Victoria Oakley Email & Phone Number

London, England, United Kingdom

As a freelance childrenswear designer I work with a range of clients from start-ups through to established brands, high street retailers and suppliers. Key clients to date include:Visage Ltd (supplier)- Outerwear design for client, GEORGE at ASDA covering their older boys’ and girls’ categories (7-16yrs).Renaissance Group (supplier)- Jersey/sweat design.

Poole, Dorset

• Working as lead childrenswear designer I was responsible for multi-product garment design across the boys' (2-16yrs) and girls' (2-14yrs) categories. My role comprised of:
• Managing the day-to-day runnings of boys’ & girls’ multi-product categories; from initial concept through to creating colour palettes, range building, technical packs, artworking, fabric/trims sourcing, sampling and.
• Daily liaison with suppliers and factories overseas
• Gathering trend and competitor research, including overseas travel
• Briefing the graphic design team to ensure a coherent range is designed
• Advanced Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop skills – used to draw designs and create technical packs

London, United Kingdom

• Working in a fast paced studio environment, I assisted the designers and pattern cutters with the design and development of their men's, women's and children's collections. Tasks included:
• Assisting the designers across the entire design process; from initial concept through to range building, creating technical packs, fabric/trims development and sampling
• Creating manual patterns from designer’s initial sketches
• Making amendments to patterns by working digitally using Gerber Technology/AccuMark Pattern Design System (PDS)
• Working closely with the buying and merchandising teams to ensure commercial ranges were designed
• Liaising with factories and suppliers overseas

London, United Kingdom

• I worked as an intern in the childrenswear design team where I gained exposure to the fast-paced environment of a leading high street retailer. Tasks included:
• Trend and competitor research for garment, fabric and print direction
• Creating colour palettes and sourcing fabrics
• Designing garments in CAD format using Adobe Illustrator
• Presenting to Head of Design
• Working closely with the buying and merchandising teams to create commercial childrenswear collections

Havant

• I took up an internship at the Fat Face head office to gain exposure to fashion design in a leading lifestyle brand and to also gain experience in buying. Tasks included:
• Attending fit sessions and updating technical packs
• Buyers Administrator, including sample tracking, liaising with suppliers and assisting in updating critical paths
• Producing inspirational mood boards for collection theme and branding ideas
• Researching and interpreting new trends that are in line with the brand's handwriting
• Developing colour palettes and sourcing fabrics