Academy Sports + Outdoors – Technical Design & Fit Development Leadership
As the Manager of Technical Design at Academy Sports + Outdoors, I led the development, fit standardization, and grading strategies for multiple product categories, ensuring consistency and quality across men’s, women’s, and youth apparel lines. This project highlights my work in establishing brand-right size standards, overseeing technical design operations, and optimizing product development workflows to improve fit, function, and scalability for mass production.
Key Contributions:
Technical Design Leadership & Fit Development
Managed the technical design process across multiple product categories, including athleticwear, outdoor apparel, and private label brands.
Conducted detailed fit sessions, pattern corrections, and grading refinements to ensure sizing consistency across styles.
Implemented grading updates to align with industry benchmarks and consumer expectations.
Standardizing Sizing & Grading for Brand Consistency
Developed Academy Sports’ proprietary grading rules to establish a standardized size structure across men’s, women’s, and youth apparel.
Led competitor research and data-driven grading analysis to align Academy Sports’ private label brands with aspirational competitors.
Introduced base size refinements to enhance fit accuracy, reduce sample rounds, and improve customer satisfaction.
Product Development & Factory Collaboration
Provided technical packs, spec development, and fit corrections to guide production teams and factories.
Integrated Optitex 3D fitting technology into the development process to minimize sample waste and streamline approvals.
Conducted wear testing and performance evaluations for outdoor and activewear styles, ensuring durability and mobility.
Process Improvement & Scaling for Growth
Led cross-functional teams to enhance efficiency in the product development cycle.
Introduced workflow optimizations in PLM systems, improving communication between design, merchandising, and manufacturing.
Managed workload balance across technical design teams, ensuring streamlined operations and timely product launches.This project showcases the full-cycle development of a high-performance skort, from custom print creation and technical design to sample evaluation and final production execution.
This project successfully enhanced Academy Sports’ private label fit consistency, technical accuracy, and product quality, improving scalability for mass production. The established fit standards, grading integrity, and development efficiencies positioned the brand to compete effectively within the retail space while delivering a superior fit and experience for consumers.
