Susanna Innamorato

Advise apparel and lifestyle brands on product strategy, organizational structure, and brand direction during periods of growth, transition, or repositioning. • Partner with CEOs, founders, and senior leadership teams to clarify product vision, design strategy, and go-to-market alignment, strengthening decision-making across product and brand initiatives. • Lead strategic reviews of collection architecture, margin frameworks, and product lifecycle planning, helping leadership teams identify opportunities to improve assortment structure and commercial impact. • Advise on design and product team restructuring, supporting clearer accountability, talent development, and stronger cross-functional collaboration across design, production, and marketing. • Guide brand repositioning through consumer-led product direction, aligning fit strategy, storytelling, and channel considerations with evolving market expectations. • Apply 25+ years of product development and brand-building experience to help leadership teams translate creative direction into commercially viable product strategies.

Co-founded a boutique photography studio specializing in e-commerce product imagery. Provide creative direction on select client projects, supporting shoot coordination, brand presentation, and visual storytelling for apparel and lifestyle products. • Direct product photography shoots for client campaigns, coordinating shoot concepts, styling, casting, and creative direction to support e-commerce and marketing assets. • Collaborate with the lead photographer and client teams to translate product positioning into effective visual storytelling for lookbooks, digital merchandising, and advertising. • Produce graphic and visual assets for advertisements, editorials, lookbooks, and website content supporting brand presentation and product launches. • Coordinate creative production logistics, aligning photographers, stylists, and creative teams to ensure efficient shoot execution and consistent brand imagery.

•Rebuilt design function post-turnover, stabilizing product development and delivering seasonal collections across multiple categories. •Led cross-functional teams (design, production, fittings, and marketing) to align product vision with brand and commercial goals. •Implemented streamlined product development processes, strengthening collaboration with sourcing, production, and marketing. •Partnered with planning/allocation to align product strategy with sales data, budgets, and delivery timelines. •Directing product presentations and photoshoots for seasonal launches.

Recruited to build and structure the design department, aligning creative direction with business priorities across multiple menswear categories while partnering closely with the CEO on collection strategy and assortment planning. • Built and led a 9-person creative team (apparel designers, graphic designers, social media manager), guiding concept development, product direction, and sales presentation materials for seasonal collections. • Introduced SKU planning frameworks and development charts to help designers stay aligned with assortment strategy and reduce unnecessary overdevelopment. • Developed foundational PLM tools and product development trackers, providing the structure that later informed the company’s internal product lifecycle system. • Strengthened collaboration between design, production, and marketing, improving workflow clarity and ensuring product concepts translated effectively through development. • Partnered directly with the CEO on collection concepts and product positioning, aligning creative output with commercial and brand objectives.

Joined Canadian start-up to strengthen product fit, technical documentation, and development standards as the brand prepared for national exposure on Dragons’ Den. • Refined boxer fit and garment construction, improving comfort, product consistency, and readiness for scaled production. • Rebuilt technical packs and development documentation, providing factories with clearer specifications and reducing production ambiguity. • Introduced apparel industry product development standards, strengthening manufacturing preparation and supporting the brand’s transition from prototype to market-ready product. • Collaborated with the founding team to align product execution with go-to-market timing ahead of national television exposure.

Recruited by the CEO to restructure the design department and strengthen product strategy across multiple apparel categories, aligning design execution with commercial objectives. • Expanded the intimates category to 33% gross margin within three years by introducing replenishment programs and targeted product development aligned with consumer demand. • Led a 5-person cross-functional team (design and graphics) to deliver seasonal collections across intimates, hosiery, swimwear, sleepwear, and activewear. • Directed end-to-end product development, from trend research and line planning through sample approvals, ensuring brand alignment and product quality across multiple categories. • Partnered with CEO, production, and allocation teams to align assortment planning, SKU strategy, and delivery timelines with sales targets and merchandising objectives. • Led brand and creative execution for intimates collections, overseeing art direction, photoshoots, packaging, advertising, and copy to support product launches and go-to-market initiatives. • Supported category expansion initiatives, contributing to footwear and outerwear product launches that broadened the brand’s assortment.

Led design and merchandising for the plus-size women’s collection while contributing occasion dress designs for both regular and plus-size categories. • Led design and assortment development for the plus-size collection, building color stories by delivery and structuring style repetition to support production efficiency and cohesive seasonal assortments. • Designed occasion dresses across regular and plus-size categories, collaborating with the core women’s designer to expand the brand’s dress offering and maintain alignment with seasonal direction. • Partnered with Sales leadership to analyze best-seller reports, translating sell-through insights into updated product direction and assortment planning. • Collaborated closely with fit and technical teams, refining garment construction and fit development standards to ensure comfort and consistency across plus-size body types. • Supervised technical design documentation within PLM, overseeing style setup, tech pack accuracy, and product development communication with production teams.

Led design across multiple plus-size apparel categories, contributing specialized fit expertise and product direction for intimates, sleepwear, and swimwear collections within a national retail brand. • Designed the Ashley Graham Lingerie Collection, developing product concepts tailored to the plus-size customer and supporting the brand’s collaboration with international model Ashley Graham. • Led design for the Déesse lingerie and sleepwear collections and the Cactus swimwear line, delivering seasonal product assortments aligned with brand direction and consumer demand. • Directed a team of three designers and graphic designers, guiding concept development, seasonal color direction, and product execution through sample approvals. • Applied specialized plus-size fit expertise, collaborating with technical design and production teams to refine construction and ensure comfort and consistency across extended-size ranges. • Strengthened category focus in plus-size intimates and swimwear, supporting brand positioning through targeted product development and assortment planning.

Co-founded a pet lifestyle start-up developing apparel and accessories for dogs and cats, leading product design, collection development, and overseas production coordination. • Co-founded and launched a multi-category pet lifestyle brand, developing product assortments across apparel, footwear, collars, leashes, harnesses, carriers, and bedding. • Created and developed three proprietary collections (Go Fresh Pet, Cloe & Cluzo, Petite Pistache), establishing product concepts, assortment structure, and seasonal design direction. • Directed end-to-end product development, translating design concepts into production-ready specifications and coordinating sampling and manufacturing. • Managed supplier communication with Asian manufacturing partners, supporting prototype development, production planning, and quality expectations.

Led design, merchandising, and client account management for private label intimates, sleepwear, and loungewear across major international and mass-market retailers while supporting brand development for in-house labels. • Designed and developed private label collections for international and mass-market retailers including Fredericks of Hollywood, Torrid, Forever 21, Adore Me, Tuesday Morning, Ann Summers, Max Holdings, Walmart, Simons, Hudson’s Bay, and Aubainerie, delivering assortments tailored to diverse markets across North America, the UK, and the Middle East. • Expanded responsibility to all international private label programs (2012–2014), managing product development, SKU planning, and assortment alignment for multiple global retail partners. • Led and mentored a team of two designers, overseeing design execution, line development, and sample approvals across several concurrent private label collections. • Directed creative branding initiatives for Montelle collections and US-based brands Fleur’t Lingerie and HookedUp Shapewear, leading photoshoots, catalogs, video campaigns, and marketing assets to strengthen brand identity and product storytelling. • Managed early-stage e-commerce execution, designing and maintaining the Magento website while coordinating product uploads and digital merchandising.