my vision to another brand. + Directing the team in the concept for the season and guiding them through the the designing in order to create trend worthy pieces for the market. + Responsible for creative direction and the how the trend of the season transpire into the departments. During this time I was also involved with many research trips to New York, California. + Fabric and Trim Development. Working closely with the fabric sourcing team to find new brand appropriate fabrics and working directly with the trim suppliers for new trims to enhance the brand and the department. This also involved a lot of international learning in the Hollister Guys team since their international presence was so much larger we made the initiative to expand the fabric base of Hollister Guys which really enabled me to work even more closely with the fabric sourcing team and quickly learn the Knits world. + In both roles I worked on completely new fits for the brands which they had never worked on before in order to listen to customer feedback and improve the fit for the customer. + Collaborating with CAD and Graphics for new artwork and new marketing and trim ideas + Evolving and managing the Calendar. While on the Male Outerwear team I worked closely with merchants and sourcing to arrange the Calendar to meet the needs of the department to ensure maximum productivity.
PROGRAMS +
Adobe Illustrator
+
Adobe Photoshop
+
Adobe InDesign
+
Microsoft Office
+
Web PDM & Web PLM
+
Lotus Notes
SOCIAL
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE (CONTINUED)
Designer. Abercrombie Mens Outerwear & Swim February 2013 - August 2015 Responsible for the concept and design for the entire line reporting to the directional leads and directing a team to sketch, produce and manage the entire line. + Directing the team in the concept for the season and guiding them through the the designing in order to create trend worthy pieces for the market. + Responsible for creative direction and the how the trends of the season transpire into the departments. During this time I was also involved with many research trips to New York, Seattle, California and Tokyo. + Fabric and Trim Development. Working closely with the fabric sourcing team to find new, brand appropriate fabrics and working directly with the trim suppliers for new trims to enhance the brand and the department. + Working more closely with tech on the global fit review to ensure that the fit of the garments or the department work alongside with other departments within the company. + Collaborating with CAD and Graphics for new artwork and new marketing and trim ideas. + Production travel was a high priority during this time. I travelled to China and India working very closely with the vendors to ensure that the garment was produced as design had envisioned while also working closely with merchants and sourcing to work towards lowering the overall AUC target for the season.
linkedin.com/in/hollyverso
Associate Designer. facebook.com/holly.verso
instagram.com/verso86
Hollister Guys Outerwear & Swim December 2011 - January 2013 This role changed throughout the year including designing Hollister Guys Outerwear and Swim and also designing A&F Mens Outerwear and Swim. For the majority of the year my responsibilities lied in the Hollister Guys Outerwear Team.
INTERESTS
+
Field Hockey
+
For over 20 years I have been an avid field hockey player. This has given me the opportunity to travel and also coach young players at both High School & Collegiate Levels.
Ceramics. I started doing ceramics for the opportunity to work more with my hands. Four years later that opportunity has grown into a love.
Pattern Cutting/Sewing I have been making garments since a young age and was the reason I threw myself into the apparel industry. This is still a huge area of my life that I work into my career and life.
+ + + +
During this period I had the opportunity to work closely with the Creative Director in the research, concept and presentation for the beginning of each season. Designing and sketching for each season and collaborating with CAD to develop new pattern artwork for each of the brands new line of Swim wear Working alongside with tech to make the tech packs in the Web PDM program Developing and working on washes to create a “lived in� feel to the garments that the brand is so well known for. This included Denim washes for their infamous Denim Jackets. Collaborating with Merchants to produce the lines including working with vendors to ensure that the line is produced as per the instruction. During this period I also was also responsible for the New Hire Illustrator training program while towards the end of the year I was also managing my own direct report.
Assistant Designer.
Mens, Guys & Boys Swim & Wovens October 2010 - November 2011 During this role I was responsible for the concept, design and production of Male Swim for all brands. Along with this role I also assisted in the design and production of Hollister Guys Woven Shirts + Research and Concept for the beginning of each season. I constantly was producing new ideas for the lines in helping to design the line along with CAD. + Designing and sketching the entire line for each of the brands each season and collaborating with CAD to develop new pattern artwork for each of the brands new line of Swim wear + Working alongside with tech to make the tech packs in the Web PDM program + Collaborating with Merchants to produce and finalize the line and present in final board meetings.
For any previous work please see my LinkedIn profile. For any references please contact me directly.