Khaka Artist

Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Employment Type: Full-Time

About SDS by KUSHAL SHAH:

SDS by KUSHAL SHAH is a mens luxury brand specializing in Prt, Couture, and Bespoke.
We focus on refined design aesthetics, craftsmanship, and service, creating a seamless balance between luxury and contemporary style.
Rooted in an edgy yet timeless design philosophy, our collections reflect an evolving yet consistent creative vision.
Our parent company, Sheetal, has been a pioneer in Indian fashion retail for over 50 years
Industry icons such as Hemant Trivedi, Manish Malhotra, and Aki Narula began their creative journeys at SDS before launching their own labels.

Key Responsibility Areas (KRAs)

1. Detailed Sketching & Visual Development

Produce meticulous khaka (tracing) sketches, technical illustrations, and hand-drawn or digital renderings for garment detailing, embroidery, motifs, borders, and surface ornamentation.
Translate creative concepts into precise visual guides used for sampling, stitching, and final garment execution.
Maintain consistency, clarity, and accuracy in all drawing outputs to support pattern making and production workflows. Shine

2. Embroidery Design & Motif Creation

Develop intricate embroidery patterns and surface designs that align with seasonal narrative, brand language, and menswear aesthetics.
Adapt traditional techniques (e.g., thread-work, sequins, beadwork) into contemporary menswear applications.
Collaborate with embroiderers and artisans to digitize or render designs for hand and machine embroidery.

3. Technical Design & Garment Construction Support

Incorporate garment construction awareness, tailoring logic, and fit considerations into sketches to ensure designs are manufacturable and production-ready .
Work with pattern makers and samplers to clarify technical details, seam finishes, panel placements, and embroidery positioning.
Assist in developing tech packs or annotated design sheets (manual/digital) for sampling and production handoff.

4. Trend & Reference Research

Stay updated with global and Indian fashion trends, traditional surface techniques, motifs, and embroidery innovations relevant to menswear.
Source reference visuals, fabrics, trims, and color directions to support concept development and elevate design vocabulary.
Provide mood boards and trend maps to designers to shape narrative and collection direction.

5. Collaboration & Communication

Work closely with designers, pattern masters, production teams, and craftsmen to ensure clarity of intent and execution integrity.
Attend design reviews and sampling sessions to provide visual context, answer queries, and refine sketches or techniques.
Liaise with sampling units, embroiderers, and production houses to troubleshoot challenges and revise khakas as needed.

6. Quality Control & Consistency

Maintain extremely high standards for all sketches and design outputs ensuring precision, proportion accuracy, and fidelity to concept.
Conduct self-review of all work for consistency across pieces, technical coherence, and alignment with collection aesthetics.
Support quality review checkpoints during sample development and pre-production stages.

7. Digital & Software Integration

Prepare hand-drawn design work for digital alignment with production workflows scanning, cleaning, and translating into editable formats (e.g., vector/AI files).
If needed, assist in creating digitized patterns or embroidery files that can integrate with CAD, Illustrator, CorelDRAW, or embroidery digitizer software.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Artistic & Technical Skills

Exceptional sketching ability both hand-drawn and precision rendering .
Strong understanding of embroidery design, surface embellishment, and pattern development .
Familiarity with garment construction, tailoring elements, and finishing details.
Experience with or willingness to learn digital design tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, CorelDRAW, or embroidery digitizing software.

Fashion & Industry Knowledge

Good grasp of menswear design principles, textiles, threads, and embellishment materials .
Awareness of fashion trends, motif languages, cultural influences, and luxury sartorial cues.
Ability to interpret design briefs with clarity and convert them into production-ready visuals.

Collaboration & Communication

Excellent communication and teamwork skills to work effectively with design, sampling, and production teams.
Ability to receive feedback and iterate quickly while maintaining artistic integrity and technical accuracy.

Khaka Artist