Outerwear Fashion Designer

Job title: Freelance Outerwear Fashion Designer -- Premium Outerwear (Ireland-based, Full Design & Technical Ownership)

Company: Wild & Free Outdoors

Location: Must be based in Ireland. Applications from outside Ireland will not be considered.

Type: Freelance / project-based, ongoing potential

Day rate: To be discussed based on experience

About Us:

Wild & Free makes beautiful waterproof coats for real life. We're female-founded in Ireland, and we exist for one reason: to get women outside, feeling amazing, whatever the weather. It started with the COBE -- the cosy, sherpa-lined waterproof coat she lives in. Not a runway coat, not a mountain coat -- designed for the in-between, where real weather and beautiful things meet.

We're a small, fast-moving team based in Northern Ireland, and this is a genuinely founder-led brand. We want a designer who wants to be close to the product, not remote from it, and to help us create an iconic outerwear range.

The Opportunity:

We're building a product runway that carries her through the whole year -- beautiful, waterproof, timeless outerwear for every season she's outside in, not a single coat for a single moment. We're looking for an experienced outerwear designer to take full design and technical ownership of that runway, working with us project by project to start.

This covers everything from fit and construction refinement on our existing hero coat, through to owning the tech packs and specification documents used directly with our overseas manufacturer, through to shaping what comes next in the range. Elegance, beauty, veratility and timeless design sit at the centre of every decision -- she should look and feel exceptional in what we make, not just protected from the weather. This is a genuine replacement of a previous design role, not an add-on -- you'll be the person we rely on to hold the technical and creative detail of the brand together.

Because fittings and ideation sessions happen in person, and because being Irish and Irish-based is part of the brand story we want reflected in the product, this role is only suitable for designers based on the island of Ireland who can meet with us directly and regularly.

What You'll Do:

• Help shape a year-round outerwear range -- designing for every season she's outside in, not a single hero moment
• Take full ownership of tech packs and specification documents, ensuring they're accurate, current, and ready to hand directly to our manufacturing partner
• Lead in-person fitting sessions and ideation meetings
• Refine our existing hero coat (fit, construction details, closures, proportions) ahead of upcoming production cycles
• Work directly with our manufacturing partner's technical team on pattern, construction, and pre-production sample queries
• Design with beauty, elegance, and longevity as non-negotiables -- pieces made to be worn for years, not seasons, that make her look and feel exceptional
• Contribute to future pieces within our product family -- always in service of one consistent, timeless silhouette and design code, evolving with discipline rather than chasing trend or seasonal reinvention

What We're Looking For:

• Based on the island of Ireland (Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland) -- essential, non-negotiable
• Demonstrable experience designing outerwear specifically (coats, jackets, technical or elevated rainwear) -- not general fashion design
• A strong eye for elegance and timelessness -- someone who designs pieces that feel beautiful and considered, not disposable or trend-led
• Confident owning technical packages and specification documents end to end -- this role requires genuine pattern/spec literacy, not design sensibility alone
• Experience working directly with overseas manufacturers on fit, construction, and pre-production samples
• Comfortable working project-by-project initially, with real potential for this to become an ongoing relationship
• A designer who wants to perfect and evolve a hero product into a considered, year-round range with discipline -- not start from a blank page every season
• Irish-based, ideally with a point of view on Irish craft and design heritage -- this is genuinely part of the brand, not a box-ticking exercise

Practicalities:

• In-person fittings and ideation sessions required (We are based in Northern Ireland, with some flexibility on venue by agreement)
• Work begins project-by-project; scope and rate agreed per project
• Full handover of existing technical files and documentation from the outgoing designer will be arranged as part of onboarding
• Portfolio must include outerwear-specific work, ideally showing technical/spec documentation as well as design

How to Apply:

Please share your portfolio (outerwear examples specifically, including any tech pack or spec work you can show), a note on your location within Ireland, and your day rate expectations.