Footwear Design Manager - Color & Materials - Women's

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About the role

CONTEXT AND PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The Footwear Design Manager Colors & Materials (C&M) Women's, plays a critical role in shaping the visual identity, desirability and premium perception of Lacoste Women's Footwear.

This role owns the strategic and seasonal C&M direction for its given categories, translating brand DNA, consumer insights and cultural trends into commercially relevant and emotionally resonant product stories.

The role partners closely with Footwear Designers Create, Product Management and Development to ensure that color and materials elevate footwear, while remaining scalable and production-ready.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. C&M Strategy & Creative Direction
* Define and deliver seasonal C&M strategies aligned with Lacoste's brand vision, category needs and consumer insights.
* Develop color palettes and material directions.
* Translate macro and micro trends into clear, actionable C&M briefs.
* Ensure C&M consistency across collections while enabling differentiation by category and franchise.
* Contribute to multi-season thinking and long-term C&M vision.

2. Design Execution & Product Creation
* Create detailed C&M proposals, including color blocking and material mapping.
* Produce C&M boards, line plans and storytelling assets to support design and merchandising narratives.
* Partner with Footwear Designers Create to ensure seamless integration of C&M into silhouette design.
* Review samples and prototypes, ensuring color accuracy, material quality and finish execution.
* Drive continuous improvement of material richness, hand-feel and perceived value.

3. Consumer, Culture & Trend Insight
* Conduct ongoing research into consumer behavior, fashion, sport, street culture and materials innovation.
* Benchmark competitors and adjacent industries.
* Translate insights into commercially relevant C&M innovations.
* Ensure regional and cultural relevance across global markets.

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration
* Work closely with Product Line Management, Development and Materials teams to align C&M intent with cost, scalability and timelines.
* Collaborate on new materials and sustainable solutions.
* Present C&M direction clearly and convincingly in design and range reviews.
* Support alignment between categories and the wider Lacoste footwear portfolio.

5. Process & Quality Excellence
* Build and maintain C&M libraries, color standards and material references.
* Ensure all C&M information is clearly documented and production-ready.
* Support continuous improvement of C&M processes and tools.
* Maintain high standards of quality, consistency and attention to detail.

Profile

* Proven experience in footwear C&M design.
* Strong understanding of footwear constructions, materials and manufacturing constraints.
* Excellent eye for color, proportion, texture and finish.
* Ability to elevate products through subtle, premium C&M decisions.
* Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop).
* Ability to build clear CMF presentations and line plans.
* Experience working with physical samples and digital assets.
* Highly collaborative, comfortable working in a matrix environment.
* Strong communication and presentation skills.
* Able to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
* Commercial mindset with sensitivity to brand positioning.

Equal opportunities

At Lacoste, we are committed to making equal opportunities a reality. Inherited from our unique vision of fashion-sport, equal opportunities move us forward and our recruitment methods follow this commitment by focusing on skills and embracing all types of talents. We commit to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where elegance goes beyond style and where each of us is given the chance to fulfill our greatest potential