Fashion

Lifestyle

Swim

Remote Freelance Fashion + Concept Designer

Freelance & Contract

Designer with seven years experience, has excellent personal and professional skills with a willingness to learn and apply all technical, design, and style knowledge to execute an aesthetic and support for any design team or customer.

I am a self-employed freelance designer with a home office based in Seattle, WA.
My specialties include:
CAD sketches by hand or in AI
Full tech pack creation
Artwork color ups and pitch pages
Trim development sketching
Concept decks content and layout
Vendor communication and development

Message me to discuss your next project and how I can help!

Categories Responsible for:
Jackets, Denim, Woven Tops, Dresses, Bottoms

Designer - Apparel (Freelance, Temp.)

Categories: 
Woven Shirts, Dresses, and Skirts
Hiking (outdoor) Functional Woven Tops
Core Accessories (Men's and women's: Beanies, hats, scarves, gloves, blankets, etc)

Responsible for the following:
Concept contribution, Identifying Trends and key looks for the season, Taking direction from merchandising team for Seasonal Line Plan, Sketching silhouettes and creating Tech Packs, Leading fittings, Communicating with merchandising on development issues and changes, Embroidery and Embellishment development, Creating print direction and leading communication with CAD team, Defining fabrics for the season with price points and margin restrictions, Work with Materials team to develop fabrics and testing, Trim development and testing, Manage direct reports and help lead them into their own success and creativity, Vendor communication, Seasonal development trips, Factory visits and maintaining relationships, Inspiration travel and Trend shopping, Working in a large cross functional te

Designer - Women's Apparel and Accessories

- Recognize and anticipate retailer product needs while maintaining integrity of the brand.
- Design and develop quick turn product. 
- Work with all categories including Apparel, Swim, and Accessories.
- Develop through entire process from initial request, sketch, tech pack and style set up, costing, vendor communication, fittings, print coloring and approvals, graphic art matrices, strike off approvals, and Pre Production comments. 
- Work with buying teams at multiple retailers to supply them with their product needs, maintain deliveries, and manage margin and IMU requirements. 
- Work with internal teams such as sales, tech design, inline, retail buyers, production, and graphics.

Designer/Developer - Women's SMU

-Concept layout and content
-Design and develop Women's Fitness Collection Holiday 2014
-Design and develop Women's and Men's Surf collection Spring 2015
-Design and develop individual styles (men's and women's) throughout all seasons and categories
-Design and develop trims
-Complete tech pack creation
-Collaborate on pattern/color theory for each season 
-Create tech/call out sheets for styles
-Responsible for fitting designed styles and working with the tech team
-Assisting in the formation of the personality and vibe of up and coming brand

Without Walls - Assistant Designer Men's and Women's

Assistant to: Sportswear, Asia Pacific, Girls, Teenie Wahine, and Infants
-Support to the designers
-Responsible for design conception and execution of two categories throughout all divisions
-Research Market Trends
-Source Trims and Fabrics 
-Sketch CADs, Color Prints, Render Trims
-Construction Details for Technical Designers and Vendors
-Complete Tech Pack creation
-Assist in Fittings
-Liaison between departments
-Overall design execution for the sportswear line
-Retail and SMU specials in Design and Execution
-Manipulate and upload prints for PLM
-International travel for development

Assistant Designer

- Recruit and train volunteers
-Tripled Volunteer base over the course of my employment and implemented networking events as well as volunteer training
- Build relationships and schedule all volunteers
- Assist in creation of all design aspects of events
- Produce events
- Maintain and organize the production team

Production Assistant

- Spec creation and Analysis for all brands and divisions
- Saw sample stages through from Prototype to Top of Production
- Quality Control
- Involved in fittings with designers
- Pattern Corrections
- Assisted the team

Assistant Technical Designer

- Organized swatches / colors
- Helped maintain Line-sheets
- Market Research
- Organized Samples
- Assisted Designers
- Involved in fittings with designers
- Assisted Technical Designers

Intern for Men's, Juniors, and Merchandising

MELINDA MCKEE is a Remote Freelance Fashion + Concept Designer at Self-Employed in SEATTLE, WA.

MELINDA MCKEE

MELINDA MCKEE

Skills

Interests

Industries

Education history

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising