Kristine Upesleja

Is the Founder and President of consulting firm MADISONS – Innovative Materials. She is an educator, researcher, connector, curator, and visionary.

With more than 20 years’ experience in fashion and design, Kristine has a profoundly shaped love for materials. She has been featured as expert on Wearable Technology, Smart Fabrics, and Sustainable Fashion on several panels and in such publications as French Vogue.

She began her career as a costume designer for opera, television, and film in Berlin before moving to Los Angeles to assist celebrity designer Roberta Marino on the Brad Pitt residencies in Los Feliz and Beverly Hills. Later she started a position at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), where she founded the impressive Innovative Materials’ Department and Collection - the largest of any US college.

While Kristine manages the Innovative Library at FIDM, she continues to run her consulting firm and engage in speaking assignments and lectures all over the world. A few of her notable clients and collaborators include: Hugo Boss, Adidas, Patagonia, Lenzing, Guess, Michael Schmidt, and Reformation. She is also currently a regular lecturer at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, where she developed a new class on “Wearables: Material Futures.” Most recently, Kristine shared her expert knowledge with Project Runway for their STEM in Fashion web series on bravotv.com.