Irene Taira

* Research, develop and negotiate materials while building strong relationships with mills
* Design and develop lifestyle apparel for Mens and Womens
* Responsible for all technical sketches and design detail sketches for 1st proto specs
* Partner with tech designers for optimum performance and fit
* Execute all plaid patternwork from colorway creation to bulk production
* Chief manager for all lab dips for all categories from initiation to bulk production

* Assisted Creative Director in all aspects of design
* Traveled to Asia for style development, negotiate costs and improve execution of products
* Chief manager for all lab dips for all categories from initiation to bulk production

* Sole Designer for all private label branded tops, bottoms and outerwear
* Advisor to Brand Manager and acted as Product Line Manager to launch Pie Grande Private Label
* Traveled to Mexico to establish partnership and present line plan to CEO and President
* Designed 27 Mens and Womens apparel styles and established fit categories and body specs
* Created seasonal palette direction for Year 1 launch

* Assisted CEO & President in all aspects of design, sourcing, and fittings
* Research competitor market and present style, color and material trends to CEO and sales team
* Established seasonal color palettes, and executed designs
* Negotiated with manufacturers in partnership with CEO and CFO on style by style basis
* Traveled with CEO & CFO to MAGIC Tradeshow to source, negotiate and launch 1st protos

* Assisted Owner in all production oriented samples for Arctic Cat
* Created 1st Proto tech pack for Under Armour special project
* Traveled to Outdoor Retailer Show to source fabrics and partner with manufacturers

Eddie Bauer Outlets Mens & Womens Outerwear and Active Apparel
* Developed strong relationships across Retail Designers and Design Directors that improved flow of information to Outlets and allowed for Outlets to echo designs
* Unified details across categories to create effortless customer shopping experience
* Managed Associate Designer and Assistant Designer's growth and career development
* Re-launched Active division for Outlets division when Retail stores launched Motion
* Developed strong relationships with mills and trim vendors with trusting partnerships
* Strong partner to Merchandising, Sourcing, Product Development, and Technical Design to result in a $42M growth over a 2 year period
* Only Designer to have had a 4 year consecutive comp increase

Designer for Eddie Bauer Outlets Technical Outerwear for Retail & Outlets, Kids Outerwear
* Specific focus to bring volume driving styles and styles to support growing category of Active Apparel
* Hand selected and entrusted by Senior Vice President to cultivate and launch Kids Outerwear
* Visionary of design principles that were applied to the designs for the Outlets division

Designer over all Eddie Bauer Outlets Mens and Womens Outerwear, Gear, Sleepwear & Accessories
* Developed seasonal illustrations, color palette, managed lab dip process of all outerwear trims, developed all cads for patternwork, created and executed complete spec packages with Technical Designer
* Responsible for denim development with Developer
* Gear and Accessory design and color cohesion based on store environment

Boys Outerwear and Bottoms
* Worked closely with Design Director and Sales Team to create seasonal line and marketing handles
* Developed Denim, Down, and various bottom weight textiles with mill according to trend
* Provided Sales Team with custom products and colorways based on sales data and market trend
* Collaborated with Boys Design Team and Director to create seasonal color palette

Assistant Designer to all Women's Design categories
* Assisted Design Director in presentation tools
* Assisted Designers in line plan creation, accurate updating and distribution
* Communicated daily with Asia partners in development of styles
* Attended fit reviews in place of Designer to continue in the development of styles