Concept & Merchandising Associate

What You'll Do:

Concept Planning

• Develop and maintain the merchandising calendar, aligning seasonal trends, cultural moments, and business priorities to drive monthly concept planning.

• Independently and collaboratively lead the development of monthly concepts, translating trend insights, social listening, and market analysis into clear product directions.

• Create compelling concept decks that define product vision, styling direction, key items, and storytelling while ensuring alignment with brand identity and revenue goals.

• Identify white-space opportunities through trend research, competitive landscape analysis, and consumer insights.

Product & Merchandising Development

• Partner closely with Design and Product Development to translate concept direction into commercially viable products.

• Support the development of each collection by identifying key looks, hero products, and selling points that balance creativity with commercial potential.

• Provide merchandising input on silhouettes, category mix, pricing strategy, and trend relevance to drive strong sell-through and margin performance.

• Track product development progress to ensure concept vision is executed effectively from ideation to final product.

• Provide merchandising support for retail stores, assisting with product selection and assortment alignment.

Collection Launch & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Creative and Marketing teams to ensure concept storytelling and visual direction are clearly communicated across campaigns, content, and site merchandising.

• Support cross-functional alignment across Design, Production, Operations, Creative, and Marketing to ensure successful product launches.

• Provide concept context and product insights that inform campaign narratives, styling, and product storytelling.

Who You Are:

• 2+ years in a Merchandising, Buying, Trend Forecasting, or Concept Design role at a fast-fashion, commerical or contemporary apparel brand.

• Ability to think strategically and act tactically—you see the big picture but can execute the details

• Strong interpersonal, communication, presentation and problem-solving skills; comfortable pitching ideas and defending data-driven decisions

• Comfortable in a self-starter environment with limited hand-holding

• Capable of multi-tasking in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment

• Commitment to follow-through on all tasks and projects from concept to sell-through

• Excellent MS Office skills, specifically advanced Excel; experience with PLM or ERP systems a plus

• Deep understanding of U.S. market and Gen-Z consumer behavior

• Ability to speak Mandarin a plus

• Ability to travel domestically, and internationally throughout the year.

-Remote within the US, preferred candidate would be local to the LA area.

-Must show previous conceptual work, or be prepared to do a trend project.