São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
My name is Fernanda Matsumoto, I'm a Brazilian senior fashion designer with more than 18 years of experience, specialized in accessories, ladies handbags, kids backpacks and travel items. I also have a good experience with licensing products focused on back to school collections: Mattel, Disney, Warner Bros, MGA, among others. Excellent knowledge of the current fashion market, wholesale and retail strategies. Deep knowledge in collection development process, from planning, research, moodboards, color charts, technical sheets, product engineering viability, costs and negotiations. Product Development in partnership with suppliers from China, India and Brazil, visiting factories to check samples, production status, material sourcing and pricing negotiations. In 2025 I also had the opportunity to work for 9 months in a factory in Siem Reap (Cambodia). I'm into trend forecasting but I never lose sight of business sense. I'm highly creative but also technical with high-quality standards. I like being committed to achieving outstanding results in challenging situations and I always maintain a strong ethic work. I love travelling so much that from April 2018 until April 2019 I took a sabbatical around 20 eastern countries and I reckon it was a good opportunity for me to develop soft skills to deal with unforeseen circumstances and cultures so different from western ones. And from April 2023 until October 2023 I worked as a freelance designer and fashion consultant, based in Thailand and visiting China to check some samples. EDUCATION: Graduation in Fashion Design from Faculdade Santa Marcelina (São Paulo, Brazil), with several courses in the field such as Cool Hunting (Central Saint Martins - London), Fashion and Sustainability (London College of Fashion), Sustainable Fashion (Parsons School of Design - NYC), Fashion Design (IED - Milan), Wearables (IED - São Paulo), Footwear Technician (Senai - São Paulo), Leather Handbags (Senai - São Paulo) and Leather Sorter (Senai - Franca, Brazil). SPECIALITIES: • Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. • Organization: Lead times in line with product calendars and launch schedules. • Negotiation, costs and assortment. • Product lifecycle management. • Licensing experience focused on backpacks and luggage . • Identifying emerging trends, strong presentation, and interpersonal skills. • Tech packs with measurements, materials and technical drawings. • Factory consultation, material sourcing, sample management and quality control. • Handbag engineering and pattern making, focused on leather, PU and PVC. •Team leadership.
Pactics is a sustainable manufacturing company based in Siem Reap, Cambodia, specializing in producing high-quality fashion garments, lifestyle, and technical accessories like bags. As a Senior Product Designer, I was the main point of contact for customers during development, this role ensured smooth project execution and timely delivery. Key Responsibilities • T&A plan (Time and Action) and Projects Management . • Create a summarized "bill of manufacturing" to make it possible to quickly calculate estimated costs for evaluating and accepting new projects or new clients, based on products and target prices. • Create a handbook to organize the workflow and make the onboarding easier for new employees. • Create and refine product concepts, including sketches, material selection, color palettes, and functional details while balancing aesthetics and manufacturability. • Work closely with merchandisers, sample makers, pattern makers, and sourcing teams to develop prototypes that meet technical and cost requirements. • Ensure first-time-right samples by aligning technical specifications, quality standards, and customer expectations. • Guide and train junior merchandisers and designers, enhancing their skills in product development, design execution, and material knowledge. • Maintain clear documentation of product designs, material specs, and technical details for development and production teams.
Luxcel Group is a Chinese multinational company and it's one of the leading wholesale players in Brazil, regarding backpacks, bags and travel line, focused on licensed brands (such as Disney, Mattel, WB, among others), but it also has its own brands (such as UP4YOU, Gash and Polo King). 2022 July - 2023 April: Product Design Coordinator (full time job) - São Paulo - Brazil 2023 April - 2024 February: Handbags Designer (remote) - Thailand 2024 February- Current: Product Design Coordinator (full time job) - São Paulo - Brazil - In charge of the Product Development Department (Creative Design) leading 4 designers and 1 product analyst. - Responsible for the assortment, product development, design schedule, product life cycle and negotiation with suppliers from China - Backpacks, Handbags and Travel line. - Licensed collections: Disney (Marvel, Avengers, Mickey & Minnie, Pixar, Toy Story, Encanto, Stitch, Star Wars, Young Jedi Adventures), Mattel (Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fischer-Price, Monster High, Uno, Thomas and Friends, Polly Pocket), Warner Bros (Harry Potter, Superman, Wonder Woman, Friends, Powerpuff Girls, Batman, Batwheels, Teen Titans Go, Flash, Rick and Morty), MGA (LOL, OMG, Rainbow High, Shadow High, Mermaze Mermaidz, Bratz), Boruto, Super Mario, Sonic, My Hero Academia, Wednesday (Wandinha), Play-Doh (Super Massa), Nasa, Peanuts (Snoopy), PKXD, Baby Shark, Turma da Mônica, Moranguinho, Masha e o Urso. -Achievements/Awards: -2022 Warner Bros Discovery award winner in two categories: "biggest growth of the year" and also "best licensed of the year". I was truly happy and proud of these awards, because before winning them, it was the first time in my career, where I had the opportunity to lead a presentation for the vice president of a brand as big as WB, showing the result of a teamwork that brought together different departments to achieve the best result. -2023 Mattel award winner for the "best product development" for the Barbie Movie collection.
Client: GoCase - Fashion consultant and product developer •Assortment plan, trend forecast, product development (backpacks, bags, carry-on suitcases, insulated lunch bags and small goods - tech packs for Chinese suppliers). Client: Pacific Importer - freelance designer • Creation of characters for school backpacks, for the brand PacMe
Imaginarium is the biggest fun design gift store chain in Brazil. With more than 220 franchises over the whole country and 600 multi-brand stores. 2020 July - 2021 June: Creative Design Coordinator - Brand Visto Imaginarium - Bags, backpacks, accessories. Reporting directly to the Product Director 2021 June - 2021 December: Creative Design Coordinator - Brands: Imaginarium (Departments: food and beverage, personal use, home decor and tech) and Visto Imaginarium (Bags, backpacks and accessories). Reporting directly to the Product Manager and to the Product Director. - Responsible for the Product Development Department (Creative Design Team) leading 9 designers and 2 copywriters. - Responsible for the assortment, product development and negotiation with suppliers from China and Brazil. - Licensed collections: Harry Potter, Friends, Stranger Things, The Beatles, Fit Dance. - Reviewed the innovation pyramid for Visto Brand, bringing modular products, massager backpack, backpacks and pencil cases with LEDs, among other innovative items. The innovative products increased from 7% on the pyramid to 29% in 2022. - Drove handbags assortment reduction by better negotiating the best sellers, guaranteeing category enter price points with better COGs. - Renewed the Visto's logo, as well as the hangtags, trimmings and hardware. - Managed supply chain processes and lead times in line with product calendar and launch schedule. Reduced the quantity of approval samples in 50% less, resulting in better costs, and also improve the quality of the products, by improving the tech sheets. - Improved the pictures of the Visto items and the SEO on the online store, especially during the pandemic lockdown. - Orchestrated collection design and sample reviews with the Chinese suppliers remotely during the pandemic.
This was the 2nd time I worked at Le Postiche (the previous time was from 2010 until 2014 as a fashion coordinator) Founded in 1960, Le Postiche is the biggest handbag and luggage chain in Latin America, with more than 200 stores all over Brazil. - Directed and mentored a small team including a junior designer, an assistant and an intern. - Reporting directly to the purchasing director and the CEO. - Product development (ladies handbags, men bags, sports bags, kids backpacks, small leather goods and travel line). - Elevated quality and aesthetic of the handbags styles as well as the hardware. - Created seasonal mood board, directed print, color, material and developed hardware. - Teck packs in Portuguese for Brazilian suppliers and in English for Chinese suppliers. - Fashion presentation for more than 200 store managers. - Traveled to China for Canton Fair and to visit some suppliers.