Ankita Rathour
Nottingham,Nottinghamshire
Summary
Creative Womenswear Designer with extensive experience in fashion design, product development, and garment production. Developed womenswear collections from concept through to final production, excelling in occasionwear, eveningwear, daywear, beachwear, sleepwear, and multi-product lines across woven and jersey fabrics. Translated creative concepts into commercially viable products through effective collaboration with factories and suppliers, leveraging skills in print development, embroidery, embellishment, and garment detailing.
Overview
2
2
Languages
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
Social Media & Store Manager - Esso
Monument Retail Co Ltd
Nottingham
01.2026 - Current
- Led retail team, coaching members and managing performance under pressure
- Managed stock levels to ensure product availability, uphold standards, support promotions, and enhance customer experience across three stores
- Developed content plans for product launches
- Maintain a personal fashion design project to stay close to CAD work and the product
- Development cycle; actively seeking a return to full-time design
Freelance Designer
Frock and Frills
Manchester
11.2024 - 12.2025
- Led trend research and seasonal mood boards through to production-ready CADs, technical
- Sketches and tech packs, under fast seasonal development deadlines
- Collaborated with graphic and print teams on print and embellishment development, liaising with manufacturers throughout sampling process.
- Responded rapidly to design briefs to tight turnaround windows while protecting brand
- Documented notes to track commercial costs and margin targets for analysis, ensuring alignment with design objectives.
- Manufacturers throughout sampling
Eveningwear Designer, RTW
Needle & Thread London
05.2019 - 08.2024
- Designed and developed collections end-to-end each season - trend research, mood boards
- CADs, seasonal colour palette - through to fit development and sample sign-off
- Provided creative and technical guidance to pattern cutters and technical teams during fit sessions
- To finalise silhouette, drape and construction ahead of bulk
- Collaborated with buying, merchandising, and production teams to ensure cohesive collections
- Coordinated international travel for trend research and sourcing of fabrics and trims, adhering to critical path
- Led design team of pattern cutter, junior designer, and print designer, assigning work and conducting performance reviews
- Work, reviewing design output, mentoring and conducting performance reviews
Woven & Jersey Designer
Achiever Apparels Pvt Ltd
08.2018 - 04.2019
- Designed outerwear and jersey collections that responded to emerging market trends, enhancing brand visibility.
- Managed multi-category product development from concept through production, ensuring alignment with market needs and design trends.
- Delivered final design packs with full technical specification, managing fittings, costing and sizeset
- Coordinated sample approval process with manufacturing partners to ensure design integrity and quality standards.
Woven Designer
VNS Accessories LLP
11.2016 - 07.2018
- Managed project lifecycle from initial concept to final production handover. from concept through fittings to production handover
- Produced accurate CADs and technical designs based on customer briefs, ensuring alignment with product specifications
- Created product samples for customer evaluations, supporting fittings and incorporating sample comments for buyer review
Assistant Designer
RGL Fashion Pvt Ltd
Gurgaon
02.2014 - 10.2016
- Collaborated with team to develop creative concepts and designs for multiple fast-turnaround categories, enhancing overall design process
- Acquired foundational knowledge in garment construction techniques through hands-on experience, CAD work, and vendor communication, contributing to design accuracy
- Coordinated product photo shoots by overseeing logistics and ensuring brand consistency for collection launches, including managing product listings on ecommerce site
- Website
Education
MA Fashion Communication -
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham, UK01-2025
IIFD - Maters in fashion and apparel
Indian institute of fashion and design
chandigarh, India01-2022
Agra University - Bachelor of Science
Agra, India01-2014
Skills
- E-commerce optimisation
- Customer engagement strategies
- Brand partnership development
- Cross-team collaboration
- Content coordination
- Trend analysis
- Trend boards
- Colour palettes
- Technical sketches
- Tech packs
- Fit sessions
- Garment construction
- Critical path analysis
- Margin analysis
- Adobe Illustrator
- Photoshop
- Procreate
- Hand sketching
Languages
English
Advanced
C1
Hindi
Advanced
C1
Custom
linkedin.com/in/
Timeline
Social Media & Store Manager - Esso
Monument Retail Co Ltd
01.2026 - Current
Freelance Designer
Frock and Frills
11.2024 - 12.2025
Eveningwear Designer, RTW
Needle & Thread London
05.2019 - 08.2024
Woven & Jersey Designer
Achiever Apparels Pvt Ltd
08.2018 - 04.2019
Woven Designer
VNS Accessories LLP
11.2016 - 07.2018
Assistant Designer
RGL Fashion Pvt Ltd
02.2014 - 10.2016
MA Fashion Communication -
Nottingham Trent University
IIFD - Maters in fashion and apparel
Indian institute of fashion and design