Fashion Jobs in the Netherlands: Your 2025 Career Guide

The Dutch fashion sector is unusual in Europe. It combines a dense network of physical stores with one of the continent’s highest shares of online clothing sales, and on top of that it hosts a cluster of European headquarters for international brands. For a jobseeker, that means vacancies spread across very different kinds of work: creative direction in Amsterdam, buying for a Dutch chain in North Brabant, or a store role in one of the country’s outlet centres.

Where the openings cluster

Dutch fashion hiring does not sit in a single category. The roles in demand fall into a handful of broad groups:

• Design and creative: senior designers, design directors, graphic designers and colour managers, particularly at headquarters level.
• Buying and product: senior buyers, buying managers, junior product managers and allocators.
• Online retail and CRM: e-commerce merchandisers, conversion specialists and CRM managers.
• Marketing and brand: performance marketers, influencer specialists and campaign strategists.
• Wholesale and sales: account managers for the Benelux region, wholesale coordinators and label managers at agencies.
• Supply chain and sustainability: order management, ocean freight, quality assurance, plus corporate responsibility roles dealing with the Dutch extended producer responsibility scheme for textiles and the EU’s digital product passport.
• Store roles: sales assistants, store managers and outlet teams.

The geography of Dutch fashion work

Amsterdam dominates the market. European headquarters, Dutch brand offices, agencies and showrooms concentrate in and around the city, with further head offices in nearby Lijnden and Hoofddorp. Large international groups base their European design, colour, marketing and distribution teams there, which is why the capital carries the greatest number of vacancies.

Outside Amsterdam, much of the industry sits in Utrecht and North Brabant, home to several well-known Dutch chains and suppliers. The outlet centres in Lelystad and Roermond employ sizeable store teams, making them a realistic entry point for retail candidates.

Other cities with regular listings include Rotterdam, The Hague, ’s-Hertogenbosch, Arnhem, Eindhoven and Tilburg. Candidates who are flexible about location will find considerably more choice than those restricted to one city.

Who is hiring

International groups run European teams from the Netherlands. Employers advertising roles include PVH, which recruits for design, colour and global marketing for its Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands; Karl Lagerfeld, for design and campaign roles; ASICS, for allocation, visual merchandising and marketing; Dr. Martens and Foot Locker, for quality and distribution positions; and Primark, Hunkemöller and Bestseller, which mostly recruit for stores.

Dutch brands account for a large share of the hiring too. WE Fashion recruits in Utrecht for design and e-commerce; Shoeby hires in Rosmalen for buying and creative roles; The Sting and Just Brands recruit in Lijnden for design and product. HVEG Group, which owns Mexx, My Jewellery, MR MARVIS, Studio Noos and vanHaren, hires across product, marketing and retail. On the supply side, Stichd designs and supplies licensed underwear and socks for international brands from ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Why the market keeps hiring

The Netherlands’ advantage is retail density combined with European reach. The country has nearly 13,000 fashion stores, according to Locatus data cited by ABN AMRO, and just over a third of clothing spending happens online, with Dutch players capturing 82 percent of that online spend, per Thuiswinkel.org figures cited by the same bank. International brands add a second layer by running European design, marketing and distribution from Amsterdam.

Garment production left the Netherlands decades ago, and Dutch brands source almost everything from Asia, Turkey and Eastern Europe. What stayed and grew is the work that runs a brand across Europe: design, buying, e-commerce, CRM, wholesale and logistics. Chinese platforms now account for nearly 5 percent of online clothing spend, again per Thuiswinkel.org data cited by ABN AMRO, which keeps Dutch retailers hiring for the e-commerce, marketing and data roles needed to compete.

Two routes into the industry

Jobseekers in the Netherlands face two distinct markets, and the route in depends on which one they are targeting.

English-speaking headquarters roles. Design, marketing, colour, allocation and logistics positions at international groups in and around Amsterdam usually operate in English. Candidates from abroad with relevant experience can apply directly.

Dutch-speaking chain, wholesale and store roles. Most jobs at Dutch chains, in Benelux wholesale and on the shop floor require Dutch. Fluency matters most in customer-facing and commercially negotiated roles.

If you are applying from outside the Netherlands, EU and EEA citizens can work there without a permit. Others generally need a highly skilled migrant (kennismigrant) permit secured through an employer recognised by the IND, or a work and residence permit issued by the same authority. Employers hiring internationally are usually familiar with the process.

Common questions

Do I need Dutch to work in fashion in the Netherlands? For most chain, wholesale and store roles, yes. European headquarters roles in and around Amsterdam usually work in English.

Which city has the most vacancies? Amsterdam, followed by Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam.

Can I apply from abroad? Yes. EU and EEA citizens need no permit; others usually need a highly skilled migrant permit through a recognised employer.

Which roles are most in demand? Design, buying and product, e-commerce and CRM, marketing, wholesale and retail.

Who hires fashion designers? PVH, Karl Lagerfeld, WE Fashion, The Sting, HVEG Group and Stichd are among the employers regularly recruiting designers.

Getting started

A sensible approach is to search by city first, then narrow by discipline. If you are aiming for a headquarters role, focus on Amsterdam and its surrounding business parks; if you want a career in buying or store management, the chains in Utrecht and North Brabant and the outlet centres in Lelystad and Roermond offer the most openings. Checking listings regularly matters, because Dutch fashion recruitment moves quickly and new positions appear throughout the year.