Fashion Designer (Full-Time) - MAYE

Location: Newtown, Sydney
Employment type: Full-time

Who We Are

MAYE is one of Australia's fastest growing women's lifestyle ecommerce brands. Founded in 2021, we've built a loyal global community through timeless design, exceptional quality and an experience that puts our customers at the heart of everything we do. Inspired by Sydney and created for women around the world, MAYE is more than a fashion brand, it's a lifestyle brand that celebrates effortless Australian style.

About the Role

We’re looking for a talented and commercially minded Fashion Designer to join MAYE and play a key role in bringing our collections to life.

Working closely with the Creative Director, you will translate the creative vision of the brand into beautiful, considered and commercially relevant product for the MAYE woman.

This is a hands-on design role that spans the full product journey from initial concept, silhouette, colour and fabrication through to technical specifications, fittings and production. You’ll balance creativity with a strong understanding of our customer, ensuring each style feels distinctly MAYE while delivering on fit, quality, wearability and commercial performance.

You will work closely with the Creative Director, Head of Product, Production Manager, garment technicians and our offshore suppliers to develop and refine the product, solve technical challenges and ensure each garment is executed to the highest standard.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
DESIGN & COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

- Work closely with the Creative Director to interpret and execute the seasonal creative vision across each collection.

- Design product that reflects the MAYE aesthetic while responding to the lifestyle, fit needs and preferences of the 40+ woman.

- Develop seasonal concepts, silhouettes, shapes, colour palettes, fabrication and design details.

- Research and interpret relevant fashion, lifestyle, colour, fabrication and market trends through the lens of the MAYE customer rather than following trends for trend’s sake.

- Continually evolve existing MAYE signatures while introducing recent shapes, categories and design ideas.

- Manage design and development timelines in line with the critical path and option plan, ensuring key milestones and deadlines are met

TECHNICAL DESIGN & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

- Own the technical development of your designs from initial concept through to production with garment technicians.

- Create clear and accurate design specifications and tech packs for offshore suppliers.

- Produce your own garment specifications, construction details with design, fabric and colour/print call-outs.

- Demonstrate a strong understanding of garment construction, fit, patternmaking principles and manufacturing techniques.





- Have a sophisticated understanding of colour, print, fabrication, handle, drape and garment performance.

- Select and develop fabrics, trims, finishes and construction methods appropriate to the design, customer and target price.

- Participate actively in fittings and work closely with garment technicians to achieve excellent fit, proportion, comfort and consistency.

PRODUCTION & SUPPLIER COLLABORATION

- Liaise directly with offshore suppliers throughout the development process.

- Build strong, respectful and effective working relationships with factories and suppliers.

- Communicate design intent clearly so that the final product accurately reflects the original vision.

- Work closely with the Production Manager and Head of Product to solve development, construction, fabrication, costing and production challenges.

- Respond quickly and practically when technical or production issues arise.

- Ensure all design information, specifications and amendments are accurate and communicated within critical timelines.

COMMERCIAL & CUSTOMER FOCUS

- Have a deep understanding of the MAYE woman and design specifically for how she wants to look, feel and live.

- Understand the needs of the 40+ fashion customer, including fit, proportion, fabrication, comfort, coverage and versatility.

- Balance creativity and newness with commercial thinking and an understanding of what drives product performance.

- Review sales, customer feedback, returns and product performance to inform future design decisions.

- Understand price architecture, margin and commercial parameters and design within them.

- Partner with the wider product team to build balanced collections across silhouettes, categories, colour, print, fabrication and price points.

- Maintain awareness of the Australian, US and broader international markets relevant to the MAYE customer.

ABOUT YOU

You are a strong fashion designer who combines creative instinct with technical capability and commercial awareness.

You love the detail of making a garment work, not just how it looks on a page. You understand construction, fabrication, fit and proportion and are comfortable taking ownership of the technical development of your designs.

You are equally comfortable discussing creative direction with a Creative Director, working through fit with a garment technician and solving a construction issue directly with an offshore supplier.





You understand that designing for MAYE means knowing our woman deeply. You can interpret fashion through her eyes and create product that feels modern and desirable without losing sight of wearability, confidence, comfort and longevity.

You are collaborative, organised, solutions-focused and comfortable working in a small, fast-moving team where everyone takes ownership.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

- Tertiary qualification in Fashion Design or a related discipline.

- Solid experience in womenswear fashion design, ideally within a commercially driven brand or retailer designing for the 40+ womenswear market.

- Strong planning and time-management skills, with the ability to work to a critical path and option plan, manage multiple styles and priorities simultaneously, and consistently meet key development and production deadlines.

- Excellent technical knowledge of garment construction, fit and fabrication with a strong ability to create detailed specifications and tech packs independently.

- Solid eye for colour, print, proportion, silhouette, fabric and detail.

- Experience working directly with offshore factories and suppliers.

- Experience working collaboratively with garment technicians and production teams.

- Strong commercial awareness and ability to design to customer, price and margin parameters.

- Robust Adobe Illustrator skills and confidence working with relevant design and product development systems.

- Excellent communication, organisation and problem-solving skills.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

- Collections have a clear and recognisable MAYE design point of view.

- The Creative Director’s vision is translated beautifully and consistently into product.

- Product feels modern, elevated and effortless with the best quality possible while achieving margin

- Garments demonstrate excellent fit, fabrication, construction and attention to detail.

- Technical specifications are accurate, comprehensive and delivered on time.

- Development issues are identified early and resolved collaboratively with production, garment technicians and suppliers.

- Collections achieve the right balance of creativity, customer relevance and commercial performance.

Why Join MAYE?

At MAYE, we are passionate about creating beautiful products for our customers and building a brand she connects with. This is an exciting opportunity to join a creative and collaborative team and play an important role in the ongoing development of our collections.

How to Apply

Please apply with:

1. A short cover letter (150–200 words) on why you’re interested in this role

2. Three words to describe you

3. Include the word “Paris” in your cover letter

4. Portfolio or Portfolio Link

Only successful candidates will be contacted.

📌 Fashion Designer (Newtown)
🏢 MAYE Group
📍 Newtown