Khaka Artist

Khaka Artist

Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Employment Type: Full-Time

About SDS by KUSHAL SHAH:

• SDS by KUSHAL SHAH is a men’s luxury brand specializing in Prêt, 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.