Senior Footwear Designer | Founder Onto I Brand Direction I Developer | fmr Kenneth Cole

Consulting services encompassing all phases of footwear design, sampling, development, and production.

Footwear Designer + Developer 

Senior Footwear Designer

Onto was a men's footwear line based in New York City. Onto launched July of 2015. Visit ontonyc.com for more info.

Founder I Designer at Onto

- Designer for Gentle Souls Women's footwear encompassing casual, sport, work, and dress 
- Designing and building collections each season that are in line with market trends and brand philosophy
- Creating specs and sketches for comprehensive wholesale line
- Responsible for selecting and managing the sourcing of all materials and components from China, Europe, India, and the United States
- Extensive bi-seasonal trips to China to oversee prototype/sample development
- Bi-annual trips to Europe for comfort driven trend forecasting and market research for key color palettes and special materials
- Developing and designing unique outsoles and lasts based on the understanding of functional and wearable comfort
- Evolving classic comfort constructions with updated, trend appropriate patterns for both volume and boutique wholesale business
- Responsible for managing leather and component suppliers and factories on a daily basis to meet demanding seasonal deadlines 
- Approval and fitting of all prototypes from initial sample to confirmation sample

Senior Footwear Designer at Gentle Souls

- Worked closely with Senior VP of Gentle Souls to continually conceptualize, direct, and advance brand strategy by translating ethos of our product philosophy and design into a platform for interactive commerce
- Seamlessly integrated role as Senior Footwear Designer into Creative Directing brand appropriate campaigns aimed to build an engaging and personable direct to consumer e-commerce site 
- Responsible for creating initial visual layout for user interface and overall stylization of www.gentlesouls.com 
- Communicated, delegated, and completed campaigns with multiple creative vendor partners to ensure  strategy, budget, quality control, and project deadlines for e-commerce, e-marketing, and seasonal trade shows 


Creative Director for Gentle Souls Footwear

- Comprehensive apprenticeship in shoemaking and repairs
- Responsible for repairing custom, high grade leather footwear and specialty equestrian boots which encompassed patternmaking, gluing, skiving, stitching, and lasting
- Experience with an industrial Pfaff post machine 
- Created and assembled new style prototypes from initial concept to final lasting


Shoemaker's Apprenticeship

- Assisted multiple customers at a time at the East Village store front location: setting up skateboard completes and providing exceptional customer service
- Worked behind the register and handled/processed an array of inventory
- Provided comprehensive knowledge of skateboard brands from a range of local to international soft good and hard good companies
- Assistant buyer for apparel, footwear, and hard goods 
- Assistant apparel designer for in house Autumn line


Sales Associate

- Managed both corporate and individual accounts 
- Maintained daily communications between internal team and clients to meet requests and ensure a  quality deliverable
- Supervised quality control and details from sample prototype to production 
- Coordinated delivery times and payments with vendors and clients with punctuality and professionality 

Production Manager

- Regularly assisted multiple customers in accelerated SoHo environment
- Achieved both weekly and monthly company goals
- Provided thorough product history of specialized urban apparel 

Retail Sales Associate

-Intern during New York Fashion Week
-Dressing models for in house fit and NYFW presentation
-Assisted in constructing and quality controlling accessories for buyers
-Organizing incoming and outgoing looks for runway show
-Prepared seasonal line sheets for prospective buyers
-Maintained immaculate showroom presence


NY Fashion Week Intern

-Sales intern during SS07 selling campaign 
-Sales intern during FW08 selling campaign
-Prepared and catalogued seasonal look books for corporate and individual buyers
-Dressed and organized incoming and outgoing looks during buyer presentations
-Maintained immaculate showroom presence 



Sales Intern

Jilleen Liao is a Senior Footwear Designer at Onto NYC in Brooklyn, New York. View their experience, skills and work history on Malakye — the professional…

Jilleen Liao — Senior Footwear Designer at Onto NYC

Jilleen Liao

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