Buyer, Designer Ready to Wear

Buyer, Designer Ready to Wear at elysewalker Buyer, Designer Ready to Wear at elysewalker in Beverly Hills, California Posted in 7 days ago.

Type:

full-time

Job Description:

Position Objectives Curate a highly differentiated ready-to-wear assortment that resonates with a discerning luxury client while driving relevance, desirability, and commercial performance. Shape and evolve the category vision through a balanced mix of established designer brands, emerging talent, and directional market opportunities that reinforce the brand's point of view. Cultivate strategic partnerships with key fashion houses and industry relationships to secure exclusives, maximize brand positioning, and drive long-term growth. Lead the business with a data-informed and customer-centric approach to inventory, open-to-buy, and assortment planning, ensuring strong profitability, healthy sell-through, and optimized return on investment. Drive cross-functional collaboration across merchandising, planning, ecommerce, marketing, and retail teams to deliver a cohesive and elevated client experience across all channels. Monitor market trends, competitive landscape, and client behavior to proactively identify opportunities and maintain leadership within the luxury fashion space. Travel to key domestic and international fashion markets, including New York, Milan, and Paris, approximately four times annually, to identify emerging trends, strengthen vendor relationships, and source new business opportunities. Maintain an active presence at the Culver City office for 3 days per week to support cross-functional collaboration, team leadership, and business operations. Key Areas of Responsibility Assortment Strategy & Merchandising Curate a compelling, market-aware assortment that reflects the brand's point of view while aligning with client demand, regional nuances, and category growth opportunities. Drive strategic assortment planning across seasonal buys, identifying opportunities within established brands, emerging designers, and new business categories. Analyze sales performance, client behavior, and inventory productivity to make informed decisions around reorders, transfers, markdowns, and exit strategies. Partner closely with Planning to manage open-to-buy, seasonal budgets, inventory flow, and profitability targets. Ensure assortments are balanced across trend, novelty, and core business while supporting broader merchandising narratives and brand initiatives. Develop and execute strategic liquidation and markdown strategies focused on maximizing sell-through and margin performance. Brand Partnerships & Vendor Management Build and maintain strong relationships with key designer partners, showrooms, and emerging brands to support long-term business growth and brand differentiation. Negotiate assortments, exclusives, distribution strategy, pricing, delivery cadence, and payment terms to optimize business performance and competitive positioning. Continuously evaluate vendor performance through sell-through analysis, inventory productivity, operational execution, and client response. Identify and onboard new brands and business opportunities that align with the evolving customer and company vision. Leadership & Team Development Lead, mentor, and develop Assistant and Associate Buyers, fostering a collaborative, high-performing, and entrepreneurial team culture. Provide clear direction, consistent feedback, and growth opportunities while promoting accountability, ownership, and strong business acumen. Support team development through market exposure, strategic coaching, and ongoing skill-building across merchandising, analysis, and relationship management. Cross-Functional Partnership Partner cross-functionally with Planning, Retail, E-commerce, Marketing, Operations, and Visual teams to ensure alignment across assortment strategy and client experience. Collaborate with retail leadership to understand regional opportunities, client feedback, and store-specific needs that inform buying decisions. Leverage customer insights, business analytics, and market intelligence to continuously refine assortments and identify growth opportunities. Trend Forecasting & Market Intelligence Maintain a strong awareness of the competitive landscape, luxury market trends, and emerging consumer behavior to inform category strategy. Attend domestic and international markets to identify new brands, product opportunities, and directional trends relevant to the business. Continuously evolve the assortment to ensure it remains relevant, differentiated, and aligned with the brand's fashion authority and customer expectations. Required Skills Minimum 5 years of multi-brand buying experience, preferably within the luxury or designer fashion space Prior experience managing and developing direct reports, with the ability to provide mentorship, feedback, and day-to-day leadership within a collaborative team environment. Strong analytical and financial acumen with the ability to interpret sales, inventory, and market data to drive strategic business decisions and category performance. Proven ability to manage a business with a strong commercial mindset, balancing fashion authority, customer relevance, and profitability objectives. Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship management skills, with the ability to effectively influence cross-functional partners, vendors, and senior leadership. Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and operate with urgency in a fast-paced environment. Resourceful, solutions-oriented team player with strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities. Self-starter with a proactive approach, strong ownership mentality, and ability to work independently while driving results. Strong understanding of market trends, emerging designers, and evolving consumer behavior within the luxury fashion industry. Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with brands, showrooms, and external partners. Advanced computer skills required, including advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint. We Offer Health Insurance & Wellness Benefits Package Retirement Benefits Package Benefits & Perks, including PTO & Employee Discount