Creative Director, KAINO

If you walk into a store and already know what's wrong with half the rack, read this.

KAINO is a Toronto streetwear brand. Heavyweight washed pieces, small runs, and a look that sits between designer and street. The first run is out and selling. The next one hasn't been designed, the next shoot hasn't been cast, and the way the brand markets itself is still being written. We need the person with the eye to decide.

This is the job most people wait ten years for: real creative direction at a brand early enough that every call you make shows.

WHY THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT

- Your ideas become clothes. Sketch it, argue for it, and see it in a sample, then on someone's back
- You direct the shoots: the locations, the casting, the styling, the light
- You shape how every drop is launched and sold, not just how it looks
- No committee. You work directly with the founder, and good ideas move quick
- Your name on the work, and product from every run

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Read the market

- Study clothing brands, from the ones leading streetwear to the small ones about to break, and bring back what's working and why
- Spot trends in silhouettes, washes, fabrics, colours and graphics, and know which ones last and which ones won't
- Build the reference boards each run is designed from

Sell the story
- Build the concept and rollout for each drop: the content, the campaign, the ads
- Set the direction for every shoot
- Sign off on content and ads before they go out, so everything looks like one brand




- Guide the social media lead

Make the clothes
- Help design new pieces with the founder: silhouettes, washes, details, graphics
- Critique designs and samples honestly, and say exactly what would fix them
- Sit in on sample reviews and fit checks

WHO YOU ARE
- You know clothing brands inside out: what they make, how they sell it, and why some last while others burn out
- Your taste is sharp and you can back it up with references
- You understand how brands grow online right now, not just how clothes look
- You say what you think about a design, and you can hear the same back
- You've done some of this already, whether in design, styling, creative direction, brand marketing or a label of your own. Formal experience helps but isn't required
- You're in or around Toronto and can be at shoots and sample reviews

HOW TO APPLY No cover letter. Send us three things:
1. A brand breakdown: pick a streetwear brand and tell us in one paragraph what they're doing right, what they're getting wrong, and what KAINO should take from it
2. A critique: look at kainoclothing.co or @kaino.clo and tell us one piece you'd change and one thing you'd change about how we market it
3. Your eye: a portfolio, mood boards, a brand you've worked on, or anything that shows your taste

Send it to [email protected] with the subject line "Creative Director". We read everything. Pay: $3,500.00-$6,500.00 per month

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Toronto, ON

📌 Creative Director (Toronto)
🏢 KAINO Clothing
📍 Toronto