Role Summary

Urban Outfitters is looking for a Design Director to lead the BDG lifestyle vision across denim and casual wovens, including jeans, casual and structured bottoms, shorts, skirts, dresses, shirting, jackets, utility, and related lifestyle product. BDG is rooted in denim, but the opportunity extends beyond the jean. This role is responsible for building the complete lifestyle around denim—defining how silhouette, wash, fabric, proportion, construction, styling, and outfitting come together to create a compelling and recognizable point of view for the UO customer.

The Design Director will own the seasonal creative and product strategy for the category, translating overarching UO concepts into a forward, differentiated assortment that balances denim authority, key items and franchises, outfitting, commercial opportunity, and fashion newness. This leader should have a strong perspective on where denim and casual dressing are moving next and the ability to turn cultural, vintage, global, and fashion inspiration into product that feels uniquely BDG.

Role Responsibilities

• Own the BDG Lifestyle Vision: Define and drive the seasonal creative and product strategy across denim and casual wovens, translating UO concepts into a distinctive BDG point of view and cohesive lifestyle assortment.
• Build the Assortment Strategy: Establish the seasonal roadmap across denim fits, casual and structured bottoms, shorts, skirts, shirting, jackets, utility, key items, franchises, and fashion newness, ensuring clear assortment architecture, outfitting, hierarchy, and differentiation.
• Drive Denim Evolution: Establish a forward point of view on denim silhouette, proportion, wash, fabric, construction, finish, and styling.
• Protect and evolve successful fits and franchises: while identifying and developing the ideas that can become the next meaningful BDG businesses.
• Lead Wash + Raw Material Direction: Set seasonal direction across denim and woven fabrics, washes, dyes, finishes, trims, stitching, construction, and garment treatments.
• Partner with Product Development, R&D, Sourcing, and Production: to build a raw-material strategy that delivers the creative vision while balancing quality, cost, margin, and scalability.
• Set the Product Standard: Guide and approve product from concept through development, fittings, sample reviews, and Finalization.
• Identify What’s Next: Maintain a deep understanding of the UO customer and actively research vintage, global denim culture, runway, street style, emerging designers and brands, youth culture, and broader shifts in how the customer is getting dressed.
• Connect Creativity + Business: Use selling, Velo metrics, rankings, customer response, and market intelligence to identify whitespace, opportunities, risks, and emerging franchises.
• Lead Cross-Category Outfitting: Partner with Design Directors and creative leaders across UO Women’s to connect BDG into the broader seasonal expression.
• Lead + Develop the Team: Build, inspire, and develop a high-performing Design team with clear expectations around creative vision, taste, curiosity, technical excellence, ownership, and accountability.
• Influence + Drive Alignment: Serve as the senior Design voice for BDG Lifestyle, presenting seasonal strategy and product direction to leadership with clarity and conviction.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Own seasonal priorities, calendars, resources, and budgets for the team.

Role Qualifications

• 10–12+ years of progressive apparel design experience, with significant experience in denim and casual wovens and demonstrated leadership of substantial product categories and Design teams.
• Exceptional taste, product instinct, and creative vision, demonstrated through a strong portfolio and a track record of building differentiated, culturally relevant, commercially successful product.
• Deep expertise in denim design and development, including silhouette, fit, proportion, wash, construction, fabrication, finishing, and the nuances required to build and evolve successful denim fits and franchises.
• Strong technical knowledge of casual and structured woven product, including bottoms, shirting, jackets, utility, and related lifestyle categories.
• Advanced knowledge of denim and woven fabrics, wash and dye techniques, garment treatments, trims, stitching, construction, finishing, and manufacturing processes.
• Strong understanding of fabric behavior, quality, hand feel, drape, wash, and how raw materials impact fit and silhouette.
• Exceptional connection to the Urban Outfitters customer, with strong knowledge of youth culture, fashion, vintage, global denim culture, emerging brands, runway, street style, and relevant cultural shifts.
• Demonstrated ability to forecast product and trend evolution, identify whitespace, and translate broad cultural and customer insights into actionable product strategies.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to connect creative vision, assortment architecture, customer insight, and financial performance.
• Proven ability to lead, inspire, coach, and develop high-performing creative teams.
• Strong executive presence and communication skills, with the ability to articulate a clear point of view.
• Highly collaborative, decisive, and solution-oriented, with demonstrated success building strong partnerships.
• Strong hand and digital design skills with the technical expertise to independently lead seasonal set-ups, fittings, wash reviews, product reviews, and leadership presentations.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and relevant product-development systems.
• Strong understanding of AI and emerging creative technology.
• Highly organized and self-directed, with the ability to anticipate change, prioritize resources, navigate ambiguity, and maintain creative excellence in a fast-paced product environment.

The Perks

URBN offers comprehensive Perks & Benefits to employees. Availability and eligibility to specific benefits may be subject to your location and employment status. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, PTO, generous employee discounts, retirement savings and much more!

EEO Statement

URBN celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We are proud to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression), religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship, service in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.