Lead Designer - Topshop

TOPSHOP and TOPMAN are iconic British fashion brands with 60 years of heritage. Headquartered in London, the Brands have over 2 million customers across the globe through the ASOS platform and generate brand sales of c£200m. Our mission is to unlock the best of fashion for everyone, with creativity and innovation at our core.   

Following the formation of a Joint Venture between ASOS and HEARTLAND in October 2024, ASOS is creating a standalone cross-functional team within ASOS which is dedicated to unlocking the huge growth potential of the TOPSHOP and TOPMAN brands. The brands will now benefit from ASOS infrastructure and resources while enjoying the creative freedom and agility of standalone brands.    

The next 12 months for TOPSHOP and TOPMAN will see the expansion of the brands’ offline and online retail presence with the launch of Topshop.com and new wholesale partnerships.   

Job Description

We’re looking for a visionary Lead Designer to help shape the future of Topshop - bringing bold ideas, creative leadership, and commercial edge to one of fashion’s most iconic brands.

Working closely with the Head of Design, you’ll help shape and deliver the brand’s creative vision - leading across Soft Wovens, Jersey, Knit, and Print to enable us to always stay ahead of the curve. You’ll play a key role in setting seasonal direction, driving innovation, and ensuring our product resonates with the Topshop customer.

You’ll lead and inspire a team of designers, overseeing the development of standout collections that balance creativity with commerciality. From trend concepting and product execution to studio briefing and cross-functional collaboration, you’ll be hands-on in every stage of the design process. You’ll also support in shaping agile ways of working and championing change.

This is a brilliant opportunity to influence one of the brand’s most exciting categories and help define the next chapter of Topshop’s global style story.

What you'll be doing...

• Leading seasonal trend concepting and product reviews, setting styling direction across key categories.
• Developing creative briefs for studio shoots, ensuring brand storytelling is clear, consistent, and impactful.
• Identifying and delivering new product opportunities at speed, keeping Topshop first to market with trend-led pieces.
• Collaborate across functions - including Marketing - to ensure design vision is reflected across all customer touchpoints.

We move fast so are in the office at least three days a week to ensure we keep connected, creative, and ahead of the curve.

Qualifications

About You

With proven experience in fast-paced fashion retail environments, you will bring design and leadership expertise across Soft Wovens, Print, Jersey, and Knitwear. You have a sharp eye for detail, with a strong trend vision and a deep understanding of global fashion and customer profiles, enabling you to deliver standout product that balances creativity with commercial appeal.

A natural leader, you are able to inspire your team, influence stakeholders, and drive the brands forward with a clear design vision and a deep understanding of the target customer.

You’ll also bring:

• A proven ability to deliver world-class product that blends creativity with commercial appeal - designing standout, trend-led pieces alongside high-performing seasonal must-haves.
• Proven ability to source and develop product across Far East, India, and European markets, including speed-to-market opportunities from Turkey
• A strong eye for print, graphics, embroidery, and embellishment, with experience briefing internal teams and external suppliers
• Deep trend research capabilities and the ability to translate insights into brand-aligned, commercially relevant product
• Experience in fabric sourcing across multiple territories, including innovation in leather, PU, and jacket categories
• Strong awareness of global retail trends, market conditions, and customer behaviour

Additional Information

BeneFITS’ 

• Employee discount (hello ASOS discount!) 
• ASOS Develops (personal development opportunities across the business) 
• Employee sample sales
• Access to a huge range of LinkedIn learning materials 
• 25 days paid annual leave + an extra celebration day for a special moment 
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Private medical care scheme 
• Flexible benefits allowance - which you can choose to take as extra cash, or use towards other benefits