LONDON — Melanie Walker, a veteran of Victoria Beckham and Matches, and longtime creative consultant, has been named design director of the British brand Jigsaw as part of a strategic reset that began last year.
An announcement is expected Tuesday.
Tikki Godley, managing director at Jigsaw, said she’s followed Walker’s career over the years and is “confident she will bring a creative and modern vision to Jigsaw, inspired by our rich history making clothes for people who care about how clothes are made: quality, fit and fabric, and a commitment to backing British design. Melanie will be supported by our wonderful team in the atelier who will bring her creativity to life.”
Walker’s appointment follows Jigsaw’s reset, which installed a refreshed leadership team led by Godley and the appointment of Chris Browne as retail director in April. They will lead the opening of 10 new U.K. stores, while the collection will begin selling through the Nordstrom and Macy’s marketplaces starting with fall 2026.
In an interview, Walker said she’s “passionate about getting into a British brand and being able to build and invest in its growth. There are a lot of women out there who have such an authentic love for the brand, and there’s such a legacy that I can build on. I think the brand identity is still very strong. We just need to lead that in a new direction.”
Her first full collection won’t be until spring 2028, but Walker has already begun making changes. She said her plan is to build upon and rejuvenate bestsellers, which include the City coat and the cashmere knits.
“And then I’m going to be layering on some newness,” said Walker, who’ll also be looking closely at the architecture of the collection. She added that dresses will continue to be a priority, and there is a big runway for growth.
“I’ll also be looking at cut, fit, print, fabrics and style. The Jigsaw customer really is drawn to quality, enduring quality, beautiful fabrics, beautiful trim, but with an accessible price point. We’re going to have to be really clever with how we design these products, clever with the price point on our trims, and fabric meterage. I want to make sure we’ve got little families that really support each other, and if we’re using a print, we really believe in it, and we build it out.”
Walker joined Victoria Beckham in 2008 as the brand’s first employee, and was promoted to head of design, ready-to-wear in 2013, leading the design and development of mainline and pre-collections and overseeing the design and studio teams.
Her career began at Roland Mouret, followed by Jonathan Saunders and Freda, the popular in-house womenswear label at Matches, where she became head of design. (At Matches, Freda was later rebranded and relaunched as Raey.)
Since 2017, Walker has worked as an independent design consultant to luxury and contemporary brands.
Walker’s appointment comes as the reset begins to bear fruit. The company said Monday that sales were up 18 percent year-on-year for spring 2026, building on strong Christmas 2025 trading. Growth across stores, online and concessions rose 11 percent, while online rose 21 percent, and concessions were up 47 percent in the 12-month period.
International online sales rose 48 percent ahead of planned U.S. expansion. The company said it saw substantial growth in certain key categories, with dresses up 43 percent as a renewed focus on “distinctive design, quality, fit and fabric” drives demand.
The company added that the results also reflect “greater commercial discipline” across buying, stock management and full-price trading.
The strategic reset has focused on strengthening the core U.K. business, restoring authority and consistency to the product offer and creating a scalable platform from which the brand can grow across channels and geographies.
Godley said “this season is further evidence that our turnaround is working. Customers are watching their wallets right now, but still choosing Jigsaw. We have focused relentlessly on making the product better and more distinctive, while bringing greater discipline to how we buy, trade and operate. Customers are responding, and we are seeing that across stores, digital and concessions.”
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