Kristine Upesleja

Kristine Upesleja is an Associate Professor of Product Design at ArtCenter. She is the founder and manager of the Innovative Textiles & Materials Department at FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. She used to work as a costume designer for Opera and Theater in Europe and has more than 25 years’ experience in fashion and design. Kristine has a profoundly shaped love for materials. She has been featured as an expert on Wearable Technology, Smart Fabrics, Sustainable Fashion and Biomaterials/Biofabrication on several international panels in China, Taiwan, Japan, Canada, Europe, and US, and in such publications as French Vogue and LA Magazine.

She also has been a guest teacher and judge at UEDA, College of Fashion in Osaka for the past five years.

Since 2018 she's been teaching at ArtCenter the 'Wearables: Material Futures' class. This class focuses on exploring, making and growing materials in the lab. The course explores the frontiers in the development, use and manufacture of new materials for wearables and soft goods.