# Lu Salas > Senior Apparel Designer | Freelance and Contract Specialist | Color and Trend Direction Location: Martinez, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/lusalas Hi, my name is Lu! I am a Senior Apparel Designer with 10+ years of experience building product from concept through launch across apparel and retail. Most of my work sits at the intersection of trend, customer insight, and commercial execution, with a focus on creating clear seasonal direction that teams can adopt quickly and build confidently. Over the past several years, I have led and supported seasonal line execution across knits, activewear, intimates, accessories, and licensed capsules for Fortune 500 retailers and high-growth brands. I translate global market and competitive research into customer-led silhouettes, color direction, prints, graphics, and material stories, then partner closely with Merchandising, Product Development, Technical Design, and vendors to hit calendar milestones, protect design intent, and keep work aligned to margin and operational realities. My style is direct and structured, and I am at my best in contract and freelance environments where speed, clarity, and ownership matter. My passion for building brand-right product and excellence in cross-functional execution fuels my drive to continually push the boundaries of what is possible in this business. Connect with me to talk about seasonal concept development, trend and color direction, assortment building, and contract design support, or general industry news or updates. I look forward to connecting with you here on LinkedIn! ## Work Experience ### Design Contractor - Toddler Girl Knits @ Old Navy Jan 2025 – Jan 2026 | San Francisco Bay Area Toddler Girls Knits Designer with a focus on trend-driven, customer-centric product development. Conduct global market and competitive research to inform seasonal trends, silhouettes, fabrics, and innovative techniques across the category. Create and present compelling design concepts and sketches, championing creative vision to internal leadership and cross-functional partners. Partner closely with Design, Merchandising, Product Development and Technical Design to bring product to life. ### Design Contractor - Family Non Apparel Male @ Old Navy Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 | San Francisco Bay Area Lead designer for Men’s Soft Accessories across Fall/Holiday ’25 and Spring/Summer ’26, overseeing Socks, Underwear, Cold Weather Accessories, and the Performance category. Drive the design process end-to-end—from research and concept development through collection creation and outfitting collaboration. Partner closely with global vendors and cross-functional teams to deliver trend-right, commercially viable product aligned with customer needs and business strategy. Responsible for building and growing categories while balancing margin goals, timelines, and operational constraints. ### Color Designer @ Old Navy Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco, California, United States • Research global trend insight and markets in order to identify new color trends and strategic concept color direction each season. • Work with Color Senior Director to curate and create color visuals, mood boards & presentations. • Collaborate with Concept & Design team to deliver thematic seasonal trend palettes. • Develop strong internal cross functional relationships with Design & Merchandising to ensure strategic and purposeful color direction - provide color design support & guidance as needed. • Create and maintain concept led color tools: trend palettes, color strategy & inspiration boards. ### Men's Design Manager, Exclusive Brands @ Stitch Fix Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area ★ Oversaw clothing design within the Men’s department, expanding from an initial scope of responsibility for Active and Knits. Reported to the Senior Design Director overseeing all clothing lines while managing one direct report. ★ Responsible for creative concept development, seasonal kickoffs, and clothing designs that included prints, yarn dyes, patterns, and graphics. ★ Grew Exclusive Brands to encompass over 50% of sales in Menswear, with an Exclusive Brand success rate 500 basis points higher than market brands. Identified the most profitable lines to rationalize the portfolio from 13 brands down to five. ★ Successfully reduced sitting inventory through the use of graphics and print designs, ranking in the Top 5% of sales and avoiding the costs of destroying slow-moving product. ★ Improved efficiency by working with Product Development to share process and fabrics between brands. ★ Expanded the Activewear brand 01.Algo to include new classifications, prints and graphics and the brand’s first head to toe look. ### Men's Design Manager, Active + Knits @ Stitch Fix Jan 2020 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area ### Associate Director of Design @ ThirdLove Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area ★ Supervised a team of designers working on bras, underwear, and apparel, including concepts, colors, and the tracking of market trends. ★ Engaged with leadership to launch products and brand extensions to penetrate the Sleep, Swim, and Active markets. ★ Presented to the Marketing team, advising on Go to Market strategy, visual storytelling, and imagery. ★ Set a design calendar with clearly defined deadlines, leading to greater Work/Life balance for the designers. Reviewed work status in weekly team meetings. ★ Designed a new underwear line, leading research into trends, fabrics, prints, and textures. ### Design Director, Women's Active Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack @ Nordstrom Jan 2014 – Jan 2019 | Greater Seattle Area ★ Managed a team of designers engaged in the creation of original seasonal concepts. Set and influenced strategies for concepts, colors, prints, and themes. ★ In three years, expanded the full-price Zella brand from $60M in annual sales to $80M while increasing market share among new and younger customers. ★ Established a sustainability initiative leveraging the use of recycled yarn, including measures to authenticate yarn suppliers. ★ Traveled to markets in Europe, Asia, and Australia. Attended trade shows, visited factories, and met with vendors. ### Senior Designer/Manager @ Athleta Jan 2008 – Jan 2014 | Petaluma, CA ★ Responsible for designing and managing products that served as the basis for $230.7M in sales and 67% growth. ★ Worked with Merchandising, Technical Design, and Product Development teams to ensure compliance with standards for brand aesthetics, quality, and innovation. ★ Navigated the end-to-end design process from initial concept through to color, print, and development of initial technical specifications, managing and mentoring designers and contractors. ### Designer @ Lunada Bay Jan 2005 – Jan 2006 | Anaheim, CA Swimwear and Lifestyle designer ### Senior Designer @ J.J.'s Mae, d.b.a Rainbeau Jan 1998 – Jan 2005 ## Education ### Bachelors of Science in Design University of California, Davis ### UX Design in User Experience CareerFoundry ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lusalasdesign --- Source: https://flows.cv/lusalas JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/lusalas/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13