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Kendra Lapolla has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Fashion Design from Columbus College of Art and Design and a Master’s of Fine Arts in Design Development from The Ohio State University. Kendra has spent several years working in the fashion industry. She has experience in apparel design, apparel graphics and technical design. Kendra has taught all levels of students in a variety of design courses with a focus on Portfolio and Illustration. As an educator, she uses her industry experience to establish real-world scenarios that require students to improve design problem-solving skills.

Kendra’s main research interests include co-creation in design, sustainability and design research. In both her written and creative scholarship, she explores innovative ways to engage consumer creativity with goals of developing more sustainable fashion processes. Her research has been presented nationally and internationally in places such as Denmark, England and New Zealand. She is also an active member of the International Textile and Apparel Association and Costume Society of America.

Expertise: Co-creation, design research, creativity, sustainability

Graduate Students: Kendra is interested in working with graduate students on topics such as social innovation, design thinking and creative research methods as they relate to the fashion industry.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Lapolla, K.  and Sanders, Elizabeth B.-N. (2017) Encouraging more efficient wardrobes through recirculation of idle apparel. Clothing Cultures. 4(1) pp. 45-60.
• Lapolla, K.(2016) Problems of Finding Special Occasion Dresses for Girls at Secondary School with Dress Codes: A Conflict of Sexual Identity. Fashion, Style & Pop Culture. 3(3)  pp.327-338.  
• Lapolla, K.(2015) The Pinterest Project: Using Social Media in an Undergraduate Second Year Fashion Design Course at a United States University. Art, Design and Communication in  Higher Education. 13 (2) pp. 175-187.
• Lapolla, K.& Sanders, E.B-N. (2015) Using Co-creation to Engage Everyday Creativity in Reusing and Repairing Apparel. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal: Special Issue  on Creative Thinking and Problem Solving. 33 (3) pp. 183-198.
• Lapolla, K.(2015) Using Social Media as a Toolkit for Co-Creation when Designing Fashion  with Communities. Shapeshifting: A Conference on Transformative Paradigms of Fashion and Textile Design. Auckland, New Zealand. Conference Full Paper. Scholarly Commons.                  
• Lapolla, K.(2014) ModCloth: A Case Study in Co-Creative Branding Strategies.Global Fashion       Brands: Style, Luxury & History. Edited by Joseph Hancock (Drexel University), Gjoko Muratovski (Auckland University of Technology), Veronica Manlow (Brooklyn College), Anne Pierson-Smith (City University of Hong Kong). Intellect Publishing, Bristol, United Kingdom. ISBN: 9871783203574. pp. 85-101

SELECTED JURIED EXHIBITIONS

• Lapolla, K. & Chen, C. (2018) Blue Wave, Presented in the American Association of Family Consumer Sciences 109^thAnnual Conference & Expo, Design Showcase & Exhibition, Atlanta, GA.
• Chen, C. & Lapolla, K.. (2017) Carnation Coat, Presented in the Juried Exhibition at the 74th International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference, St. Petersburg, FL.
• Lapolla, K.& Tao, S. (2016) Dawning Wave,Presented in the Juried Exhibition at the 73rd International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia.
• Lapolla, K.,Ashley, K., Frame, M. & Franklin, M.(2016) HopePresented in the Juried Exhibition at the 73rd International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference,Vancouver, British Columbia.
• Lapolla, K.,Gordyan, J. & Lapolla, B. (2016) Collective Reflection, presented at Costume Society of America Symposium, Cleveland, OH. 
• Lapolla, K.,(2015) Helen, Colored Pencil Society of America Annual International Exhibition, Oglethorpe University Museum of Art, Atlanta GA, Juror: Donna Krueger.
• Lapolla, K.,(2015)Embroidered, Colored Pencil Society of America Explore This! 11 Online Exhibition., Juror: Courtney A. McNeil.

AWARDS AND HONORS

• Lapolla, K.& Chen, C.Rutherford Teaching Challenge Award, 1st Place  - Style Studies: Fashioning a blogger in a collaborative design challengeawarded at the International Textiles and Apparel Associations Annual Conference. St. Petersburg FL by the Teaching Innovation and Resources Committee through a double-blind review Awarded $500
• Lapolla, K., Ashley, K., Frame, M. & Franklin, M. ATEXINC Award for Excellence in Marketable Textile Design, Professional Level- Hopeawarded by InternationalTextiles and Apparel Association Annual Conference. Vancouver, British Columbia for a creative scholarship. Awarded $400.