About CAVA

CAVA is a contemporary athleisure brand creating versatile, thoughtfully designed apparel for people who want to move comfortably and look good doing it. We combine style, functionality, and everyday comfort to create products that fit seamlessly into modern lifestyles.

We’re looking for a Fashion Design Lead who can translate emerging trends, consumer insights, and performance requirements into innovative, commercially viable collections while shaping the design direction of the brand.

Role Overview

As Fashion Design Lead, you will own the design process from concept development to final product execution across CAVA’s activewear and athleisure categories. You will work closely with merchandising, sourcing, product development, and marketing teams to create collections that balance aesthetics, functionality, fit, quality, and commercial objectives.

The ideal candidate brings strong technical knowledge of activewear, a sharp design sensibility, and the ability to lead the end-to-end product design lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

1. Design Strategy & Collection Development

• Lead the design and development of seasonal collections across activewear and athleisure categories.
• Translate brand positioning, consumer preferences, market research, and trend forecasts into relevant product concepts.
• Develop seasonal mood boards, colour palettes, prints, silhouettes, fabric stories, and design direction.
• Build cohesive collections that balance innovation, versatility, functionality, and commercial appeal.
• Identify opportunities for new categories, product extensions, and design differentiation.

2. Activewear Design & Technical Expertise

• Drive the design of performance-led apparel, including leggings, sports bras, tops, T-shirts, shorts, joggers, jackets, and other relevant categories.
• Demonstrate strong understanding of technical fabrics, stretch and recovery, compression, breathability, moisture management, and garment construction.
• Make informed decisions on fabric selection, trims, finishes, construction techniques, and performance requirements.
• Ensure designs meet functional requirements while maintaining the brand’s aesthetic and quality standards.

3. Product Development & Execution

• Own the design lifecycle from initial concept and sketches to tech packs, sampling, fittings, revisions, and production handover.
• Develop accurate technical specifications, measurement charts, construction details, and BOMs in collaboration with relevant teams.
• Conduct fit sessions and review samples to ensure fit consistency, comfort, functionality, and design accuracy.
• Work closely with sourcing and manufacturing partners to resolve design and execution challenges.
• Ensure timely completion of design milestones and collection launches.

4. Trend Research & Consumer Insights

• Monitor global and Indian activewear, sportswear, and athleisure trends, including silhouettes, colours, materials, and emerging technologies.
• Conduct competitor benchmarking and identify whitespace opportunities in the market.
• Use customer feedback, sales performance, and product insights to improve existing designs and inform future collections.
• Keep the brand relevant while ensuring trends align with C-A-V-A’s identity and target audience.

5. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with merchandising and planning teams to align collections with pricing, margins, category plans, and sales objectives.
• Collaborate with marketing and brand teams on collection launches, product storytelling, and campaign requirements.
• Work with quality and sourcing teams to ensure products meet defined standards and are feasible to manufacture at scale.
• Communicate design intent clearly across stakeholders and drive alignment throughout the development process.

6. Design Leadership & Process Ownership

• Establish design calendars, review milestones, and documentation processes to ensure efficient execution.
• Take ownership of design quality, collection consistency, and timely delivery.
• Mentor and guide junior designers, where applicable, and foster a culture of creativity, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Continuously evaluate design processes and identify opportunities to improve speed, quality, and product innovation.

What We’re Looking For

• 5–7 years of experience in fashion design, with substantial experience in activewear, athleisure, sportswear, or performance apparel.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end collection development and relevant activewear design experience.
• Excellent understanding of performance fabrics, garment construction, fit, pattern development, and technical specifications.
• Hands-on experience with tech packs, BOMs, measurement charts, sample development, and fit approvals.
• Strong knowledge of colour, silhouette, print development, trend forecasting, and collection building.
• Experience working with vendors, sourcing teams, and manufacturing partners.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to balance design innovation with cost, quality, and market demand.
• Strong communication, collaboration, project management, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in relevant design tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and other industry-standard design software.

Key Success Measures

• Timely development and launch of seasonal collections as per the design calendar.
• Quality and commercial relevance of collections, assessed through sell-through, customer feedback, and product performance.
• Accuracy of tech packs, specifications, and sample approvals.
• Improvement in fit consistency, product quality, and reduction in development errors.
• Effective management of design costs and alignment with target margins.
• Successful introduction of new silhouettes, fabrics, and product innovations.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and efficient execution from concept to production.