Fashion Designer

Role Overview

This is a hands-on design role for someone who enjoys the full arc of a custom garment — from the first styling conversation with a client through to the final press before delivery. Sitting in our Kilimani showroom and workshop, you will translate individual client briefs into technical sketches, measurement sheets and production instructions that our tailors can execute precisely, then stay close to the workbench while those garments come together. Your eye for proportion, fabric and finish is what keeps our clients coming back and protects the standard our brand is judged on.

Key Responsibilities

• Host one-on-one styling consultations with new and returning clients, working through body proportions, personal taste and the demands of the occasion to shape a garment concept they can picture clearly.
• Convert those conversations into drawings the workshop can build from — hand illustrations, technical flats or digital equivalents, each accompanied by silhouette notes, seam placements and finishing choices.
• Advise clients on fabric weight and drape, trim and lining options, and colour direction, explaining trade-offs in cost, comfort and wearability so decisions are made with confidence.
• Source textiles, linings, trims and accessories within the budget agreed for each project, building a reliable supplier network while keeping an eye on quality consistency.
• Draft measurement sheets, pattern notes and sewing specifications detailed enough that tailors can cut and assemble without repeated clarification.
• Work on the workshop floor alongside the tailoring team, checking pattern accuracy, correcting construction issues early and answering technical questions as they arise.
• Run fitting sessions, mark up required alterations and refinements, and inspect each finished garment for stitch neatness, seam strength and overall presentation before it reaches the client.
• Juggle several custom orders at once against agreed handover dates, and keep client measurements, design specifications and order histories on file so repeat commissions are straightforward.
• Track emerging silhouettes, fabrics and styling directions so our collections and client recommendations stay current rather than dated.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Education: Diploma or degree in Fashion Design, Apparel Technology or a comparable qualification.
• Experience: Three to five years designing within a made-to-measure atelier, custom apparel business or commercial fashion house where turnaround times were tight.
• Technical ability: Solid grounding in garment construction, pattern making, textile behaviour and size grading, with the confidence to catch problems on paper before they reach the machine.
• Design skill: Strong creative instinct paired with the practical judgement to make a design actually wearable and producible.
• Client handling: Clear spoken communication, patience during consultations and the ability to read what a client means, not just what they say.
• Accuracy: Precise measurement taking and meticulous record keeping; small errors here show up on the finished garment.
• Organisation: Able to run multiple orders in parallel and hold to deadlines without letting quality slip.
• Portfolio: A design portfolio or lookbook demonstrating both conceptual work and completed garments.

What We Offer

• Monthly salary in the range of KSh 30,000 – KSh 40,000, based on experience and portfolio strength.
• Full-time, on-site position based in Kilimani, Nairobi, working from a combined showroom and workshop setup.
• Direct exposure to the entire production cycle — consultation, design, sourcing, tailoring supervision and final delivery — rather than a narrow slice of it.
• Close collaboration with management and the tailoring team, with room to influence how projects are designed and run.

If the role matches your experience, send your updated CV, design portfolio or lookbook, and a short cover letter explaining the kind of custom work you have handled before.