Director Fabric R&D - Material Innovation

About the Role

Reporting to the Vice President, Materials R&D, you will lead an R&D Materials team responsible for translating the brand(s) aesthetic into clear, executable material strategies that support product creation and innovation. A key part of this role is serving as a strategic partner to Design, ensuring fabric and material development begins with and supports the creative vision of the brand. You will work closely with Design teams from concept through development to identify, create, and evolve fabrics that bring design intent to life.

You will leverage consumer insights, mill partnerships, and key material trends to drive fabric development, innovation, costing, and positioning across the brand portfolio.

You will champion a ‘Fabric First’ mentality, ensuring material innovation plays a central role throughout the product-to-market process. This role connects creative vision with technical execution, guiding the development of fabrics that elevate brand storytelling, performance, and commercial success. You will also support the development and execution of the mill network strategy, maintain strong supplier relationships, and help advance the company’s sustainability goals through the integration of responsible materials and processes.

You will provide direction and strategic thought partnership to internal teams in North America, while collaborating closely with Mill Management and Fabric Engineering teams in Asia to ensure alignment with cross-functional strategies, global sourcing capabilities, and sustainability objectives.

What You'll Do

• Partner closely with Design as a primary collaborator, translating design vision into seasonal fabric strategies and leading the identification and development of materials that support the brand’s creative direction.
• Manage and mentor a team of R&D specialists, working in close collaboration with Design, Merchandising, Product Development, and Production cross-functional partners.
• Analyze fabric needs across the company and communicate recommendations to cross-functional partners to leverage fabric qualities across divisions, while maintaining and tracking all components of the fabric and wash resource library to support seasonal inspiration and archive platformed fabrics.
• Drive fabric innovation by identifying new constructions, finishes, dye techniques, and mill capabilities that support the brand’s creative direction and evolving consumer needs.
• Explore and integrate emerging digital tools and innovation platforms that enhance textile research, fabric discovery, and material knowledge management, enabling the team to leverage data and technology to accelerate development and support smarter decision-making.
• Track fabric development KPIs and maintain brand discipline around the number of seasonal developments, fabric testing, reporting, and risk-assessment tools to align expectations across functional areas.
• Partner with Product Development and Merchandising to ensure fabrics align with the Value/Good/Better/Best pricing architecture while maintaining design integrity and performance standards.
• Build and clearly articulate seasonal material direction, including fabric boards and trend insights that reflect overall brand strategy, design vision, and textile industry innovation.
• Identify fabrics that require cost engineering and collaborate with the Mill Management team to optimize quality, margin, and scalability.
• Drive fabric development discipline throughout the product-to-market calendar, ensuring alignment at each key milestone from Mill Week to Fabric Alignment and Sampling.
• Maintain and evolve the fabric and wash library to support innovation, cross-brand leverage, long-term material strategy, and sustainability initiatives.
• Support the development and execution of the mill network strategy by collaborating with sourcing teams and key mill partners to ensure alignment with brand priorities and supplier capabilities.
• Leverage consumer insights to guide fabric innovation, development, and material strategies across the brand portfolio.
• Integrate sustainable materials and processes into seasonal fabric strategies, balancing innovation, performance, and scalability.

Who You Are

• Deep understanding of concepts and procedures within textile development and the ability to connect fabric innovation to product creation, merchandising strategies, and design intent.
• Strong expertise in fabric constructions, dye techniques, finishes, garment construction, and global manufacturing and sourcing processes.
• Passion for textile innovation with the ability to translate design inspiration into commercially viable material strategies.
• Proven ability to partner closely with Design and cross-functional teams, influencing and making decisions across geographies in a matrix environment where speed, collaboration, and cultural sensitivity are critical.
• Refined ability to hire, manage, lead, and inspire people, as well as navigate and influence across a complex organization.
• Demonstrated ability to build strong cross-functional partnerships with sourcing teams and key mill partners to support mill network strategy and strengthen supplier relationships.
• Expertise in advancing sustainability initiatives through the identification and integration of responsible materials and processes into fabric development.
• Ability to evaluate complex situations using multiple sources of information, including market insights, technical data, and cross-functional input.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to filter, prioritize, and validate complex information across functions.
• Ability to travel globally to mills, vendors, and regional teams to support fabric development, innovation, and strategic supplier initiatives.
• ~10 years of experience working for large multi-national fashion brands.